1.    The early childhood services advisory board is composed of seven members appointed by the commissioner of the department. The members of the board must include a broad-based geographically distributed membership. The term of office is four years expiring on July thirty-first with no more than two terms expiring in any one year. A vacancy occurring other than by reason of the expiration of a term must be filled in the same manner as the original appointment, except that the appointment may be made for only the remainder of the unexpired term. The members are entitled to be paid for mileage and expenses incurred in attending meetings and in performance of their official duties in amounts provided by law for other state officers and employees. A member also is entitled to be reimbursed up to two hundred dollars per day for the expenses incurred by the member which relate to the hiring of a substitute provider or staff in order that the member may attend meetings and perform the member’s official duties.

2.    The early childhood services advisory board shall:

a.    Advise the department each time the department reviews early childhood services rules; b.    Upon the completion of the department’s review, with the assistance of the department, conduct an analysis of and make recommendations to the department regarding the department’s review of the early childhood services rules, however, final approval of any administrative rule changes must be completed through the administrative rulemaking process set forth in chapter 28-32; and

c.    On an ongoing basis, make recommendations to the department regarding changes    and    revisions    to    the    early    childhood    services    rules.    The recommendations, the goal of which is to streamline and improve the quality of the early childhood services process, must seek to balance the need for rules that ensure safe quality child care with the need to revise or eliminate rules that create unnecessary barriers for providers.