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North Carolina State Support Committee Bylaws

North Carolina State Support Committee Bylaws

Purpose and Objectives

The North Carolina State Support Committee (NCSSC) acts as an arm of the Agricultural Research Department of Cotton Incorporated. Through the State Support Program, a percentage of producer generated assessments (based on a five-year moving average) is set aside for allocation back to the state.  The funds are to study and solve problems, identified by a State Support Committee in each state, that are of importance to local producers or that have Beltwide importance for all producers.

The NCSSC shall be responsible for assigning these funds on an annual basis to research and promotion proposals that are deemed to meet acceptable criteria as determined by Cotton Incorporated.

Committee Structure – The NCSSC shall consist of voting and non-voting members.

  • Voting members – Voting members shall consist of:
    1. North Carolina producer(s) who serve(s) on the Cotton Incorporated Board of Directors and the national Cotton Board and their alternates;
    2. The president and vice-president of the NC Cotton Producers Association or designee; and,
    3. Two at-large members appointed by the NCCPA that may come from any of the growing regions to balance representation from the different cotton growing regions of the state and is encouraged to include at least one member under the age of 40: and
    4. The Cotton producer members of the NC Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation.
  • Non-Voting members – Non-voting members will serve in an advisory capacity to the NCSSC and shall consist of the following:
    1. The state Cotton Specialist for North Carolina and The Marshall Grant Distinguished Professor in Cotton Extension; and 5. A staff member of Cotton Incorporated, as designated by the same.

Committee Terms – As long as voting and non-voting members meet the requirements in the preceding section dealing with Committee Structure, there shall be no term limits for members of the NCSSC. However, at-large voting members shall serve a two-year term with the term beginning at the annual meeting in which project proposals are presented and voted on by the NCSSC.

Officers – At the end of each annual meeting to review funding proposals, the voting members of the NCSSC shall do the following:

  1. Elect a Chairman – the Chairman shall be a voting member of the NCSSC and will represent the same as needed throughout the year until such time that the subsequent annual meeting to review proposals is convened. The Chairmanship is not subject to term limits. The Chairman will conduct all meetings of the NCSSC during his/her term. The Chairman will also be entrusted with the power to act as an agent, to the best of his /her ability, for the NCSSC during his/her term and to make decisions on behalf of the same in regard to issues with funded projects and any other pertinent matters that may arise during the course of the year; this will include attending meetings as a representative of the NCSSC as needed, to the best of his/her ability. The NCCPA CEO or President may appoint a member to act as chairman for the annual meeting if the Chair and Vice-chair are unable to attend to facilitate preparation for the Annual meeting.

    2.  

  2. Elect a Vice-Chairman – The Vice-Chairman shall fulfill the obligations and responsibilities of the Chairman in his/her absence.

    3.  

  3. Secretary – The secretary will be the NCCPA CEO. If the CEO is not attending the Chairman shall appoint one. The Secretary need not be a voting member of the NCSSC. The secretary shall keep written records of all NCSSC meetings that take place during his/her term and shall distribute copies of these minutes to all voting and non-voting members of the VSSC in a timely fashion and perform any other duties as expected in the fulfilling the role of secretary.

 

Meetings – The NCSSC shall meet no less than annually at a time and place to be determined by the Chairman working in concert with Cotton Incorporated Agricultural Research staff. Notices for the annual meeting shall be transmitted electronically to all members of the NCSSC by the secretary at least one month prior to the meeting. The annual meeting shall be devoted primarily to reviewing and acting upon funding proposals. If he/she deems necessary, the Chairman may call other meetings of the

NCSSC during the year.  Meetings shall be open to other individuals with an interest in North Carolina cotton research, or upon invitation from the Chairman; any such participants shall act only as observers but shall provide input at the request of NCSSC voting members. The NCSSC voting members may enter into executive session only to discuss proposals prior to voting at the request of the Chairman or a simple majority of those voting members present.  

Quorum – A quorum shall consist of those members present and voting. Any and all votes shall be decided by a simple majority with the Chair voting only to break tie votes. Roberts Rules of Order shall be used to conduct the meetings with the exception that the Chair may offer a motion.

Duties and Responsibilities – Voting members of the NCSSC will be responsible for reviewing proposals and voting on funding for these projects, using available funding. The NCSSC is not required to allocate all of its available funding in any given year. Any leftover funds can be carried over to subsequent year. In deciding allocations for funding of project proposals, the NCSSC shall strive to fund meaningful research projects that will aid North Carolina’s cotton industry. The NCSSC may approve project proposals that include other states as cooperators or projects that are regional in nature and will provide research outcomes with benefit for the North Carolina cotton production sector.

Procedure for submitting proposals

Each project submitted to the NCSSC should include a minimum of:

  • Descriptive title of the project
  • Objective
  • Justification / Significance of the Proposed Research
  • Review of related research
  • A basic plan of work for the research, and
  • Budget estimates

 

Activities Eligible for Funding

The primary focus of programs sponsored by the NCSSC should be to improve grower profitability and efficiency through agricultural research.  Program funds should not be used for the purchase of assets unless there is no other way to accomplish the given research project.  Any assets purchased under a project becomes the property of the Cotton Board.

Cotton Incorporated