(a) A person appointed to a board or commission of the state government shall be and have been before the last general election, (1) a registered voter in the state, if the appointment is made at large or (2) a registered voter from the judicial district, if the appointment is made from a specific judicial district. The student member of the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska appointed under AS 14.40.150(b), the student member of the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education appointed under AS 14.42.015(d), and a member of the Alaska Human Relations Commission appointed under AS 44.19.600, are exempt from the requirement of this subsection if the member was not old enough to be a registered voter in the last general election.
(b) A member of a board or commission of the state government who ceases to reside in the state during the member's term terminates membership on the board or commission. For the purposes of this section, the acceptance of employment outside the state for a six-month period or longer, or physical absence from the state for one year or longer, or registration as a voter in a municipal, county, district, state, or national election in a voting precinct outside the state is considered as discontinuing residence in the state.