EXECUTIVE ORDER MJF 98-61

Shrimp Industry Review Panel II

WHEREAS, through Senate Concurrent Resolution Number 11 of the 1997 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, the Louisiana Legislature created a Select Council on Shrimp Management (hereafter "Council") to study the current and future management of Louisiana's shrimp resources and make recommendations for Louisiana'sfuture shrimp resources management objectives, and designated a Shrimp Industry Review Panel to review the Council's recommendations; and

WHEREAS, in August 1998, the Council submitted a final report to the Senate and the House Natural Resources Committees1 which contained recommended prioritized objectives for the management of Louisiana's shrimp fishery, and recommended methods to achieve those objectives;

NOW THEREFORE I, M. J. "MIKE" FOSTER, JR., Governor of the state of Louisiana, by virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution and laws of the state of Louisiana, do hereby order and direct as follows:

SECTION 1: The Shrimp Industry Review Panel II (hereafter "Panel") is established in the executive department, Office of the Governor.

SECTION 2: The duties of the Panel shall be limited to the following:

A. Evaluating the recommendations set forth in the final report of the Select Council on Shrimp Management (hereafter "final report");

B. Preparing recommended legislative initiatives for the 1999 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature which are based on information obtained from the final report.

SECTION 3: The Panel shall prepare a comprehensive report which contains the Panel's evaluation of the final report and drafts of the legislative initiatives that the Panel recommends implementing. The report shall be submitted to the governor, the secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the Senate and the House Natural Resources Committees by March 1, 1999.

SECTION 4: The Panel shall be composed of twenty-one (21) members selected as follows:

A. Fifteen (15) members employed and/or in the business of at least one (1) sector of Louisiana's shrimp industry, such as the harvesting, processing, and/or marketing, shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the governor; and

B. Six (6) members shall be selected as follows:

1. the governor, or the governor's designee;

2. the secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, or the secretary's designee;

3. the chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, or the chair's designee, and one (1) additional member of the House Natural Resources Committee selected by the chair; and

4. the chair of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, or the chair's designee, and one (1) additionalmember of the Senate Natural Resources Committee selected by the chair.

SECTION 5: The governor shall select the chair and a meeting facilitator from the membership of the Panel. All other officers shall be elected by the membership of the Panel.

SECTION 6: The meeting facilitator shall call all meetings, issue meeting agendas, and serve as parliamentarian at all meetings

SECTION 7: Support staff for the Panel and facilities for its meetings shall be provided by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

SECTION 8: The members of the Panel selected pursuant to Subsection 4(A) shall not receive compensation or a per diem. Nonetheless, contingent upon the availability of funds, said members may receive reimbursement from the Office of the Governor for actual mileage, in accordance with state guidelines and procedures, with prior written approval from the Office of the Governor and the approval of the commissioner of Administration.

SECTION 9: All departments, commissions, boards, agencies, and officers of the state, or any political subdivisions thereof, are authorized and directed to cooperate with the Panel in implementing the provisions of this Order.

SECTION 10: This Order is effective upon signature and shall continue in effect until March 1, 1999, unless amended, modified, terminated, or rescinded by the governor, or terminated by operation of law prior to that date.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have set my hand officially and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of Louisiana, at the Capitol, in the city of Baton Rouge, on this 6th day of November, 1998.

M.J. "Mike" Foster, Jr.
Governor

ATTEST BY
THE GOVERNOR
Fox McKeithen
Secretary of State

1The Council also submitted its report to the eighty-three (83) member Shrimp Industry Review Panel (hereafter "SIR Panel") that was created pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 11 of the 1997 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature (hereafter "SCR No. 11"), as required by SCR No. 11. The SIR Panel, composed of fifteen (15) members representing the shrimp industry and sixty-eight (68) Louisiana Legislators, has had insufficient attendance at its meeting(s) to constitute a quorum. Therefore, the SIR Panel has been unable to conduct business and/or fulfill the duties that SCR No. 11 requires the SIR Panel to perform.