Section 279.4 - Public members of licensing boards and commissions (Adm. Code Section 813)(a) A member of a licensing board or commission designated in this act as representing the public at large shall be a private citizen and shall not: (1) be a member of any profession or occupation which is regulated or licensed by the board, commission, or Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs;(2) be related to or part of the immediate family of any member of the profession or occupation to be licensed or regulated by the particular board or commission;(3) be affiliated in any way with the profession or occupation to be licensed or regulated; or(4) hold any other appointive or elective public office or position within this Commonwealth or another state or the United States Government during the appointive term for which he serves.(b) Any person not meeting the standards set forth herein shall be ineligible for membership on the board or commission as a public member.(c) The terms of such public members shall be the same as the other appointive members of the respective board or commission and they shall be entitled to receive the same compensation and expenses as provided by law for other nonpublic members of the same board or commission. Any vacancy occurring before the expiration of the appointive term of a public member shall be filled by the Governor with another public member for the unexpired term in the manner provided by law.(d) The Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs shall prepare and periodically revise a manual outlining the general duties of all members of licensing boards and commissions with particular emphasis on methods of protecting the general public.(e) The Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, in consultation with the Bureau of Consumer Protection and the three public members chosen as provided herein, shall conduct semiannual conferences on the functions of the public members and on developing and implementing methods of protecting the general public. Annually at one of these conferences, the public members present shall elect three representatives from among their membership to consult with the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs and the Bureau of Consumer Protection on matters relating to the role and function of the public members and on the format and contents of the semiannual conferences. The term of such representatives shall be one year.(f) A public member who fails to attend two consecutive conferences conducted pursuant to subsection (e) shall forfeit his seat on the board or commission of which he is a public member unless the Commissioner of Professional and Occupational Affairs, upon written request from the public member, finds that the public member should be excused from a conference because of illness, the death of a family member or a conflict with the public member's business or work schedule.1929, April 9, P.L. 177, art. VIII, § 813, added 1978, P.L. 1223, No. 292, § 20, effective in 60 days. Amended 1986, March 21, P.L. 62, No. 18, § 3, effective in 45 days; 1997, Nov. 26, P.L. 530, No. 57, § 10, imd. effective.