§ 110 — Board of registration in midwifery

[ Text of section added by 2024, 186, Sec. 5 effective November 21, 2024.]Section 110. (a) There shall be within the department of public health a board of registration in midwifery, hereinafter called the board. The board shall consist of 9 members who are residents of the commonwealth to be appointed by the governor, 5 of whom shall be midwives licensed under section 293 of chapter 112 with not less than 5 years of experience in the practice of midwifery, 1 of whom shall be an obstetrician-gynecologist licensed to practice medicine under section 2 of said chapter 112 with experience working with midwives, 1 of whom shall be a maternal-fetal medicine specialist licensed to practice medicine under said section 2 of said chapter 112 with experience working with midwives, 1 of whom shall be a certified nurse-midwife licensed under section 80B of said chapter 112 and authorized to practice nurse-midwifery under section 80C of said chapter 112 and 1 of whom shall be a member of the public. When making the appointments to the board, the governor shall consider members with experience working on the issue of racial disparities in maternal health. The appointed members of the board shall serve for terms of 3 years. Upon the expiration of a term of office, a member shall continue to serve until a successor has been appointed and qualified. A member shall not serve for more than 2 consecutive full terms; provided, however, that a person who is chosen to fill a vacancy in an unexpired term of a prior board member may serve for 2 consecutive full terms in addition to the remainder of such unexpired term. A member may be removed by the governor for neglect of duty, misconduct, malfeasance or misfeasance in the office after a written notice of the charges against the member and sufficient opportunity to be heard thereon. Upon the death, resignation or removal for cause of a member of the board, the governor shall fill the vacancy for the remainder of that member's term.(b) Annually, the board shall elect from its membership a chair and a secretary who shall serve until their successors have been elected and qualified. The board shall meet not less than 4 times annually and may hold additional meetings at the call of the chair or upon the request of not less than 5 members. A quorum for the conduct of official business shall be a majority of those appointed. Board members shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for actual and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The members shall be public employees for the purposes of chapter 258 for all acts or omissions within the scope of their duties as board members.