2018 -- S 2949

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LC005670

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2018

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO SPECIAL DEVELOPMENTAL DISTRICTS - EAST PROVIDENCE

     Introduced By: Senators Conley, Coyne, and DaPonte

     Date Introduced: May 31, 2018

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 5 and 9, contained in Chapter 345 of the 2003 Public Laws entitled

"An Act Relating to special Development Districts – East Providence" are hereby amended to

read as follows:

     Section 5. District governance -- Commission. The powers of the District shall be

exercised by a commission as herein provided.

     (a) Membership of the Commission. There shall be a commission of nineteen (19)

eighteen (18) members as follows: five (5) members shall be appointed by the City Council, the

terms shall be four (4) years, with the initial appointments being two (2) for two (2) year terms,

two (2) for three (3) year terms, one (1) for a four (4) year term, who shall be either electors or

property owners of the City or persons engaged in business in the City; five (5) members

appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, the terms shall be four (4)

years, with the one (1) for a four (4) year term, who shall have expertise in the following areas:

architecture, planning, labor, finance, and commercial real estate development; the Mayor, with

the approval of the City Council, and the Governor shall jointly appoint a member who shall be

the chairperson, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall have a four (4) year

term; in addition to these voting members, there shall be eight (8) seven (7) ex officio, non-voting

members as follows: the City Manager, the City Planning Director, the Public Works Director,

the Executive Director of the RI Economic Development Corp, the Director of the Department of

Transportation, the Director of the Department of Environmental Management or an associate

director designated by the director, a member of the Senate appointed by the Senate President,

and a member of the House appointed by the Speaker. In the event of a vacancy occurring in the

office of a member by death, resignation, or otherwise, that vacancy shall be filled in the same

manner as an original appointment, but only for the remainder of the term of the former member.

Each member of the Commission may serve until a successor is appointed and qualified.

     (b) The commissioners shall receive no compensation for the performance of their duties

under this chapter, but each commissioner shall be reimbursed for his or her reasonable expenses

incurred in carrying out those duties. A commissioner may engage in private employment, or in a

profession or business.

     (c) The chairperson shall designate a vice chairperson who shall serve at the pleasure of

the chairperson. Seven (7) voting commissioners shall constitute a quorum, and any action to be

taken by the District under the provisions of this chapter may be authorized by resolution

approved by a majority of the commissioners present and entitled to vote at any regular or special

meeting at which a quorum is present. A vacancy in the membership of the Commission shall not

impair the right of a quorum to exercise all of the rights and perform all of the duties of the

commission.

     (d) The Commission shall appoint a secretary and such additional officers and staff

members as they shall deem appropriate and shall determine the amount of reasonable

compensation, if any, each shall receive. The Commission may vest in an executive director or

the director's subordinates the authority to appoint additional staff members and to determine the

amount of compensation each individual shall receive.

     (e) No full-time employee shall during the period of his or her employment by the

District engage in any other private employment, profession, or business, except with the

approval of the board of directors.

     (f) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, it shall not be or constitute a conflict of

interest for a director, officer, or employee of any financial institution, investment banking firm,

brokerage firm, commercial bank, trust company, building-loan association, architecture firm,

insurance company, or any other firm, person, or corporation to serve as a commissioner, nor

shall any contract or transaction between the District and a financial institution, investment

banking firm, brokerage firm, commercial bank, trust company, building-loan association,

architecture firm, insurance company, or other firm, person, or corporation be void or voidable by

reason of that service as director of the District . If any commissioner, officer, or employee of the

District shall be interested either directly or indirectly, or shall be a director, officer, or employee

of or have an ownership interest (other than as the owner of less than one percent (1%) of the

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shares of a publicly-held corporation) in any firm or corporation interested directly or indirectly

in any contract with the Commission, that interest shall be disclosed to the Commission and set

forth in the minutes of the Commission, and the Commissioner, officer, or employee having that

ownership interest shall not participate on behalf of the Commission in the authorization of that

contract. Interested commissioners may be counted in determining the presence of a quorum at a

meeting of the Commission which authorizes the contract or transaction.

     (g) Any action taken by the Commission under the provisions of this chapter may be

authorized by vote at any regular or special meeting, and each vote shall take effect immediately.

All meetings shall be open to the public and all records shall be a matter of public record except

that if a majority of the Commission decides, consistent with the requirements of the open

meetings law, that it would be in the best interests of the District and the City and/or the State to

hold an executive session in private, then the Commission is authorized to transact any business

as allowable under law at that executive session in private, and the record of the executive session

shall not become a matter of public record until the transaction discussed has in the opinion of the

Commission been completed.

     (h) Employees of the District shall not, by reason of their employment, be deemed to be

employees of the State or the City for any purpose, any other provision of the general laws,

charter, or ordinance to the contrary notwithstanding.

     Section 9. Records; Reports; Inspection. — The District shall at all times keep full and

accurate accounts of its receipts, expenditures, disbursements, assets, and liabilities, which shall

be open to inspection by any officer or duly appointed agent of the State or the City. The District

shall report annually on a) its finances and b) on the activities undertaken, the progress made in

meeting goals and objectives set forth in its plans, and its proposed activities for the next year.

Copies of these reports shall be submitted to the Governor, the Speaker of the House, the

President of the Senate, the Mayor as and the president of the City Council, and the City

Manager. The District shall conform with the open meetings law, 42-46, and the open records

law, chapter 38-2, in the same manner as required of the City, and, the Commission and the

employees of the District shall be subject to the Code of Ethics set forth in chapter 36-14.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO SPECIAL DEVELOPMENTAL DISTRICTS - EAST PROVIDENCE

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     This act would amend certain provisions relative to the appointment of members to the

East Providence waterfront district commission and removes the requirement to provide a records

report to the city manager.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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