The state shall contract only with agencies, the governing boards of which conform to all of the following criteria:

(a) The governing board shall be composed of individuals with demonstrated interest in, or knowledge of, developmental disabilities.

(b) The membership of the governing board shall include persons with legal, management or board governance, financial, and developmental disability program expertise. Board governance expertise may not be acquired solely by serving on a regional center board. The governing board of the regional center shall include members with financial expertise and members with management or board governance expertise by August 15, 2020.

(c) The membership of the governing board shall include representatives of the various categories of disability to be served by the regional center.

(d) The governing board shall reflect the geographic and ethnic characteristics of the area to be served by the regional center.

(e) A minimum of 50 percent of the members of the governing board shall be persons with developmental disabilities or their parents or legal guardians. No less than 25 percent of the members of the governing board shall be persons with developmental disabilities.

(f) Members of the governing board shall not be permitted to serve more than seven years within each eight-year period.

(g) (1) The regional center shall provide necessary training and support to these board members to facilitate their understanding and participation, including issues relating to linguistic and cultural competency.

(2) As part of its monitoring responsibility, the department shall review and approve the method by which training and support are provided to board members to ensure maximum understanding and participation by board members.

(3) Each regional center shall post on its internet website information regarding the training and support provided to board members.

(h) The governing board may appoint a consumers’ advisory committee composed of persons with developmental disabilities representing the various categories of disability served by the regional center.

(i) The governing board shall appoint an advisory committee composed of a wide variety of persons representing the various categories of providers from which the regional center purchases client services. The advisory committee shall provide advice, guidance, recommendations, and technical assistance to the regional center board in order to assist the regional center in carrying out its mandated functions. The advisory committee shall designate one of its members to serve as a member of the regional center board.

(j) (1) The governing board shall annually review the performance of the director of the regional center.

(2) The governing board shall annually review the performance of the regional center in providing services that are linguistically and culturally appropriate and may provide recommendations to the director of the regional center based on the results of that review.

(k) No member of the board who is an employee or member of the governing board of a provider from which the regional center purchases client services shall do any of the following:

(1) Serve as an officer of the board.

(2) Vote on any fiscal matter affecting the purchase of services from any regional center provider.

(3) Vote on any issue other than as described in paragraph (2), in which the member has a financial interest, as defined in Section 87103 of the Government Code, and determined by the regional center board. The member shall provide a list of the member’s financial interests, as defined in Section 87103, to the regional center board.

Nothing in this section shall prevent the appointment to a regional center governing board of a person who meets the criteria for more than one of the categories listed above.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 28, Sec. 12. (SB 81) Effective June 27, 2019.)