§ 1351 - Board of medical practice
§ 1351. Board of medical practice
(a) A state board of medical practice is created. The board shall be composed of 17 members, nine of whom shall be licensed physicians, one of whom shall be a physician's assistant certified pursuant to chapter 31 of this title, one of whom shall be a podiatrist as described in section 322 of this title, and six of whom shall be persons not associated with the medical field. The governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint the members of the board. Appointments shall be for a term of five years, except that a vacancy occurring during a term shall be filled by an appointment by the governor for the unexpired term. No member shall be appointed to more than two consecutive full terms, but a member appointed for less than a full term (originally or to fill a vacancy) may serve two full terms in addition to such part of a full term, and a former member shall again be eligible for appointment after a lapse of one or more years. Any member of the board may be removed by the governor at any time. The board shall elect from its members a chair, vice chair and secretary who shall serve for one year and until their successors are appointed and qualified. The board shall meet upon the call of the chair or the commissioner of health, or at such other times and places as the board may determine. Except as provided in section 1360 of this title, nine members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The affirmative vote of the majority of the members present shall be required to carry any motion or resolution, to adopt any rule, to pass any measure or to authorize any decision or order of the board.
(b) In the performance of their duties members of the board shall be paid $30.00 per diem and their actual and necessary expenses.
(c) The board of medical practice is established as an office within the department of health. With respect to the board, the commissioner shall have the following powers and duties to:
(1) appoint a director of the office;
(2) employ or contract for legal counsel and such assistants as may be required, to fix the compensation to be paid for these services, and to incur such other expenses as the commissioner determines are necessary;
(3) employ, contract or make arrangements for the performance of administrative, investigative and similar services required or appropriate in the performance of the duties of the board;
(4) act as custodian of the records of the board; and
(5) prepare an annual budget and administer money appropriated to the board by the general assembly. The budget of the board shall be part of the budget of the department. A board of medical practice regulatory fee fund is created. All board regulatory fees received by the department shall be deposited into this fund and used to offset up to two years of the costs incurred by the board, and shall not be used for any purpose other than professional regulation and responsibilities of the board, as determined by the commissioner of health. To ensure that revenues derived by the department are adequate to offset the cost of regulation, the commissioner shall review fees from time to time, and present proposed fee changes to the general assembly.
(d) The commissioner of health shall appoint, and may terminate the employment of, the director, administrative support staff, and any investigator or private legal counsel employed or retained by the board.
(e) The commissioner of health shall adopt, amend and repeal rules of the board which the commissioner determines necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter and chapters 7, 29, and 31 of this title.
(f) Classified state employees who are employed as investigators by the department of health who have successfully met the standards of training for a full-time law enforcement officer under chapter 151 of Title 20 shall have the same powers as sheriffs in criminal matters and the enforcement of the law and in serving criminal process, and shall have all the immunities and matters of defense now available or hereafter made available to sheriffs in a suit brought against them in consequence for acts done in the course of their employment. (Amended 1969, No. 187 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1975, No. 249 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1977, No. 91, § 1, eff. May 5, 1977; 1981, No. 100, § 12; 1985, No. 208 (Adj. Sess.), § 18, eff. June 30, 1986; 1989, No. 102, § 1; 1989, No. 250 (Adj. Sess.), § 92; 2001, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 21, eff. June 13, 2002; No. 132 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. June 13, 2002; 2003, No. 34, § 6, eff. May 23, 2003; 2003, No. 122 (Adj. Sess.), § 117a.)