Sec. 1. 39-A MRSA §151, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 885, Pt. A, §8 and affected by §§9 to 11, is amended to read:

§151. Workers' Compensation Board

1. Board established. Pursuant to Title 5, section 12004-G, subsection 35, the Workers' Compensation Board is established as an independent board composed of 8 3 members. The members of the board must be appointed by the Governor within 30 days after a new board member is authorized or a vacancy occurs, subject to review by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over state and local government matters and confirmation by the Legislature. Notwithstanding the provisions of Title 3, section 151, the designated committee shall complete its review of the appointments of the Governor within 15 days of the Governor's written notice of appointment and the vote of the Legislature must be taken no later than 7 days after the vote of the designated committee.

One member of the board must be a representative of management and one member must be a representative of labor.__The Governor may consider, but is not required to accept, the suggestions of any group or organization with regard to the appointees.__The 2 appointed representatives shall, by agreement, select the chair of the board.__If the 2 appointed representatives can not agree on the selection of the chair within 60 days of their appointment to the board by the Governor, the Governor shall appoint the chair.

Four members of the board must be representatives of management and 4 members must be representatives of labor. All management representatives must be appointed from a list provided by the Maine Chamber of Commerce and Industry or other bona fide organization or association of employers. All labor representatives must be from a list provided by the Executive Board of the Maine AFL-CIO or other bona fide labor organization or association of employees representing at least 10% of the Maine work force. Any list submitted to the Governor must have at least 4 times the number of names as there are vacancies for the group represented by the vacancies.

A member of the board is not liable in a civil action for any act performed in good faith in the execution of duties as a board member.

A member of the board may not be a lobbyist required to be registered with the Secretary of State, a service provider to the workers' compensation system or a representative of a service provider to the workers' compensation system.