(1) The board shall have seventeen members appointed by the Governor with the approval of a majority of the Legislature. The appointees may begin to serve immediately following appointment and prior to approval by the Legislature.

(2)(a) Seven members of the board shall be active emergency care providers at the time of and for the duration of their appointment, and each shall have at least five years of experience in his or her level of licensure at the time of his or her appointment or reappointment. Of the seven members who are emergency care providers, two shall be emergency medical responders, two shall be emergency medical technicians, one shall be an advanced emergency medical technician, and two shall be paramedics.

(b) Three of the members shall be qualified physicians actively involved in emergency medical care. At least one of the physician members shall be a board-certified emergency physician, and at least one of the physician members shall specialize in pediatrics.

(c) Five members shall be appointed to include one member who is a representative of an approved training agency, one member who is a physician assistant with at least five years of experience and active in emergency medical care education, one member who is a registered nurse with at least five years of experience and active in emergency medical care education, and two public members who meet the requirements of section 38-165 and who have an expressed interest in the provision of emergency medical care.

(d) The remaining two members shall have any of the qualifications listed in subdivision (a), (b), or (c) of this subsection.

(e) In addition to any other criteria for appointment, among the members of the board appointed after January 1, 2017, there shall be at least three members who are volunteer emergency medical care providers, at least one member who is a paid emergency medical care provider, at least one member who is a firefighter, at least one member who is a law enforcement officer, and at least one member who is active in the Critical Incident Stress Management Program. If a person appointed to the board is qualified to serve as a member in more than one capacity, all qualifications of such person shall be taken into consideration to determine whether or not the diversity in qualifications required in this subsection has been met.

(f) At least five members of the board shall be appointed from each congressional district, and at least one of such members shall be a physician member described in subdivision (b) of this subsection.

(3) Members shall serve five-year terms beginning on December 1 and may serve for any number of such terms. The terms of the members of the board appointed prior to December 1, 2008, shall be extended by two years and until December 1 of such year. Each member shall hold office until the expiration of his or her term. Any vacancy in membership, other than by expiration of a term, shall be filled within ninety days by the Governor by appointment as provided in subsection (2) of this section.

(4) Special meetings of the board may be called by the department or upon the written request of any six members of the board explaining the reason for such meeting. The place of the meetings shall be set by the department.

(5) The Governor upon recommendation of the department shall have power to remove from office at any time any member of the board for physical or mental incapacity to carry out the duties of a board member, for continued neglect of duty, for incompetency, for acting beyond the individual member's scope of authority, for malfeasance in office, for any cause for which a professional credential may be suspended or revoked pursuant to the Uniform Credentialing Act, or for a lack of license required by the Emergency Medical Services Practice Act.

(6) Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section and notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, a member of the board who changes his or her licensure classification after appointment or has a licensure classification which is terminated under section 38-1207.02 or 38-1217 when such licensure classification was a qualification for appointment shall be permitted to continue to serve as a member of the board until the expiration of his or her term.