Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries

Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
2013 FY Budget:	$31,460,542
Term limits:	2 terms
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 112
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Name:	John McMillan
Officeholder Party:	Republican
Assumed office:	January 17, 2011
Compensation:	$84,655
Elections
Next election:	November 4, 2014
Last election:	November 2, 2010
Other Alabama Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission

The Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries is a state executive position in the Alabama government. The commissioner oversees the state Department of Agriculture, which promotes and regulates agricultural and industrial activity in the state.

Current officeholder

The current commissioner of agriculture and industries is John McMillan, a Republican, who was first elected on November 2, 2010 and took office on January 17, 2011. McMillan will next come up for re-election in November 2014.

Before his election as agriculture and industries commissioner, McMillan was Executive Vice President of the Alabama Forestry Association. He previously served as a state representative and as Commissioner for of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Authority

The commissioner of agriculture and industries' authority derives from Article V, Section 112 of the Alabama Constitution.

Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 112

The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, commissioner of agriculture and industries, and a sheriff for each county.

Qualifications

Qualifications for the office of commissioner of agriculture and industries are described in Article V, Section 132 of the state constitution. Candidates for the office must have been a citizen of the United States for seven years, a resident of Alabama for five years, and at least 25 years of age.

Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 132

No person shall be eligible to the office of attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, or commissioner of agriculture and industries unless he shall have been a citizen of the United States at least seven years, and shall have resided in this state at least five years next preceding his election, and shall be at least twenty-five years old when elected.

Elections

Per Section 114 of the state constitution, Alabama elects its agriculture commissioners during federal midterm election years (e.g. 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018). Section 116 sets the commissioner's inauguration for the first Monday after the second Tuesday in the January following an election. Thus, January 17, 2011 and January 19, 2015 are inaugural days.

Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 114

The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, and commissioner of agriculture and industries shall be elected by the qualified electors of the state at the same time and places appointed for the election of members of the legislature in the year nineteen hundred and two, and in every fourth year thereafter.

Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 116

The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, commissioner of agriculture and industries, elected after the ratification of this Constitution, shall hold their respective offices for the term of four years from the first Monday after the second Tuesday in January next succeeding their election, and until their successors shall be elected and qualified.

Term limits

Per Amendment 282 to Article V, Section 116 of the Alabama Constitution, agriculture commissioners are limited to two terms in office.

Vacancies

Article V, Section 136 of the Alabama Constitution requires the governor to appoint a replacement if the office of agriculture commissioner becomes vacant or if the incumbent "shall become of unsound mind." The replacement serves until the next scheduled election.

Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 136'

Should the office of attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, or commissioner of agriculture and industries become vacant from any cause, the governor shall fill such vacancy until the disability is removed or a successor elected and qualified. In case any of said officers shall become of unsound mind, such unsoundness shall be ascertained by the supreme court upon the suggestion of the governor.

Duties

The commissioner of agriculture and industries is the head of the Department of Agriculture and Industries. He or she oversees and promotes "economic and industrial development" in Alabama, "investigates and ascertains the [state's] industrial possibilities," and collects statistics on state industry. Alabama law directs the commissioner to take a special interest in the promotion of industries "in the smaller municipalities and rural communities of the state."

The Department of Agriculture and Industries establishes and enforces food safety regulations, enforcing laws relating to commercial weights and measures and monitoring pesticide usage in the state. It also regulates the treatment of livestock and poultry by farmers, agricultural pest control, provides marketing and outreach services to boost agricultural production, and mediates between Alabama farmers, their creditors, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Divisions

The Department of Agriculture and Industries is divided into three main divisions, which, in turn, are divided into several sections:

• Executive Division
  • Accounting Section
  • General Services Section
  • Personnel Section
  • Agriculture Economics
  • Agriculture Homeland Security
  • Disabled Agriculture

• Food & Safety Division
  • Food Safety Section
  • Weights and Measures Section
  • Pesticide Management Section

• Agriculture & Animal Protection Division
  • Animal Industry
  • Plant Industry
  • Agriculture Promotions
  • Agricultural Mediation Program
  • Agriculture Statistics Section

State budget

The budget for the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries' Office in Fiscal Year 2012-2013 was $31,460,542.

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

In 2012, the Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture was paid an estimated $84,655. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.

His or her salary is fixed by law and paid from the Agricultural Fund of the treasury. Alabama Constitution, Article V, Section 118 of the state constitution requires that changes in compensation take effect in the term after they were passed.

Alabama Constitution, Article V, Section 118

The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, and commissioner of agriculture and industries, shall receive compensation to be fixed by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which they shall have been elected, and shall, except the lieutenant governor, reside at the state capital during the time they continue in office, except during epidemics.

Contact info

Physical address:
1445 Federal Drive
Montgomery, AL 36107

Mailing address:
Richard Beard Building
P.O. Box 3336
Montgomery, AL 36109

Phone: 334-240-7100
Fax: 334-240-7190

See also

• Agriculture Commissioner
• John McMillan

External links

• Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries