There is hereby created the commission on Hispanic-Latino affairs consisting of eleven voting members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate and four ex officio, nonvoting members who are members of the general assembly. The speaker of the house of representatives shall recommend to the governor two persons for appointment to the commission, the president of the senate shall recommend to the governor two such persons, and the minority leaders of the house and senate shall each recommend to the governor one such person. The governor shall make initial appointments to the commission. Of the initial appointments made to the commission, three shall be for a term ending October 7, 1978, four shall be for a term ending October 7, 1979, and four shall be for a term ending October 7, 1980. Two ex officio members of the commission shall be members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and two ex officio members of the commission shall be members of the senate appointed by the president of the senate. The speaker shall appoint one member of the house of representatives from among the representatives who are affiliated with the political party having a majority in the house of representatives and one member of the house of representatives from among the representatives who are affiliated with the political party having a minority in the house of representatives. The president shall appoint one member of the senate from among the senators who are affiliated with the political party having a majority in the senate and one member of the senate from among the senators who are affiliated with the political party having a minority in the senate.

After the initial appointments by the governor, terms of office shall be for three years, except that members of the general assembly appointed to the commission shall be members of the commission only so long as they are members of the general assembly. Each term shall end on the same day of the same month of the year as did the term which it succeeds. Each member shall hold office from the date of appointment until the end of the term for which the member was appointed. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of such term. Any member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of the member's term until the member's successor takes office, or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first. At the first organizational meeting of the commission, the original eleven members shall draw lots to determine the length of the term each member shall serve.

All voting members of the commission shall speak Spanish, shall be of Spanish-speaking origin, and shall be American citizens or lawful, permanent, resident aliens. Voting members shall be from urban, suburban, and rural geographical areas representative of Spanish-speaking people with a numerical and geographical balance of the Spanish-speaking population throughout the state.

The commission shall meet not less than six times per calendar year. The commission shall elect a chairperson, vice-chairperson, and other officers from its voting members as it considers advisable. Six voting members constitute a quorum. The commission shall adopt rules governing its procedures. No action of the commission is valid without the concurrence of six members.

Each voting member shall be compensated for work as a member for each day that the member is actually engaged in the performance of work as a member. No voting member shall be compensated for more than one day each month. In addition, each voting member shall be reimbursed for all actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official business.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.9, HB 1, §101.01, eff. 10/16/2009.

Effective Date: 12-02-1996; 2008 HB562 09-22-2008

Related Legislative Provision: See 129th General AssemblyFile No.39, SB 171, §4 .