43-1903.

Nebraska Child Abuse Prevention Fund Board; created; members; terms; vacancies; officers; expenses; removal.

(1) There is hereby created within the department the Nebraska Child Abuse Prevention Fund Board which shall be composed of nine members as follows: Two representatives of the Department of Health and Human Services appointed by the chief executive officer and seven members to be appointed by the Governor with the approval of the Legislature. The Governor shall appoint two members from each of the three congressional districts and one member from the state at large. As a group, the appointed board members (a) shall demonstrate knowledge in the area of child abuse and neglect prevention, (b) shall be representative of the demographic composition of this state, and (c) to the extent practicable, shall be representative of all of the following categories (i) the business community, (ii) the religious community, (iii) the legal community, (iv) professional providers of child abuse and neglect prevention services, and (v) volunteers in child abuse and neglect prevention services.

(2) The term of each appointed board member shall be three years, except that of the board members first appointed, two, including the at-large member, shall serve for three years, three shall serve for two years, and two shall serve for one year. The Governor shall designate the term which each of the members first appointed shall serve when he or she makes the appointments. An appointed board member shall not serve more than two consecutive terms whether partial or full. A vacancy shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment.

(3) The board shall elect a chairperson from among the appointed board members who shall serve for a term of two years. The board may elect the other officers and establish committees as it deems appropriate.

(4) The members of the board shall not receive any compensation for their services but shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in sections 81-1174 to 81-1177. The reimbursement shall be paid from the fund. In any one fiscal year, no more than five percent of the annually available funds as provided in section 43-1906 shall be used for the purpose of reimbursement of board members.

(5) Any board member may be removed by the Governor for misconduct, incompetency, or neglect of duty after first being given the opportunity to be heard in his or her own behalf.