§ 17-89-201 - Creation -- Members.
17-89-201. Creation -- Members.
(a) There is created the Arkansas Board of Dispensing Opticians which shall be responsible for administering the specific duties as set out in this chapter.
(b) (1) The board shall be composed of nine (9) members appointed by the Governor to three-year terms.
(2) (A) Three (3) members of the board shall be practicing licensed or registered dispensing opticians appointed by the Governor from a list of six (6) names submitted to him or her by the Arkansas Association of Dispensing Opticians.
(B) One (1) of the three (3) members shall be an employee of either an Arkansas-licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist.
(3) One (1) member of the Arkansas Board of Dispensing Opticians shall be a member of the State Board of Optometry.
(4) One (1) member of the Arkansas Board of Dispensing Opticians shall be a licensed optometrist appointed by the Governor from a list of three (3) names submitted by the Arkansas Optometric Association.
(5) Two (2) members of the Arkansas Board of Dispensing Opticians shall be licensed ophthalmologists appointed by the Governor from a list of six (6) names submitted by the Ophthalmology Section of the Arkansas Medical Society.
(6) One (1) member of the Arkansas Board of Dispensing Opticians shall be a consumer.
(7) (A) One (1) member of the Arkansas Board of Dispensing Opticians shall represent the elderly.
(B) The representative of the elderly shall:
(i) Be sixty (60) years of age or older;
(ii) Not be actively engaged in or retired from the profession of ophthalmic dispensing;
(iii) Be appointed from the state at large, subject to confirmation by the Senate; and
(iv) Be a full voting member but shall not participate in grading examinations.
(c) The consumer board member position and the representative of the elderly position may not be filled by the same person.
(d) Terms shall begin on the first day of the fiscal year and end on the last day of the fiscal year when the term expires.
(e) (1) In the event of a vacancy during a board member's term, the Governor shall appoint a person to fill that vacancy.
(2) If the vacating member was an optician, the Governor shall make his or her selection from a list of three (3) names submitted by the opticians association.
(3) If the vacating member was an optometrist, the Governor shall make his or her selection from a list of three (3) names submitted by the President of the State Board of Optometry.
(4) If the vacating member was an ophthalmologist, the Governor shall make his or her selection from a list of three (3) names submitted by the Ophthalmology Section of the Arkansas Medical Society.
(f) Board members may receive expense reimbursement and stipends in accordance with 25-16-901 et seq.