(a) The compact member states hereby create and establish a joint government agency, known as the Cosmetology Licensure Compact Commission, whose membership consists of all member states that have enacted this Compact. The Commission is an instrumentality of this compact member states acting jointly and not an instrumentality of any 1 state. The Commission shall come into existence on or after the effective date of this Compact as set forth in § 5153 of this title.
(b) Membership, voting, and meetings. —
(1) Each member state has and is limited to 1 delegate selected by that member state’s state licensing authority.
(2) The delegate must be an administrator of the member state’s state licensing authority or their designee.
(3) The Commission shall by rule or bylaw establish a term of office for delegates and may by rule or bylaw establish term limits.
(4) The Commission may recommend removal or suspension of any delegate from office.
(5) A member state’s state licensing authority shall fill any vacancy of its delegate occurring on the Commission within 60 days of the vacancy.
(6) Each delegate is entitled to 1 vote on all matters that are voted on by the Commission.
(7) The Commission shall meet at least once during each calendar year. Additional meetings may be held as set forth in the Commission’s bylaws. The Commission may meet by telecommunication, video conference, or other similar electronic means.
(c) The Commission has all of the following powers:
(1) Establish the fiscal year of the Commission.
(2) Establish code of conduct and conflict of interest policies.
(3) Adopt rules and bylaws.
(4) Maintain its financial records in accordance with the bylaws.
(5) Meet and take actions that are consistent with the provisions of this Compact, the rules, and the Commission’s bylaws.
(6) Initiate and conclude legal proceedings or actions in the name of the Commission, provided that the standing of any state licensing authority to sue or be sued under applicable law may not be affected.
(7) Maintain and certify records and information provided to a member state as the Commission’s authenticated business records and designate an agent to do so on the Commission’s behalf.
(8) Purchase and maintain insurance and bonds.
(9) Borrow, accept, or contract for services of personnel, including employees of a member state.
(10) Conduct an annual financial review.
(11) Hire employees, elect or appoint officers, fix compensation, define duties, grant such individuals appropriate authority to carry out the purposes of this Compact, and establish the Commission’s personnel policies and programs relating to conflicts of interest, qualifications of personnel, and other related personnel matters;
(12) As set forth in the rules, charge a fee to a licensee for the grant of a multistate license and thereafter, as may be established by rule, charge the licensee a multistate license renewal fee for each renewal period. Nothing in this section may be construed to prevent a home state from charging a licensee a fee for a multistate license or renewals of a multistate license, or a fee for the jurisprudence requirement if the member state imposes such a requirement for the grant of a multistate license.
(13) Assess and collect fees.
(14) Accept any appropriate gifts, donations, grants of money, other sources of revenue, equipment, supplies, materials, and services, and receive, utilize, and dispose of the same; provided that at all times the Commission shall avoid any appearance of impropriety or conflict of interest.
(15) Lease, purchase, retain, own, hold, improve, or use any property, real, personal, or mixed, or any undivided interest in such property.
(16) Sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange, abandon, or otherwise dispose of any property real, personal, or mixed.
(17) Establish a budget and make expenditures.
(18) Borrow money.
(19) Appoint committees, including standing committees, composed of members, state regulators, state legislators or their representatives, consumer representatives, and other interested persons as may be designated in this Compact and the Commission’s bylaws.
(20) Provide and receive information from, and cooperate with, law-enforcement agencies.
(21) Elect a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer and other officers of the Commission as provided in the Commission’s bylaw.
(22) Establish and elect an Executive Committee, including a chair and a vice chair.
(23) Adopt and provide an annual report to the member states.
(24) Determine whether a state’s adopted language is materially different from the model compact language such that the state would not qualify for participation in this Compact.
(25) Perform other functions as may be necessary or appropriate to achieve the purposes of this Compact.
