(a) There is continued as a governmental instrumentality of the State of West Virginia, a public body corporate to be known as the West Virginia Housing Development Fund.

(b) The Housing Development Fund is created and established to serve a public corporate purpose and to act for the public benefit and as a governmental instrumentality of the State of West Virginia, to act on behalf of the state and its people in improving and otherwise promoting their health, welfare and prosperity.

(c) The Housing Development Fund shall be governed by a board of directors, consisting of eleven members, four of whom shall be the Governor, the Attorney General, the Commissioner of Agriculture, and the state Treasurer, or their designated representatives as public directors, and seven of whom shall be chosen from the general public residing in the state, as private directors. No more than four of the private directors shall be from the same political party.

(d) Upon organization of the Housing Development Fund, the Governor shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, the seven private directors to take office and to exercise all powers thereof immediately, with two each appointed for terms of two years and three years, and with three each appointed for terms of four years, respectively, as the Governor shall designate; at the expiration of said terms and for all succeeding terms, the Governor shall appoint a successor to the office of private director for a term of four years in each case.

(e) A vacancy in the office of a private director is filled by appointment by the Governor for the remainder of the unexpired term.

(f) The Governor may remove any private director for reason of incompetency, neglect of duty, gross immorality, or malfeasance in office and appoint a director to fill the vacancy as provided in other cases of vacancy.

(g) The Governor or designee serves as chair. The board of directors shall annually elect one of its public members as vice chair and appoint a secretary to keep records of its proceedings, who need not be a member of the board.

(h) Six members of the board of directors constitutes a quorum. A vacancy in the membership of the board does not impair the duties of the board of directors.

(i) Action may not be taken by the board of directors except upon the affirmative vote of at least six of the directors.

(j) The directors, including the chair, vice chair and treasurer, and the secretary of the board are not compensated for their services but receive reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in discharging their duties under this article in a manner consistent with guidelines of the travel management office of the Department of Administration.