§ 90-202.4.  Board of Podiatry Examiners; terms of office; powers; duties.

(a) There shall be established a Board of Podiatry Examiners for the State of North Carolina. This Board shall consist of four members appointed by the Governor. Three of the members shall be licensed podiatrists who have practiced podiatry in North Carolina for not less than seven years immediately preceding their election and who are elected and nominated to the Governor as hereinafter provided. The other member shall be a person chosen by the Governor to represent the public at large. The public member shall not be a health care provider nor may he or she be the spouse of a health care provider. For purposes of Board membership, "health care provider" means any licensed health care professional and any agent or employee of any health care institution, health care insurer, health care professional school, or a member of any allied health profession. For purposes of this section, a person enrolled in a program to prepare him to be a licensed health care professional or an allied health professional shall be deemed a health care provider. For purposes of this section, any person with significant financial interest in a health service or profession is not a public member.

(b) All Board members serving on June 30, 1981, shall be eligible to complete their respective terms. No member appointed to the Board on or after July 1, 1981, shall serve more than two complete consecutive three-year terms, except that each member shall serve until his successor is chosen and qualified.

(c) Podiatrist members chosen as provided for in subsection (d) shall be selected upon the expiration of the respective terms of the members of the present Board of Podiatry Examiners. Membership on the Board resulting from appointment before July 1, 1981, shall not be considered in determining the permissible length of service under subsection (b). The Governor shall appoint the public member not later than July 1, 1981.

(d) The Governor shall appoint podiatrist members of the Board from a list provided by the Board of Podiatry Examiners. For each vacancy, the Board shall submit at least two names to the Governor. All nominations of podiatrist members of the Board shall be conducted by the Board of Podiatry Examiners, which is hereby constituted a Board of Podiatry Elections. Every podiatrist with a current North Carolina license residing in this State shall be eligible to vote in all elections. The list of licensed podiatrists shall constitute the registration list for elections. The Board of Podiatry Elections is authorized to make rules relative to the conduct of these elections, provided such rules are not in conflict with the provisions of this section and provided that notice shall be given to all licensed podiatrists residing in North Carolina. All such rules shall be adopted subject to the procedures of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes of North Carolina. From any decision of the Board of Podiatry Elections relative to the conduct of such elections, appeal may be taken to the courts in the manner provided by Chapter 150B of the General Statutes.

(e) Any initial or regular member of the Board may be removed from office by the Governor for good cause shown. Any vacancy in the initial or regular podiatrist membership of the Board shall be filled for the period of the unexpired term by the Governor from a list of at least two names submitted by the podiatrist members of the Board. Any vacancy in the public membership of the Board shall be filled by the Governor for the unexpired term.

(f) The Board is authorized to elect its own presiding and other officers.

(g) The Board, in carrying out its responsibilities, shall have authority to employ personnel, full-time or part-time, as shall be determined to be necessary in the work of the Board. The Board shall have authority to pay compensation to the member of the Board holding the position of secretary-treasurer on a basis to be determined by the Board; Provided that in the event the positions of secretary and treasurer are not combined but are held by different members of the Board, the Board shall have authority to pay compensation to the member holding the position of secretary and to the member holding the position of treasurer, if the Board so chooses, on a basis to be determined by the Board. The Board is required to keep proper and complete records with respect to all of its activities, financial and otherwise, and shall on or before January 30 of each year submit a written report to the Governor and to such other officials and/or agencies as other sections of the General Statutes may require, said report covering the activities of the Board during the previous calendar year, which report shall include a verified financial statement. The Board is authorized to adopt rules and regulations governing its proceedings and the practice of podiatry in this State, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Article. The Board shall maintain at all times an up-to-date list of the names and addresses of each licensed podiatrist in North Carolina, which list shall be available for inspection and which shall be included in the annual report referred to above. (1919, c. 78, s. 3; C.S., s. 6765; 1963, c. 1195, s. 2; 1967, c. 1217, s. 3; 1975, c. 672, s. 1; 1981, c. 659, s. 1; 1983, c. 217, ss. 1-4; 1987, c. 827, s. 1.)