A. The "New Mexico bioscience authority" is created as a public-private partnership, which shall be formed pursuant to the Nonprofit Corporation Act [Chapter 53, Article 8 NMSA 1978], representing a collaborative among state government, research institutions, national laboratories and private industry in New Mexico. The authority is administratively attached to and shall be considered an affiliated supporting organization of the university of New Mexico health sciences center pursuant to Section 6-5A-1 NMSA 1978. The authority shall constitute a public body corporate by the name set forth in the incorporation certificate and by such name may sue and be sued, have the capacity to make contracts, acquire, hold, enjoy, dispose of and convey property real and personal, accept grants and donations, borrow money, incur indebtedness, impose fees and assessments and do any other act or thing necessary or proper for carrying out the purposes of the Bioscience Development Act.

B. The authority shall be governed, and all of its functions, powers and duties shall be exercised, by the board of directors. The board of directors shall consist of thirteen voting members as follows:

(1) two representatives of the university of New Mexico health sciences center with experience in conducting research in bioscience, to be appointed by the president of the university of New Mexico;

(2) two representatives of New Mexico state university with experience in conducting research in bioscience, to be appointed by the president of the university;

(3) one representative of the New Mexico institute of mining and technology with experience in conducting research in bioscience, to be appointed by the president of the institute;

(4) the secretary of economic development or the secretary's designee;

(5) the executive director of the spaceport authority or the executive director's designee; and

(6) six members of the public who have experience working in bioscience as follows:

(a) two members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate; and

(b) four members appointed by the New Mexico legislative council with the advice and consent of the senate; provided that no more than two members shall be members of the same political party.

C. The public members appointed pursuant to Paragraph (5) [6] of Subsection B of this section by the governor and the New Mexico legislative council shall be residents of the state and shall serve for terms of four years, except for the initial appointees, who shall be appointed so that the terms are staggered after initial appointment. Initial appointees by the governor shall serve terms as follows: one member for two years and one member for four years. Initial appointees by the New Mexico legislative council shall be appointed to serve terms as follows: one member for one year, one member for two years, one member for three years and one member for four years.

D. Members shall receive no compensation, perquisite or allowance for serving as a member of the board of directors.

E. The board of directors shall adopt bylaws, in accordance with the Nonprofit Corporation Act, which bylaws shall govern the conduct of the authority. Members of the board of directors shall elect a chair of the board, any other officers from the membership that the board determines to be appropriate and an executive director as set forth in the bylaws.

F. The chair and four voting members of the board of directors appointed by the chair, two of whom shall be public members, shall constitute the "bioscience authority executive committee". The executive director and chair of the board of directors shall be a nonvoting member of the executive committee. The executive committee shall have powers and duties as delegated to it by the board of directors.

G. If a vacancy occurs among the appointed voting members of the board of directors, the appointing authority of the former member shall appoint a replacement to serve out the term of that member. If an appointed member's term expires, the member shall continue to serve until another member is appointed.

H. The board of directors shall meet at the call of the chair and shall meet at least once every three months.

I. The board of directors shall maintain written minutes of all meetings of the authority and maintain other appropriate records, including financial transaction records in compliance with law and adequate to provide an accurate record for audit purposes pursuant to the Audit Act [12-6-1 to 12-6-14 NMSA 1978].

History: Laws 2017, ch. 134, § 3.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.

The reference in Subsection C to "Paragraph (5) of Subsection B" is an apparent reference to "Paragraph (6) of Subsection B".

Effective dates. — Laws 2017, ch. 134 contained no effective date provision, but, pursuant to N.M. Const., art. IV, § 23, was effective June 16, 2017, 90 days after the adjournment of the legislature.