Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S0991 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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5		-	2023 -- S 0991 SUBSTITUTE A ~~AS AMENDED~~
	5	+	2023 -- S 0991 SUBSTITUTE A
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9	9		S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
10	10		IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11		JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
12	12		____________
13	13
14	14		A N A C T
15	15		RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- RHODE ISLAND PUBLIC
16	16		TRANSIT AUTHORITY
17	17		Introduced By: Senators Ruggerio, Tikoian, Gallo, DiPalma, Lombardo, Pearson, Britto,
18	18		and Felag
19	19		Date Introduced: May 15, 2023
20	20		Referred To: Senate Finance
21	21
22	22
23	23		It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
24	24		SECTION 1. Section 39-18-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-18 entitled "Rhode Island 1
25	25		Public Transit Authority" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
26	26		39-18-2. Authority created — Composition — Terms — Oath — Officers — Quorum 3
27	27		— Compensation — Conflicts of interest. 4
28	28		(a) There is hereby created a body corporate and politic to be known as the "Rhode Island 5
29	29		public transit authority" (hereinafter "RIPTA"). 6
30	30		(b) The authority shall consist of eight (8) nine (9) members, one of whom shall be the 7
31	31		director of the department of transportation, or his or her designee, who shall serve as an ex officio 8
32	32		member, and seven (7) eight (8) of whom shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and 9
33	33		consent of the senate, with at least one of the seven (7) eight (8) being a regular user of fixed-route 10
34	34		RIPTA transportation and at least one of the seven (7) eight (8) being a person with a disability. 11
35	35		The governor shall achieve a diverse membership in the board and shall give due consideration to 12
36	36		recommendations for nominations from the RIPTA Riders Alliance, the National Federation of the 13
37	37		Blind of Rhode Island, the Gray Panthers of Rhode Island, the Sierra Club of Rhode Island, the 14
38	38		Rhode Island AFL-CIO, the RIPTA Transportation Advisory Committee, the Rhode Island 15
39		-	business community~~, the Amalgamated Transit Union~~, and the Rhode Island League of Cities and 16
40		-	~~Towns. No one shall be eligible~~ for appointment unless he or she is a resident of this state. 17
	39	+	business community, and the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns. No one shall be eligible 16
	40	+	for appointment unless he or she is a resident of this state. 17
41	41		(c) Those members of the authority as of the effective date of this act [June 16, 2006] who 18
42	42
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45	45		were appointed to the authority by members of the board of the general assembly shall cease to be 1
46	46		members of the authority on the effective date of this act [June 16, 2006], and the governor shall 2
47	47		thereupon nominate two (2) members, each of whom shall serve the balance of the unexpired term 3
48	48		of his or her predecessor. Those members of the authority as of the effective date of this act [June 4
49	49		16, 2006] who were appointed to the authority by the governor shall continue to serve the balance 5
50	50		of their current terms. Thereafter, during the month of January in each year, the governor shall 6
51	51		appoint members to succeed the departing members. The newly appointed members shall serve for 7
52	52		a term of three (3) years, commencing on the day they are qualified. In the event of a vacancy 8
53	53		occurring in the membership, the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint 9
54	54		a member for the unexpired term. Any member of the authority shall be eligible for reappointment. 10
55	55		(d) Each member of the authority, before entering upon his or her duties, shall take an oath 11
56	56		to administer the duties of his or her office faithfully and impartially, and the oath shall be filed in 12
57	57		the office of the secretary of state. 13
58	58		(e) The authority shall elect one of its members director of the department of transportation 14
59	59		shall serve as chairperson, and. The authority shall also elect a secretary and such other officers as 15
60	60		it deems necessary. 16
61	61		(f) Four (4) Five (5) members of the authority shall constitute a quorum. The affirmative 17
62	62		vote of a majority of the members present and voting shall be necessary for any action taken by the 18
63	63		authority. No vacancy in the membership of the authority shall impair the right of a quorum to 19
64	64		exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the authority. 20
65	65		(g) The members of the authority shall receive no compensation, but shall be reimbursed 21
66	66		for their actual expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties. 22
67	67		(h) No member of the authority shall be in the employ of, or own any stock in, or be in any 23
68	68		way directly or indirectly pecuniarily interested in any railroad corporation, bus, or street railway 24
69	69		company; nor shall any member of the authority personally, or through a partner or agent, render 25
70	70		any professional service or make or perform any business contract with or for any company; nor 26
71	71		shall any member of the authority, directly or indirectly, receive a commission, bonus, discount, 27
72	72		present, or reward from any company. 28
73	73		(i) Members of the authority shall be removable by the governor pursuant to the provisions 29
74	74		of § 36-1-7 and for cause only, and removal solely for partisan or personal reasons unrelated to 30
75	75		capacity or fitness for the office shall be unlawful. 31
76	76		(j) The authority shall conduct a training course for newly appointed and qualified members 32
77	77		within six (6) months of their qualification or designation. The course shall be developed by the 33
78	78		general manager of the authority, be approved by the authority, and be conducted by the general 34
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82	82		manager of the authority. The authority may approve the use of any authority and/or staff members 1
83	83		and/or individuals to assist with training. The training course shall include instruction in the 2
84	84		following areas: the provisions of chapter 46 of title 42, chapter 14 of title 36, and chapter 2 of title 3
85	85		38; and the authority’s rules and regulations. The director of the department of administration shall 4
86	86		be responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of this subsection. 5
87	87		SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2023. 6
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94	94		EXPLANATION
95	95		BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
96	96		OF
97	97		A N A C T
98	98		RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- RHODE ISLAND PUBLIC
99	99		TRANSIT AUTHORITY
100	100		***
101	101		This act would amend the composition of the Rhode Island public transit authority. 1
102	102		This act would take effect on July 1, 2023. 2
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