2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth › Chapter 13 - Division and Boards of Registration › Section 9b - Boards of Registration; Conflicting Interests of Public or Lay Members Restricted; Delegation of Duties to Single Members; Policy Matters; Definitions

Section 9B. (a) A public member or a lay member of any board shall not be, nor shall he have been within the period of five years immediately preceding his appointment, any of the following:
(1) An employer, or an officer, director, or substantially full-time representative of an employer or group of employers, of any licentiate of such board, except that this shall not preclude the appointment of a person who maintains infrequent employer status with such licentiate, or maintains a client, patient, or customer relationship with any such licentiate which does not constitute more than two per cent of the practice or business of the licentiate.
(2) A person maintaining a contractual relationship with a licentiate of such board, which would constitute more than two per cent of the practice or business of any such licentiate, or an officer, director, or substantially full-time representative of such person or group of persons.
(3) An employee of any licentiate of such board, or a representative of such employee, except that this shall not preclude the appointment of a person who maintains an infrequent employee relationship or a person rendering professional or related services to a licentiate if such employment or service does not constitute more than two per cent of the employment or practice of the member of the board.
(4) A spouse, parent, grandparent, step-mother, step-father, step-son, step-daughter, child, grandchild, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, niece, nephew, uncle, aunt, of a licentiate of such board.
(b) A public member, or a lay member, shall not have been engaged at any time within five years immediately preceding his appointment in pursuits which lie within the field of the industry or profession regulated by the board of which he is a member, nor shall he engage in any such pursuits during his term of office.
(c) If any board shall as a part of its functions delegate any duty or responsibility to be performed by a single member of such board, such delegation shall not be made solely to any public member or any lay member of the board in any of the following instances:
(1) The actual preparation of, the administration of, and the grading of, examinations.
(2) The inspection or investigation of licentiates, the manner or method of practice or doing business, or their place of practice or business.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed as precluding a public member or a lay member from participating in the formation of policy relating to the scope of the activities set forth in subdivisions (1) and (2) of paragraph (c) of this section or in the approval, disapproval or modification of the action of its individual members, nor preclude such member from participating as a member of a subcommittee consisting of more than one member of the board in the performance of any duty.
(e) ''Board'', as used in this section, includes a board, commission, examining committee, or other similarly constituted body exercising powers under this chapter. ''Licentiate'' as used in this section means any person authorized by a license, certificate, registration, or other means to engage in a business or profession regulated by this chapter.