(a)      A body corporate and politic, to be known as "The Maryland Food Center Authority" is created to be an instrumentality of the State of Maryland and a public corporation by that name, style and title. It may contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, and complain and defend in all courts.

      (b)      The Authority consists of 12 members, all of whom shall be citizens of the State, one of whom shall be a resident of Howard County. The Director of Agricultural Extension, State of Maryland, the Comptroller of the State, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of General Services shall be ex officio members, and the tenure of their office shall coincide with the terms for which they hold the designated offices. In the event of a vacancy in any of the ex officio offices, the seat on the Authority is to be taken by the interim or permanent successor.

      The Governor of the State of Maryland, with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint 5 members who shall be outstanding citizens of the State. Each member, excluding the ex officio members, shall be appointed for a term of five years from the dates of expiration of the member's respective term of office, except that any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve only for the unexpired term. Any member of the Authority is eligible for reappointment. The Governor, after notice in writing to a member 30 days in advance of the action, may remove any member other than the ex officio members for inefficiency, neglect, or misconduct. Any member so notified shall be entitled to a hearing before the Governor, provided that request for a hearing be made in writing to the Governor not later than ten days after receipt of the notice. In the event of removal the Governor shall promptly appoint a successor.

      (c)      Immediately after appointment, the members of the Authority shall enter upon their duties. The Authority shall elect one of its members as chairman and another as vice-chairman, and it shall also elect a secretary-treasurer, who may or may not be a member of the Authority. Seven members of the Authority constitute a quorum. Action shall be by majority vote, each member, including ex officio members, being entitled to one vote. No vacancy in the Authority impairs the right of a quorum to exercise all of the rights and perform all of the duties of the Authority. The members of the Authority shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred in the performance of their duties in accordance with the Standard State Travel Regulations. Members other than ex officio may be paid such per diem compensation for their services, not exceeding $1,000 each year, as the Authority may establish. However, the reimbursement shall be made and the compensation shall be paid solely from funds provided under the authority of this subtitle.

      (d)      Meetings of the Authority shall be held at least quarterly and shall be called by written notice to each member at least ten days in advance of the meeting. The Authority shall make necessary rules and regulations for its own government. The Authority may delegate to one or more of its members, or to its officers, agents, and employees, whatever powers and duties it deems proper, but no contract is binding on the Authority unless approved or authorized by a majority of the members of the Authority.