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:

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

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

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

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members.

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

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

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

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

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

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appointees shall serve for the remainder of their term.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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replaced.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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appointment but only for the unexpired portion of the term.

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     (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

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

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

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be counted as serving from any particular community municipality.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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commission and any other group or interest not otherwise represented.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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resources management council on environmental issues relating to dredging and permitting

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

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inclusive.

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

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needed from both its own members and others.

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

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

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

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     (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

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

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

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(b).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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     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

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Coastal Resources Management Council.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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