ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERSHIP.

(a) The advisory board consists of nine members appointed by the presiding officer of the commission with the approval of the commission as follows:

(1) three audiologist members;

(2) three speech-language pathologist members; and

(3) three members who represent the public.

(b) Advisory board members must:

(1) be from the various geographic regions of the state; and

(2) be from varying employment settings.

(c) The advisory board members appointed under Subsections (a)(1) and (2) must:

(1) have been engaged in teaching, research, or providing services in speech-language pathology or audiology for at least five years; and

(2) be licensed under this chapter.

(d) One of the public advisory board members must be a physician licensed in this state and certified in otolaryngology or pediatrics.

(e) Appointments to the advisory board shall be made without regard to the race, creed, sex, religion, or national origin of the appointee.