ADVISORY COMMITTEES

(a) The commissioner may appoint an advisory committee for an existing pest management zone or an area of the state that is to be considered by the commissioner for designation as or inclusion in a pest management zone. The committee shall gather advice, input, and guidance from citrus producers from the area represented by the committee concerning the interest in and concerns about the implementation of this chapter. (b) Each advisory committee may consider and make recommendations to the commissioner and the corporation concerning: (1) the geographic boundaries for a proposed pest management zone; (2) the amount of local interest in operating a suppression program; (3) the basis and amount of an assessment necessary to support a suppression program; (4) ongoing implementation of a suppression program approved by growers in a pest management zone; and (5) any other matter requested by the commissioner or the corporation. (c) Each advisory committee appointed under this section must include a sufficient number of citrus producers to ensure adequate representation across the pest management zone and other persons as determined by the commissioner. (d) An advisory committee established under this section is subject to Chapters 551 and 552, Government Code.