I.-The Board of Directors of the Regional Health Agency is made up of :
1° Representatives of the State ;
2° Members of the boards and councils of the local health insurance bodies within its jurisdiction, whose national fund appoints the members of the board of the Union nationale des caisses d’assurance maladie. For bodies under the general scheme, these members are appointed by employee trade unions and professional employers’ organisations recognised as representative at national and inter-professional level within the meaning of article L. 2122-9 of the Labour Code;
3° Representatives of local authorities and groups of local authorities;
4° Representatives of patients, the elderly and the disabled, as well as at least one person chosen for their qualifications in the Agency’s areas of competence.
Board members may have more than one vote.
Representatives of the agency’s staff, as well as the agency’s Chief Executive, sit on the Board of Directors in an advisory capacity.
A deputy and a senator elected in one of the departments in the region, appointed by the President of the National Assembly and the President of the Senate respectively, may attend meetings of the Board of Directors in an advisory capacity. They are appointed as a priority from among the members of the standing committees responsible for social affairs in the two assemblies.
The Board of Directors is chaired by the representative of the State in the region. The latter is assisted by four vice-chairmen, three of whom are appointed from among the members referred to in 3° of this I.
The Board of Directors approves the Agency’s budget and annexed budget, on a proposal from the Managing Director; it may reject them by a qualified majority, in accordance with the procedures laid down by regulation.
The Board of Directors issues a reasoned opinion on the regional health project. It issues an opinion on the agency’s multiannual contract of objectives and resources and, at least once a year, on the results of the agency’s activities. During a state of health emergency declared on the basis of Chapter I bis of Title III of Book I of Part Three, it meets at least once a month to keep abreast of developments in the situation and the decisions taken by the Agency’s management.
Acting on a proposal from the Director General, the Board of Directors sets the broad guidelines for the policy pursued by the Agency with regard to the conclusion and execution of agreements with local and regional authorities and their groupings for the implementation of the regional health project. The Director General submits an annual report on these agreements to the Board.
The Board of Directors, in conjunction with the Agency’s departmental delegations and local elected representatives, regularly assesses the situation with regard to medical depopulation in the region and, where appropriate, makes proposals to combat this situation.
The Board of Directors approves the financial statements.
Each year, the Chief Executive of the agency sends the Board of Directors a financial statement showing all the costs incurred by the State, the health insurance schemes and the Caisse nationale de solidarité pour l’autonomie in relation to health policy and healthcare and medico-social services within the remit of the regional health agency concerned, together with a report on the actions financed by the agency’s supplementary budget.
It shall also submit a report on the financial situation of public health institutions placed under provisional administration.
II – No one may be a member of the Board of Directors:
1° In more than one capacity ;
2° If he/she incurs the incapacity provided for in article L. 6 of the Electoral Code;
3° If he is an employee of the agency;
4° If, personally or through his or her spouse, he or she has direct or indirect links or interests in a legal entity falling within the remit of the agency;
5° If he exercises responsibilities in a company which receives financial assistance from the agency or which participates in the provision of works, supplies or services or in the performance of insurance, lease or rental contracts;
6° If he receives, in any capacity whatsoever, fees from the agency.
However, the incompatibility referred to in 3° of this II may not be invoked against the persons mentioned in the seventh paragraph of I who sit on the Board of Directors in an advisory capacity.
The incompatibilities referred to in 4° of this II may not be invoked against user representatives.
III – The difference between the number of women and the number of men among the members of the Board of Directors mentioned in 1° to 4° of I and the staff representatives mentioned in the seventh paragraph of I may not be greater than one. Among members appointed by the same person, the difference between the number of women and the number of men may not be greater than one.
In order to ensure compliance with the rule defined in the previous paragraph, a decree determines the conditions under which the election of staff representatives is organised so that the difference between the number of women and men among these representatives does not exceed one. It also determines the cases in which, in view of the shortage of eligible persons of each sex noted at the time of the ballot, and by way of derogation from the first paragraph, the staff representatives are not taken into account for the application of the rule defined in this paragraph.
If necessary, lots are drawn to determine which of the persons called upon to take part in the appointment or reappointment of the members of the Board of Directors and appointing only one member or an odd number of members will appoint a woman and which will appoint a man.
However, in the event that a person vested with the power of appointment or designation wishes to renew the term of office of an outgoing member, he shall first nominate that member. The other members are then appointed by drawing lots as described in the previous paragraph, taking into account the members whose terms have been renewed.
The procedures for the drawing of lots referred to in the third paragraph of this III and the period within which it is to be organised are set by decree.
IV – The procedures for applying this article are laid down by decree.