Sec. 5.

(1) The authority shall exercise its duties through a board of directors.

(2) The board shall be made up of the following members:

(a) Subject to subsection (7), the director of the department.

(b) Three members with professional knowledge, skill, or experience in long-term care, health care licensure or finance, or medicine who represent the interests of 1 or more congressionally chartered veterans' organizations appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate.

(c) Three members with professional knowledge, skill, or experience in long-term care, health care licensure or finance, or medicine appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. One of the members appointed under this subdivision shall be a resident of the Upper Peninsula of this state.

(d) One member appointed by the governor from a list of 2 or more individuals selected by the majority leader of the senate, with professional knowledge, skill, or experience in long-term care, health care licensure or finance, or medicine.

(e) One member appointed by the governor from a list of 2 or more individuals selected by the speaker of the house of representatives, with professional knowledge, skill, or experience in long-term care, health care licensure or finance, or medicine.

(3) The appointed members shall serve for terms of 4 years. Of the 5 members first appointed, 1 shall be appointed for an initial term of 1 year, 2 shall be appointed for an initial term of 2 years, and 2 shall be appointed for an initial term of 3 years. The appointed members shall serve until a successor is appointed. A vacancy shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment.

(4) A director of a state department who is a designated member of the board may appoint a representative to serve in his or her absence.

(5) Members of the board shall serve without compensation but may receive reasonable reimbursement for necessary travel and expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties.

(6) The director of the department shall serve as chairperson of the board until January 1, 2019. At that time, the board members shall elect a chairperson who is not the director of the department or his or her designee.

(7) One year after the second facility operated by the authority is open and housing veterans, the director of the department shall then serve as a nonvoting member of the board. A new member who is a veteran who has professional knowledge, skill, or experience in long-term care, health care licensure or finance, or medicine shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate.

(8) A majority of the appointed and serving members of the board shall constitute a quorum of the board for the transaction of business. Actions of the board shall be approved by a majority vote of the members present at a meeting.

(9) The members of the board shall recommend by name the appointment of an executive director of the Michigan veterans' facility authority, to be appointed by the governor. The executive director is exempt from the classified state civil service and serves at the pleasure of the governor. The executive director shall administer the business operations of Michigan veterans' facilities, as that term is defined under section 2a of 1885 PA 152, MCL 36.2a, veterans' facilities developed and operated under this act, and the authority. The executive director shall receive compensation determined annually by the authority.

(10) The authority may employ or contract for legal, financial, and technical experts, and other officers, agents, and employees, permanent and temporary, as the authority requires, and shall determine their qualifications, duties, and compensation. The board may delegate to 1 or more agents or employees any powers or duties, and any limitations on those powers or duties, that the board considers proper.

(11) The members of the board and officers and employees of the authority are subject to 1968 PA 317, MCL 15.321 to 15.330, and 1968 PA 318, MCL 15.301 to 15.310.

(12) A member of the board or officer, employee, or agent of the authority shall discharge the duties of his or her position in a nonpartisan manner, with good faith, and with that degree of diligence, care, and skill that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances in a like position. In discharging his or her duties, a member of the board or an officer, employee, or agent, when acting in good faith, may rely upon the opinion of the authority's counsel, upon the report of an independent appraiser selected with reasonable care by the board, or upon the financial statements of the authority represented to him or her by the executive director, or an officer of the authority having charge of its books or account, to be correct, or stated in a written report by a certified public accountant, or firm of certified public accountants, to fairly reflect the financial condition of the authority.

(13) The board shall organize and make its own policies and procedures. The board shall conduct all business at public meetings held in compliance with the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275. Public notice of the time, date, and place of each meeting shall be given in the manner required by the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275.

(14) Upon request by a member of the legislature, the board shall make nonprivileged information regarding the operations and accounts of the authority and nonprivileged information regarding the care provided to veterans at a veterans' facility available to members of the legislature.

History: 2016, Act 560, Imd. Eff. Jan. 11, 2017 ;-- Am. 2018, Act 630, Imd. Eff. Dec. 28, 2018