(a) The board shall establish rules for its proceedings.

(b) The board may provide, by ordinance or resolution, that each of its members may receive an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) per day for each attendance at a meeting of the board. For purposes of this section, a meeting of the board includes, but is not limited to, closed sessions of the board, board field trips, district public hearings, or meetings of a committee of the board. The maximum compensation allowable to a board member on any given day shall be one hundred dollars ($100). Board members shall not receive compensation for more than six meetings of the board in a calendar month, except that board members of the East Bay Regional Park District may receive compensation for not more than 10 days in any one calendar month. A board member may elect to waive the per diem. In addition, the board may provide, by ordinance or resolution, that each of its members not otherwise eligible for an employer-paid or partially employer-paid group medical or group dental plan, or both, may participate in any of those plans available to permanent employees of the district on the same terms available to those district employees or on terms and conditions as the board may determine. A board member who elects to participate in any plan may also elect to have the premium for the plan charged against his or her per diem and may further elect to waive the balance of the per diem. Commencing January 1, 2019, if the district compensates its members for more than five meetings in a calendar month, the board shall annually adopt a written policy describing, based on a finding supported by substantial evidence, why more than five meetings per month are necessary for the effective operation of the district.

(c) The board of directors, by ordinance adopted pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 20200) of Division 10 of the Water Code, may increase the amount of compensation received for attending meetings of the board.

(d) All vacancies on the board shall be filled in accordance with the requirements of § 1780 of the Government Code, except that, in the case of vacancies caused by the creation of new wards or subdistricts, the directors shall, prior to the vacancies being filled, determine by lot, for the purpose of fixing the terms of the first directors to be elected to the wards or subdistricts, which ward or subdistrict shall have a four-year term and which ward or subdistrict shall have a two-year term. The persons who fill the vacancies caused by the establishment of new wards or subdistricts shall hold office until the next general election and until their successors are elected and qualified for the terms previously determined by lot.

(e) For purposes of this section, the determination of whether a director’s activities on any specific day are compensable shall be made pursuant to Article 2.3 (commencing with Section 53232) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code.

(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 170, Sec. 4. (AB 2329) Effective January 1, 2019.)