(a)

1. (1) The "state board of insurance of West Virginia" is hereby reestablished, reconstituted and continued as the state Board of Risk and Insurance Management. The board shall be composed of five members. One member shall be the vice chancellor of health sciences of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. The remaining four members shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. One member shall be appointed by the Governor from a list of three eligible persons submitted to the Governor by the President of the Senate, and one member shall be appointed by the Governor from a list of three eligible persons submitted to the Governor by the Speaker of the House of Delegates. Each member shall be a resident of West Virginia and shall have experience in one or more of the following areas: law, accounting, business, insurance or actuarial science.

2. (2) Initial appointment of the members other than the vice chancellor for health sciences shall be for the following terms:

   One member shall be appointed for a term ending June 30, 2003;

   One member shall be appointed for a term ending June 30, 2004;

   One member shall be appointed for a term ending June 30, 2005; and

   One member shall be appointed for a term ending June 30, 2006.

3. (3) Except for appointments to fill vacancies, each subsequent appointment shall be for a term ending June 30 of the fourth year following the year the preceding term expired. In the event a vacancy occurs it shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term. A member whose term has expired shall continue in office until a successor has been duly appointed and qualified. No member of the board may be removed from office by the Governor except for official misconduct, incompetency, neglect of duty, or gross immorality.
4. (4) Members of the board appointed prior to the reenactment of this article during the sixth extraordinary session of the 2001 Legislature, shall serve until December 15, 2001.