2018 -- S 2955 SUBSTITUTE A

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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 WATERS AND NAVIGATION - COASTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

COUNCIL

     Introduced By: Senator V. Susan Sosnowski

     Date Introduced: June 05, 2018

     Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture

     (Governor)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 46-23-2, 46-23-2.1 and 46-23-4 of the General Laws in Chapter

46-23 entitled "Coastal Resources Management Council" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     46-23-2. Coastal resources management council created -- Appointment of

members.

     (a) There is hereby created the coastal resources management council. The coastal

resources management council shall consist of ten (10) members. Nine (9) members shall be

appointed by the governor, with advice and consent of the senate, and one member shall serve ex

officio. All current appointments to the coastal resources management council made by the

governor with advice and consent of the senate are hereby validated and ratified and those

appointees shall serve for the remainder of their term.

     (1) The coastal resources management council shall consist of sixteen (16) members, two

(2) of whom shall be members of the house of representatives, at least one of the members shall

represent a coastal municipality, appointed by the speaker, two (2) of whom shall be members of

the senate, each of whom shall represent a coastal municipality, appointed by the president of the

senate, two (2) of whom shall be from the general public appointed by the speaker of the house

for a term of two (2) years, two (2) of whom shall be from a coastal municipality appointed by the

speaker of the house for a term of three (3) years.

     (2)(1) In addition, four (4) Six (6) of the members shall be appointed or elected officials

of local government: appointed by the governor, one three (3) of whom shall be from appointed

or elected officials in a municipality of less fewer than twenty-five thousand (25,000) in

population, appointed to serve until January 31, 1972, one three (3) of whom shall be from

appointed or elected officials in a coastal municipality of more than twenty-five thousand

(25,000) in population appointed to serve until January 31, 1973, and one of whom shall be from

a coastal municipality of less than twenty-five thousand (25,000) population appointed to serve

until January 31, 1974, and one of whom shall be from a coastal community of more than twenty-

five thousand (25,000) population appointed to serve until January 31, 1975, the . The

populations are to be determined by the latest federal census.; all members shall serve until their

successors are appointed and qualified; during the month of January, the governor shall appoint a

member to succeed the member whose term will then next expire for a term of four (4) years

commencing on the first day of February then next following and until his or her successor is

named and qualified; each Elected or appointed municipal officials shall hold seats on the council

only so long as they remain in their elected or appointed office. Each municipal appointment shall

cease if the appointed or elected official shall no longer hold or change the office which he or she

they held upon appointment, and further, each appointee shall be eligible to succeed himself or

herself. At least five (5) out of the six (6) appointed or elected members must be appointed or

elected in a costal municipality. When the governor submits their appointments to the senate for

advice and consent, the governor shall specify the appointed or elected office that each municipal

appointment holds, the population of the municipality represented, and the member being

replaced.

     (3)(2) Three (3) members shall be appointed by the governor from the public, with the

advice and consent of the senate, one of whom shall serve until January 1, 1972, one of whom

shall serve until January 1, 1973 and one of whom shall serve until January 1, 1974; the public

members and their successors shall represent reside in a coastal community municipality.

     (4)(3) All members shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified; during

the month of January, the governor shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the senate, a

member to succeed the members whose term will then next expire for a term of three (3) years

commencing on the first day of February next following and until his or her their successor is

named and qualified. A member shall be eligible to succeed himself or herself for successive

appointments. No more than two (2) persons on the council shall be from the same community

municipality. A vacancy other than by expiration shall be filled in the manner of the original

appointment but only for the unexpired portion of the term.

     (5)(4) Appointments shall first be made by the governor, then by the president of the

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senate, and then by the speaker. The commissioner of the environmental protection branch or his

or her The director of the department of environmental management or their designee within the

department of environmental management shall serve ex officio. The ex-officio member shall not

be counted as serving from any particular community municipality.

     (b) In addition to the foregoing voting members, the council shall may include a varying

number of other members who shall may serve in an advisory capacity without the right to vote

and who shall may be invited to serve by either the governor or the voting members. These

advisory members shall may represent the federal agencies such as the navy, coast guard, corps of

engineers, public health service, and the federal water pollution control administration, and such

regional agencies as the New England river basins commission and the New England regional

commission and any other group or interest not otherwise represented.

     (c) There shall may be established a coastal resources advisory committee which

committee, appointed by the executive director of the coastal resources management council,

shall may include, but not be limited to, representation from the following groups: one of whom

shall may be a representative of the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of

Oceanography and the College of Resources Development, one of whom shall may be a

representative of the Sea Grant National College Program, one of whom shall may be a

representative of the army corps of engineers, one of whom shall may be a representative of the

federal environmental protection agency's Narragansett Bay laboratory, one of whom shall be a

representative of the coastal resources management council, one of whom shall may be the

director of the department of environmental management; one of whom shall may be a member

of the Rhode Island Marine Trade Association and one of whom shall may be a representative of

a regional environmental group. The council shall have the authority to appoint such additional

members to said advisory committee as is deemed necessary or advisable by the advisory

committee or the council. It shall be the responsibility of the committee to advise the coastal

resources management council on environmental issues relating to dredging and permitting

related thereto, including, but not limited to, those issues defined in §§ 46-23-18.1 -- 46-23-18.3,

inclusive.

     (d) The council shall have the authority to form committees of other advisory groups as

needed from both its own members and others.

     46-23-2.1. Members -- Term of office -- Vacancies.

     (a) The term of office of the appointed members shall be three (3) years, only so long as

the members shall remain eligible to serve on the council under the appointment authority.

     (b) The members are eligible to succeed themselves for successive appointments.

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     (c) Elected or appointed municipal officials shall hold seats on the council, only so long

as they remain in their elected or appointed office. Members of the senate and house shall serve at

the pleasure of the appointing authority and shall not be subject to the provisions of subsection

(b).

     (d) A vacancy other than by expiration shall be filled in the manner of the original

appointment but only for the unexpired portion of the term. The appointing authority governor

shall have the power to remove its their appointee for just cause.

     46-23-4. Officers of the council -- Quorum and vote required for action.

     The governor, upon the appointment of the appointed members of the council, shall select

from the appointed members a chairperson and vice chairperson. The council shall thereupon

select a secretary from among its membership or staff. The council may engage such staff,

including legal counsel, as it deems necessary. A quorum shall consist of seven (7) six (6)

members of the council. A majority vote of those present shall be required for action.

     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 WATERS AND NAVIGATION - COASTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

COUNCIL

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     This act would amend the composition, size, and requirements of memberships on the

Coastal Resources Management Council.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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