(a) The governor shall appoint an employee or officer of a state agency as the state demographer from a list submitted by the speaker of the house of representatives and the lieutenant governor.
(b) To be eligible for designation as state demographer, a person must have:
(1) a graduate degree with specialization in demography or a closely related field of study; and
(2) extensive experience in employing demographic and related socioeconomic data for use by legislative, public, and private entities.