(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, whenever a vacancy occurs in the membership of any board, commission or governing board of any authority within a department, office or other instrumentality of the Government of the United States Virgin Islands, by virtue of the expiration of term of a member, said vacancy shall be filled in the manner provided by law within sixty (60) days after the date of occurrence of the expiration of term. The Governor of the Virgin Islands may nominate a person to a board or commission, sixty (60) days before the expiration of the term of an existing member of the board or commission.
(b) If the vacancy is not filled within the sixty (60) day period required by subsection (a) of this section, and the result is that the number of current members is insufficient to constitute a quorum of that board, commission or governing board, all official actions of said board, commission or governing board shall be null and void, and of no force and effect, from the expiration date of said sixty (60) day period until such time as a quorum of members is established by the filling of the vacancy or vacancies as provided by law.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no person shall be appointed to membership on more than two Governmental Boards or Commissions, nor shall a person be eligible to serve on a Board or Commission for a period in excess of two terms except upon a finding by the Legislature that the person has given exceptional service on such Board or Commission.
(d) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no Commissioner or Director of any department, agency or office of the Executive Branch of the Government of the Virgin Islands shall be appointed to or serve as a member of more than two boards or commissions of any autonomous or semi-autonomous agency of the Government simultaneously, nor shall the commissioner or director serve on more than two of any other governmental or quasi-governmental boards or commissions during the period of time that the commissioner or director is serving on the board or commission of any autonomous or semi autonomous agency.
(e) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary when filling vacancies to any board, commission, or governing body with a statutorily-designated department commissioner or other agency executive, the Governor of the Virgin Islands may appoint an alternative representative head, who may be any other commissioner, deputy commissioner, assistant commissioner, director or executive officer of any department, agency or office of the executive branch of government. The representative head appointed in place of a statutorily-designated department commissioner shalt maintain the responsibilities and decision-making authority of the commissioner that would have been appointed to that board or commission.
(f) The Governor may appoint up to two persons who reside outside of the Territory to fill vacancies on a board or commission in any district or island, as the case may be, notwithstanding any residency requirements prescribed by law. When making the nomination, the Governor must specify which residency-restricted seat the nominee will fill. To be eligible to serve on a board or commission, in addition to meeting any professional qualifications prescribed by the law governing the board or commission’s membership, a nominee residing outside the Territory must retain familial or business connections to any island of the Territory and must have expertise in the subject matter under the board or commission’s jurisdiction.
(g) The Governor or other appointing authority shall make a good-faith effort to ensure that the membership, except the ex-officio membership, of each appointive board or commission is gender balanced and reflects the gender diversity of the Territory to the extent feasible and to the extent that appointees are qualified to serve on the boards and commissions. If there are multiple appointing authorities for a board or commission, the appointing authorities shall consult in order to comply with this subsection.