Scientific and Medical Working Groups—General

(a) The institute shall have, and there is hereby established, three separate scientific and medical working groups as follows:

(1) Scientific and Medical Research Funding Working Group.

(2) Scientific and Medical Accountability Standards Working Group.

(3) Scientific and Medical Research Facilities Working Group.

(b) Working Group Members

Appointments of scientific and medical working group members shall be made by a majority vote of a quorum of the ICOC, within 30 days of the election and appointment of the initial ICOC members. The working group members’ terms shall be six years except that, after the first six-year terms, the members’ terms will be staggered so that one-third of the members shall be elected for a term that expires two years later, one-third of the members shall be elected for a term that expires four years later, and one-third of the members shall be elected for a term that expires six years later. Subsequent terms are for six years. Working group members may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms.

(c) Working Group Meetings

Each scientific and medical working group shall hold at least four meetings per year, one of which shall be designated as its annual meeting.

(d) Working Group Recommendations to the ICOC

Recommendations of each of the working groups may be forwarded to the ICOC only by a vote of a majority of a quorum of the members of each working group. If 35 percent of the members of any working group join together in a minority position, a minority report may be submitted to the ICOC. The ICOC shall consider the recommendations of the working groups in making its decisions on applications for research and facility grants and loan awards and in adopting regulatory standards. Each working group shall recommend to ICOC rules, procedures, and practices for that working group.

(e) Conflict of Interest

(1) The ICOC shall adopt conflict of interest rules, based on standards applicable to members of scientific review committees of the National Institutes of Health, to govern the participation of non-ICOC working group members.

(2) The ICOC shall appoint an ethics officer from among the staff of the institute.

(3) Because the working groups are purely advisory and have no final decisionmaking authority, members of the working groups shall not be considered public officials, employees, or consultants for purposes of the Political Reform Act (Title 9 (commencing with Section 81000) of the Government Code), Sections 1090 and 19990 of the Government Code, and Sections 10516 and 10517 of the Public Contract Code.

(f) Working Group Records

All records of the working groups submitted as part of the working groups’ recommendations to the ICOC for approval shall be subject to the Public Records Act. Except as provided in this subdivision, the working groups shall not be subject to the provisions of Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, or Article 1 (commencing with Section 6250) of Chapter 3.5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code.

(Added November 2, 2004, by initiative Proposition 71, Sec. 5.)