(d) The Executive Committee. —
(1) The Executive Committee has the power to act on behalf of the Commission according to the terms of this Compact. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of the Executive Committee include all of the following:
a. Overseeing the day-to-day activities of the administration of this Compact including compliance with the provisions of this Compact, the Commission’s rules and bylaws, and other such duties as deemed necessary.
b. Recommending to the Commission changes to the rules or bylaws, changes to this compact legislation, fees charged to compact member states, fees charged to licensees, and other fees.
c. Ensuring compact administration services are appropriately provided, including by contract.
d. Preparing and recommending the budget.
e. Maintaining financial records on behalf of the Commission.
f. Monitoring compact compliance of member states and providing compliance reports to the Commission.
g. Establishing additional committees as necessary.
h. Exercising the powers and duties of the Commission during the interim between commission meetings, except for adopting or amending rules, adopting or amending bylaws, and exercising any other powers and duties expressly reserved to the Commission by rule or bylaw.
i. Other duties as provided in the rules or the Commission’s bylaws.
(2) The Executive Committee is composed of up to 7 voting members.
a. The Chair and Vice Chair of the Commission and any other members of the Commission who serve on the Executive Committee are voting members of the Executive Committee.
b. Other than the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, the Commission shall elect 3 voting members from the current membership of the Commission.
c. The Commission may elect ex-officio, nonvoting members from a recognized national cosmetology professional association as approved by the Commission. The Commission’s bylaws must identify qualifying organizations and the manner of appointment if the number of organizations seeking to appoint an ex-officio member exceeds the number of members specified in this section.
(3) The Commission may remove any Executive Committee member as provided in the Commission’s bylaws.
(4) The Executive Committee shall meet at least annually.
a. Annual executive committee meetings, as well as any executive committee meeting at which it does not take or intend to take formal action on a matter for which a commission vote would otherwise be required, must be open to the public, except that the Executive Committee may meet in a closed, nonpublic session of a public meeting when dealing with any of the matters covered under paragraph (f)(4) of this section.
b. The Executive Committee shall give 5 business days advance notice of its public meetings, posted on its website and as determined to provide notice to persons with an interest in the public matters the Executive Committee intends to address at those meetings.
(5) The Executive Committee may hold an emergency meeting when acting for the Commission to do any of the following:
a. Meet an imminent threat to public health, safety, or welfare.
b. Prevent a loss of commission or member state funds.
c. Protect public health and safety.
(e) The Commission shall adopt and provide to the member states an annual report.
(f) Meetings of the Commission. —
(1) All commission meetings that are not closed under paragraph (f)(4) of this section must be open to the public. Notice of public meetings must be posted on the Commission’s website at least 30 days prior to the public meeting.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (f)(1) of this section, the Commission may convene an emergency public meeting by providing at least 24 hours’ prior notice on the Commission’s website, and any other means as provided in the Commission’s rules, for any of the reasons it may dispense with notice of proposed rulemaking under § 5151( l ) of this title. The Commission’s legal counsel shall certify that 1 of the reasons justifying an emergency public meeting has been met.
(3) The notice of a commission meeting must provide the time, date, and location of the meeting. If the meeting is to be held or accessible via telecommunication, video conference, or other electronic means, the notice must include the mechanism for access to the meeting.
(4) The Commission may convene in a closed, nonpublic meeting for the Commission to discuss any of the following:
a. Noncompliance of a member state with its obligations under this Compact.
b. The employment, compensation, discipline, other matters, practices or procedures related to specific employees or other matters related to the Commission’s internal personnel practices and procedures.
c. Current or threatened discipline of a licensee by the Commission or by a state licensing authority.
d. Current, threatened, or reasonably anticipated litigation.
e. Negotiation of contracts for the purchase, lease, or sale of goods, services, or real estate.
f. Accusing any person of a crime or formally censuring any person.
g. Trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential.
h. Information of a personal nature if disclosure of the information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
i. Investigative records compiled for law-enforcement purposes.
j. Information related to any investigative reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for use of the Commission or other committee charged with responsibility of investigation or determination of compliance issues under this Compact.
k. Legal advice.
l. Matters specifically exempted from disclosure to the public by federal or member state law.
m. Other matters as promulgated by the Commission by rule.
