Vermont § 1351 - Board of Medical Practice

§ 1351. Board of Medical Practice

• (a) The Board of Medical Practice is created. The Board shall be composed of 17 members,
  nine of whom shall be licensed physicians, one of whom shall be a physician assistant
  licensed pursuant to chapter 31 of this title, one of whom shall be a podiatrist licensed
  pursuant to chapter 7 of this title, and six of whom shall be persons not associated
  with the medical field. The Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall
  appoint the members of the Board. Appointments shall be for a term of five years,
  except that a vacancy occurring during a term shall be filled by an appointment by
  the Governor for the unexpired term. No member shall be appointed to more than two
  consecutive full terms, but a member appointed for less than a full term, originally
  or to fill a vacancy, may serve two full terms in addition to such part of a full
  term, and a former member shall again be eligible for appointment after a lapse of
  one or more years. Any member of the Board may be removed by the Governor at any time.
  The Board shall elect from its members a chair, vice chair, and secretary who shall
  serve for one year and until their successors are appointed and qualified. The Board
  shall meet upon the call of the Chair or the Commissioner of Health, or at such other
  times and places as the Board may determine. Except as otherwise provided in sections 1372, 1373, and 1374 of this title, nine members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
  The affirmative vote of the majority of the members present and voting shall be required
  to carry any motion or resolution, to adopt any rule, to pass any measure, or to authorize
  any decision or order of the Board. (b) In the performance of their duties, members of the Board shall be paid a per diem
  and their actual and necessary expenses as provided by 32 V.S.A. § 1010(b). (c) The Board of Medical Practice is established as an office within the Department of
  Health. With respect to the Board, the Commissioner shall have the following powers
  and duties to: (1) Appoint a director of the office. (2) Employ or contract for legal counsel and such assistants as may be required, to fix
  the compensation to be paid for these services, and to incur such other expenses as
  the Commissioner determines are necessary. (3) Employ, contract, or make arrangements for the performance of administrative, investigative,
  and similar services required or appropriate in the performance of the duties of the
  Board. (4) Act as custodian of the records of the Board. (5) Prepare an annual budget and administer money appropriated to the Board by the General
  Assembly. The budget of the Board shall be part of the budget of the Department. A
  Board of Medical Practice Regulatory Fee Fund is created. All Board regulatory fees
  received by the Department shall be deposited into this Fund and used to offset up
  to two years of the costs incurred by the Board, and shall not be used for any purpose
  other than professional regulation and responsibilities of the Board, as determined
  by the Commissioner of Health. To ensure that revenues derived by the Department are
  adequate to offset the cost of regulation, the Commissioner shall review fees from
  time to time, and present proposed fee changes to the General Assembly. (6) Prepare and maintain a registry of all physicians licensed by the Board. (7) Make available an accounting of all fees and fines received by the Board and all expenditures
  and costs of the Board annually. (d) The Commissioner of Health shall appoint, and may terminate the employment of, the
  Director, administrative support staff, and any investigator or private legal counsel
  employed or retained by the Board. (e) The Commissioner of Health shall adopt, amend, and repeal rules of the Board that
  the Commissioner determines necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter
  and chapters 7, 29, 31, and 52 of this title. (f)(1) A classified State employee who is employed as an investigator by the Department of
  Health who is certified as a Level III law enforcement officer under 20 V.S.A. chapter 151 shall have the same powers as sheriffs in criminal matters and the enforcement of
  the law and in serving criminal process, and shall have all the immunities and matters
  of defense now available or hereafter made available to sheriffs in a suit brought
  against him or her in consequence for acts done in the course of his or her employment. (2) A Board of Medical Practice investigator employed by the Department of Health who
  is not certified as a Level III law enforcement officer under 20 V.S.A. chapter 151 shall annually obtain a minimum of 25 hours of training regarding the methods of
  conducting investigations of alleged unprofessional conduct, as approved by the Board. (3) Any Board of Medical Practice investigator employed by the Department of Health shall
  obtain as soon as practicable and thereafter maintain certification by a nationally
  or regionally recognized entity regarding the investigation of licensing cases, as
  approved by the Board. (Amended 1969, No. 187 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1975, No. 249 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1977, No. 91, § 1, eff. May 5, 1977; 1981, No. 100, § 12; 1985, No. 208 (Adj. Sess.), § 18, eff. June 30, 1986; 1989, No. 102, § 1; 1989, No. 250 (Adj. Sess.), § 92; 2001, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 21, eff. June 13, 2002; 2001, No. 132 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. June 13, 2002; 2003, No. 34, § 6, eff. May 23, 2003; 2003, No. 122 (Adj. Sess.), § 117a; 2009, No. 103 (Adj. Sess.), § 19d, eff. May 12, 2010; 2011, No. 61, § 2, eff. June 2, 2011; 2013, No. 130 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2013, No. 141 (Adj. Sess.), § 20, eff. July 1, 2015; 2015, No. 2, § 5, eff. March 12, 2015; 2015, No. 2, § 6; 2019, No. 126 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)