§ 90‑113.32. Board; composition; voting.

(a) The North Carolina Addictions Specialist Professional Practice Board is created as the authority to credential substance use disorder professionals in North Carolina.

(b) Repealed by Session Laws 2008‑130, s. 2, effective July 28, 2008.

(c1) Every member of the Board shall have the right to vote on all matters before the Board, except for the chair who shall vote only in case of a tie or when another member of the Board abstains on the question of whether the professional discipline the member represents shall retain its deemed status.

(c2) The Board shall consist of nine members appointed as follows:

(1) Two members appointed by the General Assembly, upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, each of whom shall be licensed or certified in accordance with this Article. In making the appointments, the Speaker shall consider the ethnicity and gender of the Board's members in order to reflect the composition of the State's population and shall consider the experience and knowledge of the drug and alcohol recovery community when selecting members to serve on the Board.

(2) Two members appointed by the General Assembly, upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, each of whom shall be licensed or certified in accordance with this Article. In making the appointments, the President Pro Tempore shall consider the ethnicity and gender of the Board's members in order to reflect the composition of the State's population and shall consider the experience and knowledge of the drug and alcohol recovery community when selecting members to serve on the Board.

(3) Five members appointed by the Governor as follows:

a. Two members licensed or certified in accordance with this Article. In making the appointments, the Governor shall consider the ethnicity and gender of the Board's members in order to reflect the composition of the State's population and shall consider the experience and knowledge of the drug and alcohol recovery community when selecting members to serve on the Board.

b. Two members of the public who are not licensed or certified under this Article.

c. One member who is licensed or certified under this Article, selected from the allied mental health, substance use disorder and developmental disabilities treatment and prevention profession, previously known as deemed status professions.

(4) All members of the Board shall be residents of the State of North Carolina, and except for the public members, shall be certified or licensed by the Board under the provisions of this Article. Professional members of the Board must be actively engaged in the practice of substance use disorder counseling or prevention or in the education and training of students in substance use disorder counseling and have been for at least three years prior to their appointment to the Board. Practice during the two years preceding the appointment shall have occurred primarily in this State.

(d) Repealed by Session Laws 2019‑240, s. 5(e), effective July 1, 2020.

(e) Members of the Board shall serve for three‑year terms. No Board member shall serve for more than two consecutive terms, but a person who has been a member for two consecutive terms may be reappointed after being off the Board for a period of at least one year.

(e1) Initial members of the Board shall serve staggered terms. The members identified in subdivision (1) of subsection (c2) and sub‑subdivision (3)c. of subsection (c2) of this section shall be appointed initially for a term of one year. The members identified in subdivision (2) of subsection (c2) of this section shall be appointed initially for a term of two years. The members identified in sub‑subdivisions (3)a. and (3)b. of subsection (c2) of this section shall be appointed initially for a term of three years.

At the end of their respective terms of office, their successors shall be appointed for terms of three years, effective July 1. A vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term of office shall be filled in the same manner as original appointments for the remainder of the term.

(f) If a member becomes ineligible to serve on the Board for any reason, except when the member has committed an ethical violation that results in the suspension or revocation of the member's professional credentials, that member may fulfill the remainder of his or her term on the Board.

(g) A Board member may not receive compensation but may receive reimbursement as provided in G.S. 93B‑5. The officers of the Board include a chair, a secretary, and any other officer deemed necessary by the Board to carry out the purposes of this Article. All officers shall be elected annually by the Board at its first meeting held after appointments are made to the Board. The Board shall hold a meeting within 45 days after the appointment of new Board members. All officers shall serve one‑year terms and shall serve until their successors are elected and qualified. No person shall chair the Board for more than four consecutive years. The Board may adopt rules governing the calling, holding, and conducting of regular and special meetings. A majority of Board members constitutes a quorum. (1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 685, s. 1; c. 773, s. 15.2(a), (b); 1997‑443, s. 11A.118(a); 1997‑492, s. 3; 1999‑164, ss. 2‑4; 2005‑431, s. 1; 2008‑130, ss. 2, 3; 2019‑240, s. 5(a)‑(h).)