University boards of trustees; membership.

(1) Pursuant to s. 7(c), Art. IX of the State Constitution, each local constituent university shall be administered by a university board of trustees comprised of 13 members as follows: 6 citizen members appointed by the Governor subject to confirmation by the Senate; 5 citizen members appointed by the Board of Governors subject to confirmation by the Senate; the chair of the faculty senate or the equivalent; and the president of the student body of the university. The appointed members shall serve staggered 5-year terms. In order to achieve staggered terms, beginning July 1, 2003, of the initial appointments by the Governor, 2 members shall serve 2-year terms, 3 members shall serve 3-year terms, and 1 member shall serve a 5-year term and of the initial appointments by the Board of Governors, 2 members shall serve 2-year terms, 2 members shall serve 3-year terms, and 1 member shall serve a 5-year term. There shall be no state residency requirement for university board members, but the Governor and the Board of Governors shall consider diversity and regional representation. Beginning July 2, 2020, for purposes of this subsection, regional representation shall include the chair of a campus board established pursuant to s. 1004.341.

(2) Members of the boards of trustees shall receive no compensation but may be reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses as provided in s. 112.061. A member is subject to s. 112.313 with respect to business dealings with the university, including any entity under the control of or established for the benefit of the state university under his or her purview while he or she is a member of that state university’s board of trustees.

(3) University boards of trustees are a part of the executive branch of state government.

(4) Each university board of trustees shall select its chair and vice chair from the appointed members. Each chair shall serve for 2 years and may be reselected for one additional consecutive 2-year term, except that, for each additional consecutive term beyond two terms, by a two-thirds vote, the board of trustees may reselect the chair for additional consecutive 2-year terms. The chair shall preside at all meetings of the board of trustees and may call special meetings of the board. The chair shall also attest to actions of the board of trustees. The chair shall notify the Governor or the Board of Governors, as applicable, in writing whenever a board member has three consecutive unexcused absences from regular board meetings in any fiscal year, which may be grounds for removal by the Governor or the Board of Governors, as applicable.

(5) Each university board of trustees shall keep and, within 2 weeks after a board meeting, post prominently on the university’s website detailed meeting minutes for all meetings, including the vote history and attendance of each trustee. The Board of Governors shall adopt regulations to implement this subsection.