4. a. The board of trustees of the New Jersey World Trade Center Scholarship Fund shall consist of the State Treasurer, or a designee, and ten public members appointed as follows: two by the President of the Senate, two by the Speaker of the General Assembly and six by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Seven of the public members shall be persons who were directly affected by the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Two of the public members shall be named by the Governor to serve as co-chairpersons of the board.

b. Each public member of the board shall serve for a term of four years and until a successor shall have been appointed and qualified; except that of the first members appointed, two shall serve for one year, two shall serve for two years, three shall serve for three years and three shall serve for four years. Any vacancy in the membership of the board shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment for the remainder of the unexpired term.

c. Members of the board shall serve without compensation but shall be entitled to be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties.

d. The board shall have the following duties and responsibilities:

(1) establish criteria for the determination of eligibility for a scholarship from the fund;

(2) establish procedures for determining the amount of each scholarship award, based on the financial need of the applicant and the resources available to the applicant to meet his higher education costs;

(3) report annually to the Governor and the Legislature on the performance of its duties in accordance with the provisions of this act;

(4) solicit and raise private funds to finance the New Jersey World Trade Center Scholarship Program; and

(5) receive and disburse such contributions to the fund as may be forthcoming from private and public sources.

L.2001,c.442,s.4.