Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services; membership; appointment; terms.

(1) The Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services is created within the Department of Financial Services and shall consist of 10 members, 9 of whom shall be appointed by the Chief Financial Officer and confirmed by the Senate. One member must be the State Health Officer or her or his designee.

(2) Two members of the board must be funeral directors licensed under part III of this chapter who are associated with a funeral establishment. One member of the board must be a funeral director licensed under part III of this chapter who is associated with a funeral establishment licensed under part III of this chapter which has a valid preneed license issued pursuant to this chapter. Two members of the board must be persons whose primary occupation is associated with a cemetery company licensed pursuant to this chapter. Two members of the board must be consumers who are residents of this state, have never been licensed as funeral directors or embalmers, are not connected with a cemetery or cemetery company licensed pursuant to this chapter, and are not connected with the death care industry or the practice of embalming, funeral directing, or direct disposition. One of the two consumer members must be at least 60 years of age. One member of the board must be a consumer who is a resident of this state; is licensed as a certified public accountant under chapter 473; has never been licensed as a funeral director or an embalmer; is not a principal or an employee of any licensee licensed under this chapter; and does not otherwise have control, as defined in s. 497.005, over any licensee licensed under this chapter. One member of the board must be a principal of a monument establishment licensed under this chapter as a monument builder. One member must be the State Health Officer or her or his designee. There may not be two or more board members who are principals or employees of the same company or partnership or group of companies or partnerships under common control.

(3) Board members shall be appointed for terms of 4 years and may be reappointed; however, a member may not serve for more than 8 consecutive years. The State Health Officer shall serve as long as that person holds that office. The designee of the State Health Officer shall serve at the pleasure of the Chief Financial Officer.

(4) The Chief Financial Officer may remove any board member for malfeasance or misfeasance, neglect of duty, incompetence, substantial inability to perform official duties, commission of a crime, or other substantial cause as determined by the Chief Financial Officer to evidence a lack of fitness to sit on the board. A board member shall be deemed to have resigned her or his board membership, and that position shall be deemed vacant, upon the failure of the member to attend three consecutive meetings of the board or at least half of the meetings of the board during any 12-month period, unless the Chief Financial Officer determines that there was good and adequate justification for the absences and that such absences are not likely to continue. Any vacancy so created shall be filled as provided in subsection (1).

(5) A current or former board member is exempt from any civil liability for any act or omission when acting in good faith in her or his official capacity, and the Department of Legal Affairs and the Division of Risk Management shall defend such board member in any civil action against such person arising from any such act or omission.

(6) The board shall maintain its headquarters and records in the Division of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services of the Department of Financial Services in the City of Tallahassee. The board may be contacted through the Division of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services of the Department of Financial Services in the City of Tallahassee. The Chief Financial Officer shall annually appoint from among the board members a chair and vice chair of the board. The board shall meet at least every 6 months, and more often as necessary. Special meetings of the board shall be convened upon the direction of the Chief Financial Officer. A quorum is necessary for the conduct of business by the board. The participation by a board member in a meeting conducted through communications media technology constitutes that individual’s presence at such meeting. Board members appearing at a board meeting in person as well as board members appearing through the use of communications media technology shall be counted for the determination of a quorum. As used in this subsection, “communications media technology” means the electronic transmission of printed matter, audio, full-motion video, freeze-frame video, compressed video, and digital video by any method available. Unless otherwise provided by law, six board members shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of the board’s business.

(7) Members of the board are subject to the code of ethics under part III of chapter 112. For purposes of applying part III of chapter 112 to activities of the members of the board, those persons are considered public officers, and the department is considered their agency. A board member may not vote on any measure that would inure to his or her special private gain or loss and, in accordance with s. 112.3143(2), may not vote on any measure that he or she knows would inure to the special private gain or loss of any principal by which he or she is retained, other than an agency as defined in s. 112.312; or that he or she knows would inure to the special private gain or loss of his or her relative or business associate. Before the vote is taken, such member shall publicly state to the board the nature of his or her interest in the matter from which he or she is abstaining from voting and, within 15 days after the vote occurs, disclose the nature of his or her interest as a public record in a memorandum filed with the person responsible for recording the minutes of the meeting, who shall incorporate the memorandum in the minutes.

(8) In accordance with ss. 112.3148 and 112.3149, a board member may not knowingly accept, directly or indirectly, any gift or expenditure from a person or entity, or an employee or representative of such person or entity, which has a contractual relationship with the department or the board, which is under consideration for a contract, or which is licensed by the department.

(9) A board member who fails to comply with subsection (7) or subsection (8) is subject to the penalties provided under ss. 112.317 and 112.3173.

(10)(a) All meetings of the board are subject to the requirements of s. 286.011, and all books and records of the board are open to the public for reasonable inspection except as otherwise provided by s. 497.172 or other applicable law.

(b) Except for emergency meetings, the department shall give notice of any board meeting by publication on the department’s website at least 7 days before the meeting. The department shall publish a meeting agenda on its website at least 7 days before the meeting. The agenda must contain the items to be considered in order of presentation. After the agenda has been made available, a change may be made only for good cause, as determined by the person designated to preside, and must be stated in the record. Notification of such change must be at the earliest practicable time.

(11) A board member shall be compensated $50 for each day the member attends an official meeting and each day the member participates at the request of the board’s executive director in any other business involving the board. To the extent authorized by s. 112.061, a board member is entitled to reimbursement for expenses incurred in connection with official duties. Out-of-state travel by board members on official business shall, in each specific instance, require the advance approval of the board’s executive director in order for the travel to be eligible for reimbursement of expenses.