8589.71. (a) (1) There is in the Office of Emergency Services the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission that consists of 15 members, 10 of whom shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate, and includes representatives from the professional fields identified in subdivision (d).
(2) Any reference in statute or regulation to the Seismic Safety Commission shall be deemed to refer to the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission.
(b) The Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each appoint one member. Each of the members appointed pursuant to this subdivision may designate an alternate who shall be counted toward a quorum, who may vote, and who may receive expenses specified in Section 8589.73.
(c) One member shall be a representative from the Office of Emergency Services, one member shall be a representative from the Division of the State Architect in the Department of General Services, and one member shall be a representative from the California Building Standards Commission. These members shall annually update the commission on their seismic safety activities pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 8589.75.
(d) (1) Ten members shall represent the fields of structural engineering, planning, fire protection, public utilities, insurance, social services, emergency services, and other local government areas that serve the public interest.
(2) At least four members shall be submitted by the League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties.
(3) At least one of these members shall be a building official and one of these shall be from a local fire protection entity.
(A) These members may be submitted pursuant to paragraph (2) or from professional fields in paragraph (1).
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, while the current membership of the commission is reduced to 15, the following shall occur:
(1) Appointments made prior to July 1, 2020, that are from established organizations outside the fields identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) shall remain on the commission until the current term expires.
(f) The Legislature declares that the individuals appointed to the commission are intended to represent the professions of structural engineering, planning, fire protection, public utilities, local government, insurance, social services, emergency services, and the Legislature and that this representation serves the public interest. Accordingly, the Legislature finds that for purposes of persons who hold this office, the specified professions are tantamount to and constitute the public generally within the meaning of Section 87103.
(g) Each member of the commission shall be appointed for a term of four years. Vacancies occurring on the commission shall be filled by appointment of the appointing power for the unexpired term.
(h) The appointing power may remove any member of the commission for neglect of duty required by this article, incompetency, or unprofessional conduct.
(Added by Stats. 2020, Ch. 20, Sec. 3. (AB 100) Effective June 29, 2020.)