A.(1) The Louisiana Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology is hereby created within the Louisiana Department of Health and is subject to the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. 36:803. The board shall consist of seven persons who are residents of this state, and who, except for the consumer member, have been engaged in providing service, or in teaching, or research in speech-language pathology or audiology for at least five years prior to appointment and who are licensed speech-language pathologists or audiologists under this Chapter. At least three of the members shall be practicing audiologists, one of whom shall be a dispensing audiologist, at least three shall be practicing speech-language pathologists, one of whom shall be currently employed in a public school setting, and one shall be a consumer member.

            (2)(a) The consumer member of the board shall possess all of the following qualifications:

            (i) Is a citizen of the United States and has been a resident of Louisiana for at least one year immediately prior to appointment.

            (ii) Has attained the age of majority.

            (iii) Has never been licensed by any of the licensing boards identified in La. Rev. Stat. 36:259(A), nor shall he have a spouse who has ever been licensed by a board identified in La. Rev. Stat. 36:259(A).

            (iv) Has never been convicted of a felony.

            (v) Does not have and has never had a material financial interest in the healthcare profession.

            (vi) Is an individual or a family member or spouse of an individual with a communication disorder.

            (b) The consumer member shall be a full voting member of the board with all rights and privileges conferred on board members, except that the consumer member shall not participate in the grading of individual examinations.

            B. Members of the board shall be appointed by the governor for terms of three years each or until their successors have been appointed.

            C. Appointment to the board shall be made without regard to race or ethnicity, age, religion, national origin, sex, or disability of the appointee. The board shall within not less than thirty days prior to the expiration of each term of office, submit to the governor a list of the names of interested and qualified individuals for each respective category of board member identified through notice to all licensed speech-language pathologists and audiologists in this state, from which the governor shall make his appointment to fill the office for the next succeeding term.

            D. Any vacancy on the board occurring for any cause except the expiration of the term, shall be filled by the governor for the unexpired portion of the term from a list of names of interested and qualified individuals submitted by the board.

            E. No person shall be eligible to serve for more than two consecutive three-year terms. All members appointed by the governor shall be confirmed by the Senate.

            F. There shall be a chair and a vice chair of the board, who shall be elected annually from among the members of the board licensed pursuant to this Chapter. In order to be eligible for these positions, an individual shall have served as a member of the board for a minimum of two years. A chair shall serve no more than three consecutive full years.

            G. Regular meetings of the board shall be held at such times and places as is prescribed and special meetings may be held upon the call of the chair, provided that at least one regular meeting be held each quarter. Meetings may be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order. Four members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the board provided that at least one speech-language pathologist and one audiologist are present.

            H. No member shall be paid any compensation for duties performed as a member of the board, but shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary travel expenses in attending any board meeting within this state and may be reimbursed for all other reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in attending board meetings or on necessary business of the board which is authorized by the board.

            I. No member of the board shall be an officer or hold any leadership position in a state speech-language pathology or audiology professional association for the term of the member’s appointment to the board. For the purposes of this Subsection, “leadership position” shall include but not be limited to an elected or appointed position as a member of the state executive board, service on an ethics committee or membership committee, or other similar positions of the state professional association.

            J. There shall be a secretary-treasurer of the board who shall be elected annually from among the members of the board. The secretary-treasurer shall review financial records and, together with one of the officers of the board, shall co-sign all checks disbursing funds of the board.

            K. The domicile of the board shall be the parish of East Baton Rouge.

            Added by Acts 1972, No. 260, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1973. Amended by Acts 1977, No. 684, §27; Acts 1978, No. 384, §1, eff. July 1, 1979; Acts 1995, No. 892, §2; Acts 2017, No. 302, §1; Acts 2018, No. 515, §2.