(5) If a meeting, or portion of a meeting, is closed, the presiding officer shall state that the meeting will be closed and reference each relevant exempting provision, and such reference must be recorded in the minutes.
(6) The Commission shall keep minutes that fully and clearly describe all matters discussed in a meeting and shall provide a full and accurate summary of actions taken, and the reasons for taking the actions, including a description of the views expressed. All documents considered in connection with an action must be identified in the minutes. All minutes and documents of a closed meeting must remain under seal, subject to release only by a majority vote of the Commission or order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
(g) Financing of the Commission. —
(1) The Commission shall pay, or provide for the payment of, the reasonable expenses of its establishment, organization, and ongoing activities.
(2) The Commission may accept any appropriate sources of revenue, donations, and grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials, and services.
(3) The Commission may levy on and collect an annual assessment from each member state and impose fees on licensees of member states to whom it grants a multistate license to cover the cost of the operations and activities of the Commission and its staff. The annual assessment and fees must be in a total amount sufficient to cover the Commission’s annual budget, as approved each year, for which revenue is not provided by other sources. The aggregate annual assessment amount for member states must be allocated based on a formula that the Commission shall promulgate by rule.
(4) The Commission may not incur obligations of any kind prior to securing the funds adequate to meet the obligations. The Commission may not pledge the credit of any member states, except by and with the authority of the member state.
(5) The Commission shall keep accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements. The receipts and disbursements of the Commission are subject to the financial review and accounting procedures established under its bylaws. All receipts and disbursements of funds handled by the Commission are subject to an annual financial review by a certified or licensed public accountant, and the report of the financial review must be included in and become part of the Commission’s annual report.
(h) Qualified immunity, defense, and indemnification. —
(1) The members, officers, executive director, employees and representatives of the Commission are immune from suit and liability, both personally and in their official capacity, for any claim for damage to or loss of property, personal injury, or other civil liability caused by or arising out of any actual or alleged act, error, or omission that occurred, or that the person against whom the claim is made had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the scope of commission employment, duties, or responsibilities. Nothing in this paragraph may be construed to protect any such person from suit or liability for any damage, loss, injury, or liability caused by the intentional or wilful or wanton misconduct of that person. The procurement of insurance of any type by the Commission does not in any way compromise or limit the immunity granted under this paragraph (h)(1).
(2) The Commission shall defend any member, officer, executive director, employee, and representative of the Commission in any civil action seeking to impose liability arising out of any actual or alleged act, error, or omission that occurred within the scope of commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, or as determined by the Commission that the person against whom the claim is made had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the scope of commission employment, duties, or responsibilities if the actual or alleged act, error, or omission did not result from that person’s intentional or wilful or wanton misconduct. Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit that person from retaining their own counsel at their own expense.
(3) The Commission shall indemnify and hold harmless any member, officer, executive director, employee, and representative of the Commission for the amount of any settlement or judgment obtained against that person arising out of any actual or alleged act, error, or omission that occurred within the scope of commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, or that the person had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the scope of commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, if the actual or alleged act, error, or omission did not result from the intentional or wilful or wanton misconduct of that person.
(4) Nothing in this section may be construed as a limitation on the liability of any licensee for professional malpractice or misconduct, which is governed solely by any other applicable state laws.
(5) Nothing in this Compact may be interpreted to waive or otherwise abrogate a member state’s state action immunity or state action affirmative defense with respect to antitrust claims under the Sherman Act [15 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.], Clayton Act [15 U.S.C. § 12 et seq.], or any other state or federal antitrust or anticompetitive law or regulation.
(6) Nothing in this Compact may be construed to be a waiver of sovereign immunity by the member states or by the Commission.
