Article 1. Organization Of Board of California Vehicle Code >> Division 2. >> Chapter 6. >> Article 1.

There is in the Department of Motor Vehicles a New Motor Vehicle Board, which consists of nine members.

(a) Four of the appointive members of the board shall be new motor vehicle dealers as defined in Section 426 who have engaged for a period of not less than five years preceding their appointment in activities regulated by Article 1 (commencing with Section 11700) of Chapter 4 of Division 5. These members shall be appointed by the Governor.
  (b) Each of the five remaining appointive members shall be a public member who is not a licentiate under Article 1 (commencing with Section 11700) or 2 (commencing with Section 11800) of Chapter 4 of Division 5 or an employee of such licentiate at the time of appointment and one of these five appointive members shall have been admitted to practice law in the state for at least 10 years immediately preceding his or her appointment. One public member shall be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, one by the Speaker of the Assembly, and three by the Governor.
  (c) Each member shall be of good moral character.
  (d) This section does not apply to a dealer who deals exclusively in motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, as defined in Section 111, or recreational vehicles, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 18010 of the Health and Safety Code.

The appointments of the appointive members shall be made effective as of the effective date of this article.

(a) Each appointive member of the board shall be appointed for a term of four years and shall hold office until the appointment and qualification of his or her successor or until one year has elapsed since the expiration of the time for which he or she was appointed, whichever occurs first.
  (b) The terms of the members of the board first appointed shall expire as follows: one public member and one new motor vehicle dealer member, January 15, 1969; two public members and one new motor vehicle dealer member, January 15, 1970; two public members and two new motor vehicle dealer members, January 15, 1971. The terms shall thereupon expire in the same relative order.
  (c) Vacancies occurring shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term. This section does not apply to a dealer who deals exclusively in motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, as defined in Section 111, or recreational vehicles, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 18010 of the Health and Safety Code.

Members of the board shall take an oath of office as provided in the Constitution and the Government Code.

The appointing authority has the power to remove from office at any time, any member of the board appointed by such appointing authority for continued neglect of duties required by law, or for incompetence, or unprofessional or dishonorable conduct. Nothing in this section shall be construed as a limitation or restriction on the power of the appointing authority, conferred by any other provision of law, to remove any member of the board.

The board shall organize and elect a president from among its members for a term of one year at the first meeting of each year. The newly elected president shall assume his or her duties at the conclusion of the meeting at which he or she was elected. Reelection to office during membership is unrestricted.

The board shall meet at least twice during each calendar year. Special meetings may be called at any time by the president or by any five members of the board upon notice for such time and in such manner as the board may provide.

(a) All meetings of the board shall be open and public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of the board, except that the board may hold executive sessions to deliberate on the decision to be reached upon the evidence introduced in a proceeding conducted in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
  (b) At all meetings of the board, open or executive, involving an appeal from a decision of the Director of Motor Vehicles, the director or his or her authorized representative may attend, present the position of the department, and then shall absent himself or herself from any executive session at the request of any member of the board.
  (c) Within the limitations of its powers and authority, and in the event of disagreement between the board and the director regarding the decision to be reached, the decision of the board shall be final.

Five members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, for the performance of any duty or the exercise of any power or authority of the board, except that three members of the board, who are not new motor vehicle dealers, shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of Article 4 (commencing with Section 3060) and the consideration of a petition pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 3050 that involves a dispute between a franchisee and franchisor.

A vacancy on the board shall not impair the power of the remaining members to perform all duties and exercise all powers of the board, providing the members remaining constitute a quorum.

Each member of the board shall receive a per diem of one hundred dollars ($100) for each day actually spent in the discharge of official duties, and he or she shall be reimbursed for traveling and other expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of his or her duties. The per diem and reimbursement shall be wholly defrayed from funds that shall be provided in the annual budget of the department.

The board shall adopt a seal and such other device as the members may desire thereon, by which they shall authenticate all papers and documents under their control. Copies of all records and papers in the board's office shall be received in evidence in all cases when certified under the hand and seal of the board, equally and with like effect as the originals.

The board may appoint an executive director, who shall be exempt from civil service requirements, and who shall devote as much time as may be necessary to discharge the functions of the board as herein provided. The department shall provide the board with the necessary personnel, office space, equipment, supplies, and services that, in the opinion of the board, may be necessary to administer this chapter. However, the board may contract with the department or another state agency for office space, equipment, supplies, and services, as determined by the board to be appropriate, for the administration of this chapter.

In addition to the office of the executive director in Sacramento, the department shall, as the need therefor occurs, secure adequate rooms for the meetings of the board in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, or other locations in the state as may be required in the discretion of the board, to administer this chapter.

(a) New motor vehicle dealers and other licensees under the jurisdiction of the board shall be charged fees sufficient to fully fund the activities of the board other than those conducted pursuant to Section 472.5 of the Business and Professions Code. The board may recover the direct cost of the activities required by Section 472.5 of the Business and Professions Code by charging the Department of Consumer Affairs a fee which shall be paid by the Department of Consumer Affairs with funds appropriated from the Certification Account in the Consumer Affairs Fund. All fees shall be deposited, and held separate from other moneys, in the Motor Vehicle Account in the State Transportation Fund, and shall not be transferred to the State Highway Account pursuant to Section 42273.
  (b) The fees shall be available, when appropriated, exclusively to fund the activities of the board. If, at the conclusion of any fiscal year, the amount of fees collected exceeds the amount of expenditures for this purpose during the fiscal year, the surplus shall be carried over into the succeeding fiscal year.