2019 Tennessee Code
Title 63 - Professions of the Healing Arts
Chapter 28 - Clinical Perfusionist Licensure Act
§ 63-28-112. Committee members -- Term of office -- Compensation -- Removal.
(a) To assist the board of medical examiners in the performance of its duties, there is hereby established the committee for clinical perfusionists, composed of seven (7) members who are each appointed by the governor. The committee shall approve the examination required by this chapter. The chair of the committee shall be a perfusionist.
(b) The committee shall consist of four (4) perfusionist members, one (1) hospital administrator from a licensed healthcare facility in Tennessee in which cardiac surgery is performed, one (1) licensed physician who shall be either a cardiac surgeon or a cardiac anesthesiologist, and one (1) public member. The public member shall be a resident of Tennessee for one (1) year and shall be a registered voter. The public member shall be a person who is not and never was a member of any medical profession or the spouse of a medical professional. The public member shall not be a member of, or a consultant to, any trade association in the field of health care. The public member shall not have or have had a material financial interest in either the provision of professional services specified by this chapter, or any activity or organization directly related to any licensed profession specified in this chapter. Perfusionist members may be appointed from lists of qualified persons submitted to the governor by interested perfusionist groups and the committee for clinical perfusionists. The governor shall consult with such groups and the committee to determine qualified persons to fill the positions. The members of the committee shall be appointed for terms of six (6) years, except those first appointed, of whom one (1) shall be appointed for a term of one (1) year, one (1) shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years, two (2) shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years, one (1) shall be appointed for a term of four (4) years, one (1) shall be appointed for a term of five (5) years and one (1) shall be appointed for a term of six (6) years. The perfusionist committee members shall be residents of the state of Tennessee for at least one (1) year, shall be United States citizens and shall meet all the requirements for licensing provided in this chapter. In making appointments to the committee, the governor shall ensure that the committee is representative of the environments in which perfusionists practice. The hospital administrator member and the physician member shall be residents of Tennessee. In making appointments to the committee, the governor shall strive to ensure that at least one (1) person serving on the committee is sixty (60) years of age or older and that at least one (1) person serving on the committee is a member of a racial minority. Of the total membership of the committee, no less than two (2) members shall be from each grand division of the state. In making the initial appointments to the committee, the perfusionist members shall not be required to be licensed but shall apply for a license from the committee within ninety (90) days of the issuance of licenses by the committee.
(c) If a member of the committee shall, during the member's term as a committee member, remove the member's domicile from the state of Tennessee, then the committee shall immediately notify the governor and the seat of that committee member shall be declared vacant. All such vacancies shall be filled by appointment in the same manner as provided in subsection (b).
(d) No member of the committee shall be entitled to any compensation for the performance of the member's official duties but shall receive compensation for travel expenses pursuant to the comprehensive travel regulations promulgated by the department of finance and administration and approved by the attorney general and reporter.
(e) A member of the committee may be removed by the governor, if the member:
(1) Does not have, at the time of appointment, the qualifications required for appointment to the committee;
(2) Does not maintain during service on the committee the qualifications required for appointment to the committee;
(3) Violates any provision of this chapter;
(4) Cannot discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the term for which the member is appointed because of illness or disability; or
(5) Is absent from more than one-half (½) of the regularly scheduled committee meetings that the member is eligible to attend during a calendar year, unless the absence is excused by a majority vote of the committee.
