(a) Upon approval of the initial referendum, the office shall establish a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation named the California Travel and Tourism Commission. The commission shall be under the direction of a board of commissioners, which shall function as the board of directors for purposes of the Nonprofit Corporation Law.

(b) The board of commissioners shall consist of 37 commissioners comprising the following:

(1) The director.

(2) (A) Twelve commissioners, who are professionally active in the tourism industry, and whose primary business, trade, or profession is directly related to the tourism industry, shall be appointed by the Governor. Each appointed commissioner shall represent only one of the 12 tourism regions designated by the office, and the appointed commissioners shall be selected so as to represent, to the greatest extent possible, the diverse elements of the tourism industry. Appointed commissioners are not limited to individuals who are employed by or represent assessed businesses.

(B) If an appointed commissioner ceases to be professionally active in the tourism industry or his or her primary business, trade, or profession ceases to be directly related to the tourism industry, he or she shall automatically cease to be an appointed commissioner 90 days following the date on which he or she ceases to meet both of the eligibility criteria specified in subparagraph (A), unless the commissioner becomes eligible again within that 90-day period.

(3) Twenty-four elected commissioners, including at least one representative of a travel agency or tour operator that is an assessed business.

(c) The commission established pursuant to former Section 15364.52 shall be inoperative so long as the commission established pursuant to this section is in existence.

(d) Elected commissioners shall be elected by industry category in a referendum. Regardless of the number of ballots received for a referendum, the nominee for each commissioner slot with the most weighted votes from assessed businesses within that industry category shall be elected commissioner. In the event that an elected commissioner resigns, dies, or is removed from office during his or her term, the commission shall appoint a replacement from the same industry category that the commissioner in question represented, and that commissioner shall fill the remaining term of the commissioner in question. The number of commissioners elected from each industry category shall be determined by the weighted percentage of assessments from that category.

(e) The director may remove any elected commissioner following a hearing at which the commissioner is found guilty of abuse of office or moral turpitude.

(f) (1) The term of each elected commissioner shall commence July 1 of the year next following his or her election, and shall expire on June 30 of the fourth year following his or her election. If an elected commissioner ceases to be employed by or with an assessed business in the category and segment which he or she was representing, his or her term as an elected commissioner shall automatically terminate 90 days following the date on which he or she ceases to be so employed, unless, within that 90-day period, the commissioner again is employed by or with an assessed business in the same category and segment.

(2) Terms of elected commissioners that would otherwise expire effective December 31 of the year during which legislation adding this subdivision is enacted shall automatically be extended until June 30 of the following year.

(g) With the exception of the director, no commissioner shall serve for more than two consecutive terms. For purposes of this subdivision, the phrase “two consecutive terms” shall not include partial terms.

(h) Except for the original commissioners, all commissioners shall serve four-year terms. One-half of the commissioners originally appointed or elected shall serve a two-year term, while the remainder shall serve a four-year term. Every two years thereafter, one-half of the commissioners shall be appointed or elected by referendum.

(i) The selection committee shall determine the initial slate of candidates for elected commissioners. Thereafter the commissioners, by adopted resolution, shall nominate a slate of candidates, and shall include any additional candidates complying with the procedure described in Section 13995.62.

(j) (1) The commissioners appointed pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall elect the chairperson.

(2) The commissioners selected pursuant to subdivision (d) shall elect the vice chairperson.

(k) The commission may lease space from the office.

(l) The commission and the office shall be the official state representatives of California tourism.

(m) (1) All commission meetings shall be held in California.

(2) Commissioners may participate in meetings by means of conference telephone and other technology.

(n) No person shall receive compensation for serving as a commissioner, but each commissioner shall receive reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred while on authorized commission business.

(o) Assessed businesses shall vote only for commissioners representing their industry category.

(p) Commissioners shall comply with the requirements of the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Title 9 (commencing with Section 81000)). The Legislature finds and declares that commissioners appointed or elected on the basis of membership in a particular tourism segment are appointed or elected to represent and serve the economic interests of those tourism segments and that the economic interests of these members are the same as those of the public generally.

(q) Commission meetings shall be subject to the requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1).

(r) The executive director of the commission shall serve as secretary to the commission, a nonvoting position, and shall keep the minutes and records of all commission meetings.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 31, Sec. 124. (SB 836) Effective June 27, 2016.)