(a)        Establishment of Board. – The North Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy is created. The Board shall consist of seven members who are appointed by the Governor and are residents of this State at the time of and during their appointment, as follows:

(1)        Three members shall be occupational therapists and one member shall be an occupational therapy assistant. Each of these members shall be licensed to practice in North Carolina and have practiced, taught, or engaged in research in occupational therapy for at least three of the five years immediately preceding appointment to the Board.

(2)        One member shall be a physician in good standing with the North Carolina Medical Board and licensed by and registered with the North Carolina Medical Board to practice medicine in this State.

(3)        One member shall represent the public at large and shall be a person who is not a health care provider licensed under this Chapter or the spouse of a licensed health care provider.

(4)        One member shall be a counselor, educator, or school-based professional certified or licensed under North Carolina law who is employed in the North Carolina public school system and is not an occupational therapist or an occupational therapy assistant.

The occupational therapist members and the occupational therapy assistant member shall be nominated by the North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association, Inc., following the use of a procedure made available to all occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants licensed and residing in North Carolina. In soliciting nominations and compiling its list, the Association shall give consideration to geographic distribution, clinical specialty, and other factors that will promote representation of all aspects of occupational therapy practice. The records of the nomination procedures shall be filed with the Board and made available for a period of six months following nomination for reasonable inspection by any licensed practitioner of occupational therapy.

The physician member shall be nominated by the North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association, Inc., after consultation with the North Carolina Medical Society. The counselor, educator, or school-based professional member shall be nominated by the North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association, Inc., after consultation with the North Carolina School Counselors Association.

(b)        Terms. – Members of the Board shall serve four-year staggered terms. No member shall serve more than two consecutive four-year terms, unless a member is appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term, then that member may complete the unexpired term and serve one additional four-year term.

(c)        Vacancies. – In the event a member of the Board cannot complete a term of office, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the Governor, in accordance with the procedures set forth in this section, for the remainder of the unexpired term. Vacancies shall be filled by the Governor within 45 days of receipt of the nominations from the North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association, Inc., or, in the case of public members, within 45 days of the receipt of notice of vacancy.

(d)       Removal. – The Board may remove any of its members for neglect of duty, incompetence, or unprofessional conduct. A member subject to disciplinary proceedings shall be disqualified from participating in Board business until the charges are resolved.

(e)        Meetings. – Each year the Board shall meet and designate a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, and a secretary-treasurer from among its members. The Board may hold additional meetings upon call of the chairperson or any two board members. A majority of the Board membership shall constitute a quorum.

(f)        Compensation. – Members of the Board shall receive no compensation for their services, but shall be entitled to travel, per diem, and other expenses authorized by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 93B-5 (1983 (Reg. Sess., 1984), c. 1073, s. 1; 1989, c. 256, s. 2; 2005-432, s. 3.)