House Bill No. by Representative Lacombe amends and reenacts several provisions related to the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. The bill stipulates that the board will consist of ten voting members, all of whom must be physicians, with the exception of one consumer member. It modifies the nominating authority for two members from the Louisiana Medical Association to the Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine and changes the residency requirement for physician members from six months to five years. Additionally, the bill mandates that the consumer member serves at the pleasure of the governor and prohibits any member from serving if they are also part of the governing body of a nominating organization.

The bill also introduces new provisions regarding the appointment process and diversity considerations for board members. The governor is required to ensure diversity in appointments and must request a list of nominees from the nominating organization when filling vacancies. If the organization fails to respond within specified timeframes, the governor can appoint a physician of his choosing. Furthermore, the bill increases the number of required regular meetings from one to five per year, allows the governor to select the board president, and establishes the need for an executive director with administrative oversight. The director of investigations must be a licensed physician actively practicing in Louisiana.

Statutes affected:
HB1220 Original: 37:1263(B)(1), 37:1270(A)