(a) The State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators shall consist of fifteen members as follows: six members shall be nursing home administrators, (two from not-for-profit facilities, two from operated-for-profit facilities and two from county facilities); three members who have been actively involved with the care of chronically ill and infirm aged patients and who represent professions or occupations other than nursing home administration, such as medicine, nursing or hospital administration; three members representative of the consumer; and the Secretary of Health, or his designee, the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Office of Attorney General, or his designee, and the Commissioner of Professional and Occupational Affairs. No more than three professional members of the board shall be officials or full-time employes of State or local governments. No non-institutional member of the board shall have any financial interest in any nursing home. All members of the board shall be citizens of the United States and shall be residents of this Commonwealth.

(b) Hereafter, the term of office of each member shall be four years from his appointment, or until his successor has been appointed and qualified, but no longer than six months beyond the four-year period. In the event that any member shall die or resign or otherwise become disqualified during his term of office, his successor shall be appointed in the same way and with the same qualifications as above set forth and shall hold office for the unexpired term. No member shall be eligible for appointment to serve more than two consecutive full terms.

(c) Appointments to the board shall be made by the Governor, by and with the consent of a majority of the members elected to the Senate. The Governor may remove any member for misconduct, incapacity, incompetence or neglect of duty after the member so charged has been served with a written statement of charges and has been given an opportunity to be heard.

(d) the professional and public members of the board shall receive sixty dollars ($60) per diem when actually engaged in the transaction of official business. Members shall receive, in addition, the amount of reasonable travel, hotel and other necessary expenses incurred in performing their duties for the board.

(e) The board, with the approval of the Commissioner of Professional and Occupational Affairs, may employ and fix the compensation and duties of necessary personnel to assist it in the performance of its duties.

(f) The board shall elect annually from its membership a chairman, vice-chairman and secretary.

(g) The board shall hold two or more meetings each year. At any meeting a majority of those members appointed and qualified shall constitute a quorum. A member may not be counted as part of a quorum or vote on any issue, other than temporary and automatic suspension under section 8.1,¹ unless he is physically in attendance at the meeting. A member of the board who fails to attend three consecutive meetings shall forfeit his seat unless the Commissioner of Professional and Occupational Affairs, upon written request from the member, finds that the member should be excused from a meeting because of illness or the death of a family member. A public member who fails to attend two consecutive statutorily mandated training seminars in accordance with section 813(e) of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L. 177, No. 175),² known as “The Administrative Code of 1929,” shall forfeit board membership unless the Commissioner of Professional and Occupational Affairs, upon written request from the public member, finds that the public member should be excused from a meeting because of illness or the death of a family member.

(h) Public notice of meetings of the board shall be given and meetings of the board shall be conducted in accordance with the act of July 19, 1974 (P.L. 486, No. 175),³ referred to as the Public Agency Open Meeting Law.