Section 149. The board of registration in medicine shall form a committee on acupuncture. Committee members will be appointed by the board with the following qualifications: one member shall be a licensed physician member of the board, one member shall be a licensed physician who has been actively involved with the practice of acupuncture for at least two years, one member shall be from the general public and shall not be engaged in or have a financial interest in the delivery of health services, and four members shall be acupuncture practitioners, chosen from a list of recommended individuals submitted by the Massachusetts Acupuncture Society, the New England School of Acupuncture, the Acupuncture Practitioners Association, the Oriental Traditional Medical Association, and any other professional acupuncture organization or institution engaged in teaching acupuncture under the provisions of chapter seventy-five D.

The board shall appoint four of the initial members to terms of three years, and three of the initial members to terms of two years. Thereafter, all appointees shall serve for terms of three years. Vacancies shall be filled by the board with persons who possess the qualification required of the original appointees. Those members appointed to the initial committee as acupuncturists need not be licensed as acupuncturists. Such members so appointed after the initial committee is appointed shall be licensed under the provisions of sections one hundred and forty-nine to one hundred and sixty-two, inclusive, prior to such appointment.