Overview
During our audit period, the Board of Registration of Hearing Instrument Specialists (BRHIS) did not hold six out of eight required quarterly meetings. During this time, four disciplinary cases were delayed for 16 to 32 months before BRHIS heard them. Two of these four cases ended in dismissal; the other two were submitted to the Division of Professional Licensure (DPL) Office of Prosecutions to pursue the adjudicatory hearing process. Infrequent board meetings could result in a lack of proper oversight of BRHIS’s operations or in the board being insufficiently informed and thus unable to act in the best interest of the organization.
Authoritative Guidance
According to Section 93 of Chapter 13 of the Massachusetts General Laws, BRHIS “shall meet quarterly or more frequently upon the call of the chairman or upon the call of the majority of board members.” BRHIS’s internal policy also states that the board meets quarterly.
Reasons for Infrequent Board Meetings
The BRHIS executive director told us in an email,
The Board normally meets quarterly in January, April, July and October. At the time of the meetings during [the audit] period (July 2017, October 2017, January 2018, April 2018, July 2018 and October 2018) there was not a quorum available to meet.
The DPL commissioner, who oversees BRHIS, told us that BRHIS’s counsel had sent letters to the Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and to multiple Massachusetts branches of the Hearing Loss Association of America to address the board member shortages. DPL’s commissioner and its deputy commissioner of boards told us these efforts did not identify sufficient qualified candidates to maintain a quorum to conduct board meetings.
Recommendation
If BRHIS believes that it cannot maintain a sufficient number of qualified board members to meet quarterly, it should consider requesting that the Legislature lower the quorum.
Auditee’s Response
The Board currently has a quorum and is scheduled to meet in April 2020 to conduct its regular and usual business. In fact, at this time, the Division of Professional Licensure ("DPL") has identified a candidate for one of the vacant positions on the Board. This appointment should occur within a month. That would leave only one vacant position. The addition of another board member will greatly enhance the Board's ability to have a quorum to meet quarterly. . . .
The failure to meet, due to lack of a quorum, did delay the review of four disciplinary matters, as the draft report states. . . .
DPL understands the importance of meeting the statutory requirement for quarterly meetings, and DPL and the Board will continue with its efforts to increase Board membership.
Auditor’s Reply
Based on its response, BRHIS will continue to work with DPL to address our concerns in this area.
| Date published: | April 17, 2020 |
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