§44-1-51. Composition; compensation; records.

(a) The Governor shall be the ex officio Chair of the Youth Services Board.

(b) The board shall be composed of 18 voting members, five of whom shall be the Commissioner of the State Department of Human Resources, the State Superintendent of Education, the Commissioner of Mental Health, the State Health Officer, and the Director of the Alabama Law Enforcement Planning Agency, each of whom may delegate his or her vote to an agent or employee by written notification 10 days prior to a meeting of the board.

(c) The chair, vice chair, and secretary of the board shall be elected by the members thereof. The chair shall vote only in the case of a tie.

(d) The Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives shall appoint two members to be selected from the membership of the House and the Presiding Officer of the Alabama Senate shall appoint two members to be selected from the membership of the Senate. The President of the Alabama Council of Juvenile Court Judges shall appoint one member to be selected from the membership of the council. The Chair of the Alabama Chief Probation Officers Association shall appoint one member to be selected from the membership of the association. Commencing April 21, 2006, the Governor, as vacancies occur, shall appoint the remaining seven members of the board, as representatives of the public, one from each of the congressional districts of the state as such districts exist on January 1, 2006. The membership of the board shall be inclusive and reflect the racial, gender, geographic, urban/rural, and economic diversity of the state.

(e) The term of each member representative of the public appointed by the Governor shall be determined by lot at the first meeting of the board following September 3, 1973. Two of the public members shall serve five-year terms, two shall serve two-year terms, and one each shall serve three, four, and six-year terms, respectively. Thereafter, the terms of office of the public members shall be six years. The terms of office of the appointed legislative members shall be for the duration of their respective elected terms of office to the Senate or House of Representatives. The term of office of the member representative of the Alabama Council of Juvenile Court Judges and the member representative of the Chief Probation Officers Association shall be six years.

(f) If any appointed legislative member should die, cease to be a member of the Legislature, or resign from the board, such vacancy shall be filled by the Speaker of the House or Presiding Officer of the Senate, with such member to be selected from the respective legislative body, as applicable. If the appointed juvenile court judge should die, cease to be a juvenile court judge, or resign from the board, the President of the Alabama Council of Juvenile Court Judges shall appoint a successor for the unexpired term of that member. If the appointed chief probation officer should die, cease to be a probation officer, or resign from the board, the Chair of the Alabama Chief Probation Officers Association shall appoint a successor for the unexpired term of that member. If a vacancy occurs in the appointed membership made by the Governor, upon certification thereof by the board, the Governor shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term of the member. If any person holding any state office named in this section should cease to hold such office by reason of death, resignation, expiration of term of office, or for any other reason, then his or her successor in office shall take his or her place as a member of the board.

(g) No member of the board shall draw any salary in addition to that now authorized by law for any service he or she may render or for any deed he or she may perform in connection with the board. If not otherwise reimbursed by public funds for services provided to this board, the member representative of the Alabama Council of Juvenile Court Judges, the member representative of the Alabama Chief Probation Officers Association, and each member representative of the public shall receive the same mileage and per diem allowance as paid to state employees while attending meetings of the board or while engaged in other official duties at the request of the board. The legislative members shall receive their regular legislative compensation and mileage when actively engaged in board business.

(h) All proceedings of the board shall be reduced to writing by the secretary of the board, shall be signed by at least six members of the board, and shall be recorded in a substantially bound book and filed in the office of the secretary, who shall be the custodian of the records of the board. Copies of the proceedings, when certified by the secretary of the board, shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidence of the matters and things therein set forth.

(Acts 1973, No. 816, p. 1261, §5; Acts 1980, No. 80-741, p. 1506; Act 2006-538, p. 1239, §1.)