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Draft changes State Board appointment authorities and adds provision on filling seats after removal; members debate consequences
Summary
The committee considered amendments to State Board of Education appointment authorities and to the rules governing removal and replacement of members, and members debated whether new language preserving "original appointing authority" rights after a governor removal would create unwanted complexity.
The committee reviewed language that would amend the State Board of Education appointment and removal process. Under the draft, the number of board members would not change, but appointment authorities would: eight members would be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, one member would be appointed by the speaker of the House, and one by the Senate committee on committees. The draft makes drafting-convention changes (numerals instead of spelled-out numbers) and removes gendered terms.
The draft preserves the governor's existing statutory authority to remove a member "after notice and hearing" for cause (incompetency, failure to discharge duties, malfeasance, illegal acts or other cause in a medical care of the public schools). It also proposes a new provision that, if the governor removes a member, the original appointing authority for that seat would make subsequent appointments to fill the seat once the unexpired term ends. In discussion, committee members raised concerns that this language could allow the governor to fill a seat midterm upon removal and then prevent the original appointing authority from appointing again for a prolonged period—potentially creating a long-term effect contrary to the committee's intent to diversify appointing authorities.
Members discussed several options: (1) leave removal and replacement language as is, (2) change the statutory removal replacement clause so that the appointing authority for the seat appoints to fill the unexpired term (streamlining the process), or (3) adopt the more detailed approach staff proposed to preserve the original appointing authority's future appointment right. Some members said the proposed language might be unnecessarily complex and could create unintended consequences; others said it could depoliticize appointments by preserving original appointment rights after removal. The chair asked staff to produce a streamlined alternative (have the original appointing authority fill the unexpired term) for consideration after lunch.
