Section 93. There shall be a board of registration of hearing instrument specialists, hereinafter called the board in sections 93 to 95, inclusive, consisting of five members appointed by the commissioner and one nonvoting advisory member who shall be a dispensing audiologist in private practice who has engaged in hearing aid dispensing for at least three years. Members of the board shall be citizens of the United States and residents of the commonwealth. One member shall be a hearing aid user who has no affiliation in any way with hearing aid dispensing, three members shall be hearing instrument specialists registered in the commonwealth with a minimum of five years experience in dispensing hearing aids and one member shall be a representative of the public who shall have neither hearing aid industry nor consumer affiliations. All board members shall be subject to the provisions of chapters 268A and 268B.

Appointments to the board shall be for a period of three years except for the initial appointments, two of which shall be for one year and the three remaining members for two years. No member shall be appointed for more than two consecutive full terms. In the event of a vacancy prior to the expiration of a term, the commissioner shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term. The director may make the appointments using lists of candidates for members provided by the Massachusetts commission for the deaf and hard of hearing, with its advisory council, and the Massachusetts Hearing Aid Society and a list of candidates for the nonvoting advisory member audiologist from the Massachusetts Speech and Hearing Association. The hearing instrument specialists initially appointed to the board shall have a minimum of three years experience in dispensing hearing aids in the commonwealth and shall hold certification as a hearing instrument specialist from a national certifying body.

The board shall annually elect a chairman, by a majority vote, from its membership. The board shall meet quarterly or more frequently upon the call of the chairman or upon the call of the majority of board members. Members shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be entitled to reasonable travel expenses for the purpose of attending board meetings; provided, however, that the expenses of the members of the board and the nonvoting advisory member audiologist, the cost of personnel providing services to the board and all other expenses associated with the operation of the board shall be generated by application and registration fees.