Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 18, September 16, 2024
PURPOSE: This rule establishes the policy of the
board of trustees in regard to election of board members by the subscribers of
the Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan.
(1) The subscribers of the Missouri
Consolidated Health Care Plan (MCHCP) shall elect two (2) active employee
members and one (1) retiree member to the board of trustees. Each member will
serve a term of four (4) years from the first day of January following their
election.
(2) Board Member
Candidate Eligibility.
(A) Candidates must be
a subscriber of the plan.
(B) A
candidate who is running for a position on the board as an active employee
member must be employed on the date the nominating petitions are due. Failure
to be employed at that time will result in an automatic
disqualification.
(C) A candidate
who is running for a position on the board as a retiree member must be retired
on the date that the nominating petitions are due. Failure to be retired at
that time will result in an automatic disqualification.
(D) The following members are not eligible
candidates:
1. Current employees of the
plan;
2. Immediate relatives of
persons employed by the plan. Immediate relatives include:
A. Employee's spouse;
B. Children of employee or spouse;
C. Parents of employee or spouse;
D. Brothers and sisters of employee,
including brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law;
E. Grandchildren (including
great-grandchildren) of employee or spouse;
F. Grandparents (including
great-grandparents) of employee or spouse; and
G. Members of the employee's
household.
(E)
It will be automatic grounds for disqualification if it is determined that a
candidate knowingly submitted false information in the election
process.
(3) Nomination
Process.
(A) Candidates will be nominated by
means of a nominating petition.
(B)
The plan will notify subscribers of an opening for a board position.
(C) Candidates may only run for one (1)
position on the board.
(D)
Candidates must download from MCHCP's website, complete, and submit in a manner
indicated by the plan, a valid nominating petition by a date determined by the
plan. Valid nominating petitions include:
1.
Candidate Information, including but not limited to, name, department, and
resume;
2. Information to solicit
the candidate's interest in health care issues;
3. Information to solicit any disqualifying
information of the candidate;
4. A
summary of information regarding the candidate's background and qualifications,
for example: years of state service, department experience, and reasons for
wanting to be on the board. The summary shall not to exceed three hundred (300)
words and will be used on the voting website. Formatting of this information
for the board election ballot materials will be under the direction of the
plan; and
5. Any additional
information as determined by the plan which is important to the nominating and
voting process.
(E) Board
member candidates may not use state resources (equipment, personnel, and
supplies) for campaign purposes. Board member candidates may not use
interagency mail or send email from a computer provided by the state to
distribute campaign materials. State agencies, at their discretion, may allow
the posting of campaign materials provided by the candidates on an equal time
basis.
(F) Board candidates may not
use the plan's resources for campaign purposes. This includes receiving
demographic information of the plan's members, including but not limited to,
member names, phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses.
(G) The plan will establish procedures to
ensure candidate information is true and accurate. These procedures will
include, but may not be limited to, validation of the information on the
candidate petition forms.
(H) If
only one (1) valid nominating petition is filed for any vacancy, the person
nominated will be declared elected by the board at the next regular board
meeting.
(I) If at least one (1)
valid nominating petition is not filed for each vacancy to be filled, this
election process shall be repeated for that vacancy until a valid nominating
petition is received.
(4)
Election Ballots and Results.
(A) The plan
will notify members of an election voting period in advance of the start of the
voting period in the year of the board election.
(B) The voting period will be at least
fourteen (14) calendar days in length. The beginning date of the voting period
will be set by MCHCP's Executive Director.
(C) Voters must be a subscriber of the plan
as of the last day of the month preceding the month in which the election is to
be held.
(D) Names of candidates
will be listed on the website or in a supplemental publication in random order
at the discretion of the plan. In no event will names of candidates be placed
in alphabetical order on the election ballot or in a supplemental publication
other than by happenstance.
(E) All
board election voting will be completed through the eligible subscriber's my
MCHCP account. Access to computers for voting use will be available at MCHCP
during normal business hours. Ballots not submitted through a my MCHCP account
are invalid. An eligible subscriber may only vote once per election.
(F) Voting will cease at midnight Missouri
time on the last day of the board election.
(G) Ballots for an active employee member
election will allow selection of one (1) or two (2) active employee member
candidates to become board members depending on the number of positions up for
election. If the election is for two (2) board positions, the two (2)
candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be declared elected. If
the election is for one (1) board position, the candidate receiving the highest
number of votes will be declared elected. If a tie occurs between two (2) or
more candidates receiving an identical number of votes, the winner shall be
determined by a toss of a coin.
(H)
Ballots for retiree members will allow selection for one (1) retiree member
candidate to become a board member. The one (1) candidate receiving the highest
number of votes will be declared elected. If a tie occurs between two (2) or
more candidates receiving an identical number of votes, the winner shall be
determined by a toss of a coin.
(I)
The Executive Director will administer any online balloting procedures, record
all votes, and declare election results.
(J) The election results will be posted
within forty-eight (48) hours of the official certification of the election by
the plan. Voting records will be maintained by the Executive Director for a
period of one (1) year. After one (1) year from the date of the certification
of the results, voting information will be destroyed.
(K) Newly elected board members will begin
their terms upon certification of the election.
(5) Qualifications for Board Members.
(A) The winning candidate(s) shall file a
personal financial disclosure per RSMo, 103.008 within thirty (30) days of
their election to the board.
(B) A
board member representing active employee members must be employed on January 1
of each year following the election. Failure to be employed at that time will
result in their resignation from the board.
(C) A board member representing active
employee members who terminates employment with a covered agency for more than
thirty (30) consecutive days while serving on the board will be considered to
have resigned from the board. The election process will begin to fill the
vacant seat within ninety (90) days of the resignation.
(D) A candidate who is running for a position
on the board as a retiree member must be retired on January 1 of each year
following the election. Failure to be retired at that time will result in an
automatic disqualification.
(E) A
retiree board member who becomes employed in a MCHCP benefit eligible position
while serving on the board will be considered to have resigned from the board.
The election process will begin to fill the vacant seat within ninety (90) days
of the resignation.
(6)
Vacancies. If a vacancy occurs at any time in the three (3) elected seats,
election procedures will begin to take place within ninety (90) days of the
vacancy.