Sec. 1. 10 MRSA §1079, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 518, §2, is amended to read:

1. Committee membership. The committee consists of 15 members as follows:

A. Five members appointed by the Governor, including one representative of the Maine State Housing Authority, one representative of the Department of Economic and Community Development, one representative of the Department of Human Services and 2 representatives of financial institutions participating in the program;

B. Five members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, including 2 persons who are account holders or are eligible to be account holders, 2 representatives of contributors of matching funds to the program and one representative of a community development organization; and

C. Five members appointed by the President of the Senate, including one representative of a contributor of matching funds to the program, one representative of a statewide community development foundation, one person who is an account holder or is eligible to be an account holder and 2 representatives of community development organizations.

Members from state departments serve at the pleasure of their appointing authorities.__All other members serve 3-year terms and may continue to serve beyond their terms until their successors are appointed but may not be appointed to subsequent consecutive terms.__If a vacancy occurs before a term has expired, the vacancy must be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by the authority who made the original appointment.__If a member is absent for 2 consecutive meetings and has not been excused by the chair from either meeting, the committee may remove the member by majority vote.

SUMMARY

This bill clarifies the terms for which members are appointed to the Advisory Committee on Family Development Accounts and includes provisions for vacancies and absences.