Section 427A.NEW - [Newly enacted section not yet numbered] [Vulnerable Adult Fatality Review Committee]1. The Vulnerable Adult Fatality Review Committee is hereby established within the Department.2. The Director shall appoint to the Committee: (a) One member who is a licensed social worker who is actively providing services to clients in this State who are vulnerable persons;(b) One member who is an attorney and is: (1) Licensed to practice law in this State; and(2) Employed by the Office of the Attorney General; and(c) At least 4 but not more than 10 members who: (1) Are providers of health care, representatives of nonprofit organizations whose work is related to adult maltreatment, issues of older persons or issues of vulnerable persons, representatives of agencies involved in vital statistics and law enforcement and other persons the Director determines to be appropriate for membership on the Committee; and(2) Represent the racial, ethnic, linguistic and geographic diversity of this State.3. The members of the Committee serve: (a) At the pleasure of the Director; and(b) Without compensation but are entitled to receive the per diem allowance and travel expenses provided for state officers and employees generally.4. A majority of the members of the Committee constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business, and a majority of a quorum present at any meeting is sufficient for any official action taken by the Committee.5. A member of the Committee who is an officer or employee of this State or a political subdivision of this State must be relieved from his or her duties without loss of regular compensation to prepare for and attend meetings of the Committee and perform any work necessary to carry out the duties of the Committee in the most timely manner practicable. A state agency or political subdivision of this State shall not require an officer or employee who is a member of the Committee to: (a) Make up the time he or she is absent from work to carry out his or her duties as a member of the Committee; or(b) Take annual leave or compensatory time for the absence.6. At the first meeting of the Committee and annually thereafter:(a) The Director shall appoint a Chair of the Committee;(b) The Committee shall elect a Secretary from among its members; and(c) The Committee shall adopt rules for its own management and government.7. The Committee shall meet at least twice each year and may meet at such further times as determined necessary by the Chair.8. A member of the Committee or an employee, agent or consultant of the Committee is not liable in a civil action for any act performed in good faith and within the scope of the duties of the Committee. For the purposes of this subsection, any act which violates a provision of law concerning the privacy of information shall be deemed to be outside the scope of the duties of the Committee.9. The Director may: (a) Apply for and accept gifts, grants or donations from any source for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of sections 2 to 12, inclusive, of this act; and(b) Adopt any regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of sections 2 to 12, inclusive, of this act.Added by 2023, Ch. 502,§8, eff. 7/1/2023, app. only to a contract entered into between the Department of Health and Human Services and a district attorney on or after 7/1/2023.