(a) There is established a Board of Hearing Instrument Dealers which shall administer this chapter.

(b) Members of the board shall be citizens and residents of the state and appointed by the Governor. The membership of the board shall be inclusive and reflect the racial, gender, geographic, urban/rural, and economic diversity of the state. The board shall consist of eight members as follows: Five licensees, one of whom may be a hearing aid specialist, one physician who specializes in diseases of the ear, one audiologist, and one consumer member. The consumer member shall have the same powers as other board members, except that the consumer member shall have no voting powers in matters of issuing, suspending, or revoking licenses, and neither the consumer member, nor his or her spouse, shall be a hearing aid specialist or hearing aid dispenser. Each hearing aid specialist or hearing aid dispenser on the board shall have no less than three years of experience and shall hold a valid license as a hearing aid specialist or hearing aid dispenser, as provided under this chapter. No member of the board shall be from the same business or firm of another board member, and no member shall be the spouse or immediate family member of another board member.

(c) All members of the board shall be appointed by the Governor from a list of qualified persons nominated by the Alabama Society for Hearing Healthcare Providers. The term of office of each member shall be for four years. Before a member's term expires, the Governor shall appoint a successor to assume his or her duties upon the expiration of his or her predecessor's term. A vacancy in the office of a member shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term. The members of the board shall annually designate one member to serve as chair, another to serve as vice chair, and such other officers the board deems necessary, including a complaints chair.

(d) No member of the board who has served two or more full terms may be reappointed to the board until at least one year after the expiration of his or her most recent full term of office.

(e) Members of the board shall receive for each day actually engaged in the duties of the office a per diem amount of twenty-five dollars ($25), not to exceed the sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per year, and reimbursement for traveling expenses as provided in Article 2 of Chapter 7 of Title 36, and other expenses, the remuneration and reimbursement to be paid from appropriations made for this purpose.

(f) The Governor may remove any member for neglect of duty, incompetency, or unprofessional conduct. The board may employ, and at its pleasure discharge, an executive secretary and such officers and employees as may be necessary, and the board shall fix their compensation.