(1) There is created in the department the Board of Accountancy. The board shall consist of nine members, seven of whom must be certified public accountants licensed in this state and two of whom must be laypersons who are not and have never been certified public accountants or members of any closely related profession or occupation. The members who are certified public accountants must have practiced public accounting on a substantially full-time basis in this state for at least 5 years. At least one member of the board must be 60 years of age or older. Each member shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate.
(2) The probable cause panel of the board may be composed of at least one current board member who shall serve as chair and additional current board members or past board members who are certified public accountants licensed in this state and in good standing. The past board members shall be appointed to the panel for a term of 2 years by the chair of the board with the approval of the secretary of the department, and may be reappointed for additional terms.
