Board created; members; qualifications; terms; vacancies;

removal. A. There is created the "board of pharmacy". The board shall be administratively attached to the regulation and licensing department. The board consists of nine members, each of whom shall be a citizen of the United States and a resident of New Mexico. B. Five members shall be pharmacists appointed by the governor for staggered terms of five years each from lists submitted to the governor by the New Mexico pharmaceutical association, which lists contain the names of two pharmacists residing in each of the five pharmacy districts. Appointments of pharmacist members shall be made for five years or less each and made in such a manner that the term of one pharmacist member expires on July 1 of each year. One pharmacist member shall be appointed from each pharmacy district. A pharmacist member of the board shall have been actively engaged in the pharmaceutical profession in this state for at least three years immediately prior to his appointment and shall have had a minimum of eight years of practical experience as a pharmacist. A vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the governor for the unexpired term from lists submitted by the New Mexico pharmaceutical association to the governor. Pharmacist members shall reside in the district from which they are appointed. C. Three members of the board shall be appointed by the governor to represent the public. The public members of the board shall not have been licensed as pharmacists or have any significant financial interest, whether direct or indirect, in the profession regulated. A vacancy in a public member's term shall be filled by appointment by the governor for the unexpired term. Initial appointments of public members shall be made for staggered terms of five years or less and made in such a manner that not more than two public members' terms shall expire on July 1 of each year. D. One member of the board shall be a pharmacist appointed at large from a list submitted to the governor by the New Mexico society of health systems pharmacists. The member shall be appointed by the governor to a term of five years. A vacancy in the member's term shall be filled by appointment by the governor for the unexpired term from a list submitted to the governor by the New Mexico society of health systems pharmacists. E. There are created five pharmacy districts as follows: (1) northeast district, which shall be composed of the counties of Colfax, Guadalupe, Harding, Los Alamos, Mora, Quay, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Taos, Torrance and Union; (2) northwest district, which shall be composed of the counties of McKinley, San Juan, Valencia and Cibola; (3) central district, which shall be composed of the county of Bernalillo; (4) southeast district, which shall be composed of the counties of Chaves, Curry, De Baca, Eddy, Lea and Roosevelt; and (5) southwest district, which shall be composed of the counties of Catron, Dona Ana, Grant, Hidalgo, Lincoln, Luna, Otero, Sierra and Socorro. F. A board member shall not serve more than two full terms, consecutive or otherwise. G. A board member failing to attend three consecutive regular meetings is automatically removed as a member of the board. H. The governor may remove a member of the board for neglect of a duty required by law, for incompetency or for unprofessional conduct and shall remove a board member who violates a provision of the Pharmacy Act.