26:1A-137 Membership of commission; terms; authority.

6. a. The New Jersey Health Information Technology Commission shall be comprised of 19 members as follows:

(1) the Commissioners of Health, Banking and Insurance, Children and Families, and Human Services, and the State Treasurer, or their designees, who shall serve ex officio; and

(2) 14 public members, who shall be appointed by the Governor no later than the 60th day after the effective date of this act, as follows: three physicians engaged in private practice in this State, one of whom is a pediatrician and one a psychiatrist; two persons who represent acute care hospitals in this State, one of whom represents a teaching hospital and the other a non-teaching hospital; a registered professional nurse practicing in this State; a pharmacist practicing in this State; a person who represents a clinical laboratory operating in this State; an attorney practicing in this State with demonstrated expertise in health privacy issues; a person who represents a health insurance carrier operating in this State; a person who represents a Quality Improvement Organization located in New Jersey that contracts with the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to improve the efficiency and effectiveness, economy, and quality of services provided to Medicare beneficiaries; and three members of the public with a demonstrated professional expertise in issues relating to the work of the commission, including one member with expertise in electronic health information technology.

(3) The Governor shall designate a public member as chair of the commission.

b. The public members shall serve for a term of three years; except that, of the public members first appointed, five shall serve for a term of three years, five for a term of two years, and four for a term of one year. Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments were made.

c. The commission shall organize as soon as may be practicable, but no later than the 45th day after the appointment of its members. The public members shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

d. A majority of the total authorized membership of the commission shall constitute a quorum at any meeting thereof. Action may be taken and motions and resolutions adopted by the commission at any meeting of the commission by the affirmative vote of a majority of the quorum of the members who are present. A vacancy in the membership of the commission shall not impair the right of a quorum of the members to exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of the commission.

e. The commission shall meet and confer with the Office for e-HIT at least quarterly and may meet at other times at the call of the commission chair. The meetings of the commission shall comply with the provisions of the "Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act," P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-6 et seq.).

f. In addition to any other powers authorized by law, the commission shall have the authority, in accordance with State law, to:

(1) make and enter into contracts to purchase services and supplies;

(2) develop and submit a proposed budget, not to exceed $1 million annually;

(3) apply for, receive, and expend grants from governmental or private nonprofit sources;

(4) recommend to the Department of Banking and Insurance the necessary charges and assessments to be levied to collect payments from persons and entities for the provision of services or as the Office for e-HIT otherwise determines necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act;

(5) receive and expend appropriations;

(6) provide such other services and perform such other functions as the commission deems necessary to fulfill its responsibilities under this act; and

(7) appoint, retain, or employ consultants on a contract basis or otherwise, who are deemed necessary, and as may be within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it for its purposes.

g. In collaboration with the Office for e-HIT, the commission shall, no later than 18 months after its initial meeting and annually thereafter, submit a joint report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), concerning its activities and the status of, and actions taken regarding development, implementation, and oversight of the Statewide health information technology plan. The commission shall include in that report any findings and recommendations that it desires to make, along with any legislative bills that it desires to recommend for adoption by the Legislature.

h. The commission shall develop and submit a proposed budget to the Commissioner of Health to effectuate its duties as set forth in this act.

The budget shall be subject to approval by the Commissioner of Health.

i. The commission shall appoint a full-time executive director, who shall serve as secretary to the commission. The executive director shall serve at the pleasure of the commission and shall be qualified by training and experience to perform the duties of the position. The executive director shall be in the unclassified service of the Civil Service and may hire properly qualified employees, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission, who shall also be employed in the unclassified service of the Civil Service; except that employees performing stenographic or clerical duties shall be in the career service and appointed pursuant to Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes.

L.2007, c.330, s.6; amended 2012, c.17, s.111.