328-C:4 Board. –
I. There shall be a board of family mediator certification consisting of the following members:
(a) One judge who regularly sits in the circuit court family division, appointed by the administrative judge of the circuit court. Their term length shall be at the discretion of the administrative judge.
(b) One member of the public, appointed by the governor with the consent of the council. The public members shall be residents of the state of New Hampshire who are not, and never have been, members of the family mediation profession or the spouse of any such person. The public members shall not have, and shall never have had, a material financial interest in either the provision of family mediation services or an activity directly related to family mediation, including the representation of the board or its predecessor or the profession for a fee at any time during the 5 years preceding the date of appointment.
(c) One member of the New Hampshire Bar Association, appointed by the governor with the consent of the council.
(d) Three certified family mediators, nominated by the New Hampshire Conflict Resolution Association and appointed by the governor with the consent of the council.
II. (a) Members shall be appointed for 3-year terms and not more than 2 terms shall expire in any calendar year. One mediator term shall expire each year, on December 31. The public member and lawyer terms shall expire on June 30 of different years. Appointments for terms of less than 3 years shall be made in order to comply with these provisions. No member appointed by the governor shall be eligible to serve more than 3 full consecutive terms, provided that for this purpose only a period actually served which exceeds 25 months shall be deemed a full term.
(b) If a member misses 2 consecutive meetings or their unavailability to attend 2 regular meetings in an 8-month period results in their cancellation due to lack of a quorum, the chairperson or vice chairperson shall inquire of the member as to their continued interest and availability.
(c) To allow the board to carry out its functions, at the request of the board, any member appointed by governor and council may be replaced by the governor and council if:
(1) The member is absent from at least 3 meetings of the board in any 8-month period; or
(2) The member's unavailability to attend 3 regular meetings in any 8-month period results in their cancellation due to lack of a quorum.
(d) Upon expiration of a member's term and absent a resignation, the member shall serve until a successor is qualified and appointed. The successor's term shall be 3 years from the date of expiration of the predecessor's appointment, regardless of the date of the successor's appointment. Vacancies occurring prior to the expiration of a specific term shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term.
III. (a) The board shall hold 6 regular meetings each year, one each in January, March, May, June or July or August, September, and November, and special meetings at such times as it may deem necessary. Annually, in January, the board shall establish a time of day and day of the month for the regular meetings.
(b) If a regular meeting cannot occur on the designated day because of a lack of a quorum, weather conditions, or an emergency, it shall be rescheduled within the specified month.
(c) A quorum shall be 3 members.
Source. 1989, 268:1. 2005, 250:4, 5. 2009, 21:1, eff. May 8, 2009; 21:4, eff. Jan. 1, 2010. 2021, 197:164, eff. July 1, 2021. 2022, 220:14, eff. June 17, 2022. 2023, 212:41, eff. Oct. 3, 2023; 216:1, eff. Aug. 4, 2023.