5126.029 Appointment of members of county and multicounty boards.

(A) When making appointments to a county board of mental retardation and developmental disabilities, an appointing authority shall do all of the following:

(1) Appoint only individuals who are residents of the county the appointing authority serves, citizens of the United States, and interested and knowledgeable in the field of mental retardation and other allied fields;

(2) If the appointing authority is a board of county commissioners, appoint, subject to division (B) of this section, at least two individuals who are immediate family members of individuals eligible for services provided by the county board and, whenever possible, ensure that one of those two members is an immediate family member of an individual eligible for adult services and the other is an immediate family member of an individual eligible for early intervention services or services for preschool or school-age children;

(3) If the appointing authority is a senior probate judge, appoint, subject to division (B) of this section, at least one individual who is an immediate family member of an individual eligible for residential services or supported living;

(4) Appoint, to the maximum extent possible, individuals who have professional training and experience in business management, finance, law, health care practice, personnel administration, or government service;

(5) Provide for the county board’s membership to reflect, as nearly as possible, the composition of the county or counties that the county board serves.

(B) The appointing authorities of a multicounty board shall coordinate their appointments to the extent necessary to satisfy the requirements of this section. The coordination may provide for one of the boards of county commissioners making one of the two appointments required by division (A)(2) of this section and another board of county commissioners making the other appointment required by that division. The coordination shall ensure that at least one of the senior probate judges satisfies the requirement of division (A)(3) of this section.

Effective Date: 2005 SB10 09-05-2005; 2006 HB699 03-29-2007