(a) Meetings. An appropriate municipal panel shall elect its own officers and adopt rules of procedure, subject to this section and other applicable State statutes, and shall adopt rules of ethics with respect to conflicts of interest. Meetings of any appropriate municipal panel shall be held at the call of the chairperson and at such times as the panel may determine. The officers of the panel may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of material germane to any issue under review. All meetings of the panel, except for deliberative and executive sessions, shall be open to the public. The panel shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question, or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating this, and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions, all of which shall be filed immediately in the office of the clerk of the municipality as a public record. For the conduct of any hearing and the taking of any action, a quorum shall be not less than a majority of the members of the panel, and any action of the panel shall be taken by the concurrence of a majority of the panel.

(b) Information gathering and record of participation by interested persons. An appropriate municipal panel in connection with any proceeding under this chapter may examine or cause to be examined any property, maps, books, or records bearing upon the matters concerned in that proceeding, may require the attendance of any person having knowledge in the premises, may take testimony and require proof material for its information, and may administer oaths or take acknowledgment in respect of those matters. Any of the powers granted to an appropriate municipal panel by this subsection may be delegated by it to a specifically authorized agent or representative, except in situations where the Municipal Administrative Procedure Act applies. In any hearing, there shall be an opportunity for each person wishing to achieve status as an interested person under subsection 4465(b) of this title to demonstrate that the criteria set forth in that subsection are met, and the panel shall keep a written record of the name, address, and participation of each of these persons.

(c) Expenditures for service. An appropriate municipal panel may employ or contract for secretaries, clerks, legal counsel, consultants, and other technical and clerical services. All members of an appropriate municipal panel may be compensated for the performance of their duties and may be reimbursed by their municipality for necessary and reasonable expenses. (Added 2003, No. 115 (Adj. Sess.), § 104.)