2023 -- H 5860
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LC002189
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S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
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A N A C T
RELATING TO INCORPORATING THE RHODE ISLAND COMMISSION FOR NATIONAL
AND COMMUNITY SERVIC E
Introduced By: Representative Teresa A. Tanzi
Date Introduced: March 01, 2023
Referred To: House Education
(Dept. of Education (RIDE)
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 2 of Chapter 395 of the Public Laws of 2017, as amended, entitled 1
"An Act Incorporating the Rhode Island Commission For National and Community Service" is 2
hereby further amended to read as follows: 3
SECTION 2. (a) There is hereby created a commission, the name of which is the Rhode 4
Island commission for national and community Service, d/b/a Serve RI (the "commission"). 5
(b) The commission is organized for the following purposes: to carry out on behalf of the 6
State of Rhode Island the objectives of the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as 7
amended. 8
(c) The powers of the commission shall be vested in a board of commissioners which will 9
have twenty-five (25) no less than fifteen (15) voting members who have demonstrated a 10
commitment to public service. To the extent possible, membership of the commission shall be 11
reflective of Rhode Island’s diverse population in terms of race, ethnicity, age, gender, and 12
geographic location. 13
(d)(1) The governor shall appoint twenty-five (25) all voting members of the board of 14
commissioners. The governor and shall appoint the chair of the commission from among the voting 15
members. 16
(2) Of the voting members of the board of commissioners, nine (9) shall be appointed for 17
initial terms of three (3) years beginning September 1, 2017; eight (8) shall be appointed for initial 18
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terms of two (2) years beginning September 1, 2017; and eight (8) shall be appointed for initial 1
terms of one year beginning September 1, 2017. Thereafter, appointments shall be made for terms 2
of three (3) years. A vacancy in the office of a commissioner, created, other than by expiration of 3
a term, or in the office of a chairperson shall be filled in like manner as an original appointment but 4
only for the unexpired portion of the term. Members shall be eligible to succeed themselves; 5
however, members shall not be appointed to successive terms totaling more than eight (8) years. 6
(3) The governor shall appoint twenty-five (25) voting members with a minimum of one 7
member selected from each of the following categories: 8
(i) An individual with expertise in the educational training and developmental needs of 9
youth, particularly disadvantaged youth; and 10
(ii) An individual with experience in promoting the involvement of older adults fifty-five 11
(55) years old or over) in service and volunteerism; and 12
(iii) A representative of community-based agencies within the state; and 13
(iv) A representative of local government; and 14
(v) A representative of a local labor organization; and 15
(vi) A representative of a for-profit business; and 16
(vii) An individual between the ages of sixteen (16) and twenty-five (25) who is, or has 17
been a participant or supervisor in a volunteer or service program; and 18
(viii) A representative of a national service program; and 19
(ix) The commissioner of elementary and secondary education or his or her designee and 20
the commissioner of postsecondary education or his or her designee. 21
(4) In addition, the governor shall have the authority to appoint nonvoting members to the 22
board of commissioners, one of whom shall be the designated representative of the Corporation of 23
National and Community Service. Other nonvoting members shall serve at the pleasure of the 24
governor. 25
(5) To the extent practicable, members of the board of commissioners shall be appointed 26
in the manner described by the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended 42 27
U.S.C. 12501 et seq.) 28
(6) Not more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the voting members of the board of 29
commissioners may be officers and/or employees of state government, although additional state 30
agency representatives may be appointed to the board of commissioners as nonvoting members. 31
(7) Not more than fifty percent (50%) of the voting members of the board of commissioners 32
plus one voting member may be from the same political party. 33
(8) The members of the board of commissioners will receive no compensation for their 34
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services, except that members are entitled to compensation for expenses incurred in the 1
performance of their duties on the commission in the same manner as state employees. 2
(e) The commission will act on behalf of the state to: 3
(1) Prepare and implement a three-year (3) national service plan for the state as called for 4
under the National Community Service Act of 1990, as amended, including conducting local 5
outreach to develop a comprehensive and inclusive state service plan, and coordinating with 6
existing programs in order to prevent unnecessary competition for private sources of funding; 7
(2) Administer a competitive process to select the national service programs to be included 8
in any application for funding and prepare and submit the annual state applications for federal 9
funding of commission-selected national service programs; 10
(3) Administer the grants and oversee the monitoring of the programs after the national 11
service funds are awarded; 12
(4) Fulfill federal program administration requirements, such as assisting in the provision 13
of health care and child care for program participants; 14
(5) Integrate new national service programs and existing ACTION and Older American 15
Volunteer Programs into the state strategic service plan; 16
(6) Provide technical assistance to service programs, including the development of training 17
methods and curriculum materials; 18
(7) Develop a statewide recruitment and placement system for individuals interested in 19
community service opportunities; 20
(8) Prepare annual reports on progress for submission to the governor and the general 21
assembly; and 22
(9) Identify and make application for financial support, particularly funding made available 23
under the National and Community Service Trust Action of 1990, as amended to sustain the 24
commission’s program and activities and to receive gifts and grants from public and private 25
sources. 26
(g) Any conflicts of interest that arise will be resolved as prescribed by the Corporation for 27
National and Community Service. 28
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 29
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO INCORPORATING THE RHODE ISLAND COMMISSION FOR NATIONAL
AND COMMUNITY SERVIC E
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This act would reduce the number of commissioners on the board of commissioners to no 1
less than fifteen and would add a d/b/a Serve RI designation after commissions name. 2
This act would take effect upon passage. 3
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