A. The corporation shall be governed by the board. The corporation's board of directors shall consist of:

(1) the state treasurer or the state treasurer's designee; and

(2) six members appointed by the governor.

B. Each director shall hold office for the length of the director's term in office or until a successor is appointed or elected and begins service on the board.

C. The governor shall appoint, with the consent of the senate, the six public directors of the board who shall serve at the pleasure of the governor.

D. The governor's appointees to the board shall be public members who have general expertise in small business management, but they shall not be employed by or represent small businesses receiving equity investments from the corporation.

E. No two members of the board shall be employed by or represent the same company or institution.

F. The board shall annually elect a chair from among its members and shall elect those other officers it determines necessary for the performance of its duties.

G. The power to set the policies and procedures for the corporation is vested in the board. The board may perform all acts necessary or appropriate to exercise that power.

H. Public members of the board shall be reimbursed for attending meetings of the board as provided in the Per Diem and Mileage Act [10-8-1 to 10-8-8 NMSA 1978] and shall receive no other compensation, perquisite or allowance.

I. Public members of the board are appointed public officials of the state while carrying out their duties and activities under the Small Business Investment Act. The directors and the employees of the corporation are not liable personally, either jointly or severally, for any debt or obligation created or incurred by the corporation or for any act performed or obligation entered into in an official capacity when done in good faith, without intent to defraud and in connection with the administration, management or conduct of the corporation or affairs relating to it.

J. The board shall conduct an annual audit of the books of accounts, funds and securities of the corporation to be made by a competent and independent firm of certified public accountants. A copy of the audit report shall be filed with the president. The audit shall be open to the public for inspection.

History: Laws 2000, ch. 97, § 7; 2001, ch. 316, § 2; 2003, ch. 399, § 8; 2011, ch. 51, § 3.

The 2011 amendment, effective July 1, 2011, removed the state investment officer as a member of the board of directors.

The 2003 amendment, effective April 8, 2003, deleted former Paragraphs A(3), A(4), and A(5), concerning membership of the board, and redesignated former Paragraph A(6) as present Paragraph A(3); rewrote present Paragraph A(3) to the extent that a detailed comparison is impracticable; in Subsection C substituted "six" for "initial four" following "of the senate, the" near the middle and substituted "who shall serve at the pleasure of the governor" for "and the full board shall then elect the president" following "directors of the board" at the end; and deleted former Subsections D and E, concerning initial appointments and terms and removal, and redesignated the subsequent subsections accordingly.

The 2001 amendment, effective June 15, 2001, deleted former Paragraph A(1) listing the president of the board; redesignated the subsequent paragraphs; added "or his designee" to the end of current Paragraphs 1 through 5; and inserted "as a non-voting member" to current Paragraph (5).