(a) Officers. - The North Carolina Mining Commission shall have a chair and a vice-chair. The chair shall be designated by the Governor from among the members of the Commission to serve as chair at the pleasure of the Governor. The vice-chair shall be elected by and from the members of the Commission and shall serve for a term of two years or until the expiration of the vice-chair’s regularly appointed term.
(b) Alternate Leadership in Absence of Chair Designation. - If the Governor has not designated a chair by July 1 of the year following the expiration of the term of the previous chair, then the vice-chair shall exercise the powers and duties of the chair until the Governor designates a chair or the expiration of the vice-chair’s regularly appointed term, whichever first occurs. Upon the expiration of the vice-chair’s regularly appointed term, the Commission shall elect a new vice-chair in the manner described in subsection (a) of this section who shall act as chair as set forth in this subsection until the Governor designates a chair as set forth in subsection (a) of this section.