Chapter 346
2013 -- S 1002
Enacted 07/15/13
A N A C T
RELATING TO
HEALTH AND SAFETY -
CORPORATION
Introduced By: Senators Lombardo, Archambault, and Conley
Date Introduced: June 19, 2013
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 23-19-6 and 23-19-23 of the General Laws
in Chapter 23-19
entitled "Rhode Island Resource Recovery
Corporation" are hereby amended to read as follows:
23-19-6. Creation,
membership, and terms of the
Corporation. -- (a)
There is authorized, created, and established a public corporation of the
state,
having a distinct legal existence from the state and not
constituting a department of the state
government, with the politic and corporate powers set forth in
this chapter, to be known as the
chapter. The corporation is constituted a public
instrumentality and agency exercising public and
essential governmental functions, and the exercise by the
corporation of the powers conferred by
this chapter shall be deemed and held to be the
performance of an essential governmental
function of the state.
(b) It is the intent of
the general assembly by the passage of this chapter to create and
establish a public corporation and instrumentality and agency
of the state for the purpose of the
activities authorized by this chapter, and to vest the
corporation with all powers, authority, rights,
privileges, and titles that may be necessary to enable it to
accomplish those purposes. This
chapter shall be liberally construed in conformance with the
purpose expressed in this section.
(c) The powers of the
corporation shall be vested in eight (8) nine (9) commissioners,
consisting of the director of administration, or the director's
designee, who shall be a subordinate
within the department of administration, who shall serve as a
nonvoting an ex-officio member,
and seven (7) eight (8) public members to
be appointed by the governor with advice and consent
of the senate, at least two (2) three (3)
of whom shall be a resident of the town of
making these appointments, the governor shall give due
consideration to recommendations from
the mayor of the town of
also give due consideration to recommendations from
representatives of the commercial waste
haulers, and environmental advocacy organizations, and shall
consider persons experienced in the
field of recycling. Those members of the corporation as of
May 4, 2006 who were appointed to
the corporation by members of the general assembly shall cease
to be members of the corporation
on May 4, 2006, and the governor shall thereupon
nominate one new member who shall serve the
balance of the unexpired term of his or her predecessor.
Those members of the corporation as of
May 4, 2006 who were appointed to the corporation by
the governor shall continue to serve the
balance of their current terms. Thereafter, the appointments
shall be made by the governor with
advice and consent of the senate as prescribed in this
section.
(d) All public members
shall serve staggered three (3) year terms except as otherwise
provided in subsection (c) of this section. In the month of
June each year thereafter, the governor
shall appoint the successor(s) to the commissioners the
governor has appointed whose terms
expire that year, to serve for a term of three (3) years
commencing on the day they are qualified.
All public members shall serve until their respective
successors are appointed and qualified. The
members of the corporation shall be eligible to succeed
themselves.
(e) Any vacancy
occurring in the office of a member by death, resignation, or otherwise
shall be filled by the governor with advice and consent of
the senate in the same manner as the
original appointment for the balance of the unexpired term of
the former member as prescribed in
subsection 23-19-6(c).
(f) Members of the
corporation shall be removable by the governor pursuant to section
36-1-7 of the
unrelated to capacity or fitness for the office shall be
unlawful.
(g) The commissioners
shall annually elect from among their number a chair, vice chair
and a treasurer, and any other officers that they may
determine. Meetings shall be held at the call
of the chair or whenever two (2) commissioners so
request. Four (4) commissioners shall
constitute a quorum, and any action taken by the corporation
under the provisions of this chapter
may be authorized by resolution approved by a majority of
the commissioners present and voting
at any regular or special meeting. No vacancy in the
membership of the corporation's board of
commissioners shall impair the right of a quorum to exercise all
the rights and perform all the
duties of the corporation.
(h) Commissioners shall
receive no compensation for the performance of their duties, but
the commissioner shall be reimbursed for his or her
reasonable expenses incurred in carrying out
the duties under this chapter.
(i)
The commissioners of the corporation shall at regular intervals at least eight
(8) times
a year conduct business meetings for the purpose of
carrying out its general business. The
meetings shall be open to the public and all records and
minutes will be a matter of public record.
The corporation shall be considered a "public
body" and shall be subject to the provisions of the
Open Meetings Law, chapter 42-46 and to the provisions
of title 38 concerning public records.
(j) The corporation
shall continue until its existence is terminated by law. At that time its
holdings and assets shall pass to and become vested in the
state.
(k) The state shall
indemnify and hold harmless every past, present, or future
commissioner, officer, or employee of the corporation who is made
a party to or is required to
testify in any action, investigation, or other proceeding in
connection with or arising out of the
performance or alleged lack of performance of that person's
duties on behalf of the corporation.
These persons shall be indemnified and held harmless,
whether they are sued individually or in
their capacities as commissioners, officers, or employees
of the corporation, for all expenses,
legal fees and/or costs incurred by them during or
resulting from the proceedings, and for any
award or judgment arising out of their service to the
corporation that is not paid by the
corporation and is sought to be enforced against a person
individually, as expenses, legal fees,
costs, awards or judgments occur. Provided, however, that
neither the state nor the corporation
shall indemnify any commissioner, officer, or employee:
(1) For acts or
omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a
knowing violation of law;
(2) For any transaction
from which the member derived an improper personal benefit; or
(3) For any malicious
act.
(l) No one shall be
eligible for appointment unless he or she is a resident of the state.
23-19-23.
Citizen advisory board. Citizens
advisory board. -- The governor shall
appoint from among interested citizens of the state eleven
(11) members, and the mayor of
Johnston shall appoint one member to a citizens
solid waste management advisory board
consisting of twelve (12) persons. In the month of June each
year, the governor shall appoint a
successor to the member of the board whose term shall expire in
that year, to hold office
commencing on the first day of July in the year of appointment
and until the first day of July in
the third year after their respective appointments and
until their respective successors are
appointed and qualified. In the month of June upon the
expiration of the terms, the mayor of the
town of
that year, to hold office commencing on the first day of
July in the year of appointment and until
the first day of July in the third year after his or her
appointment, and until his or her successor is
appointed and qualified. Any vacancy which may occur in the
board shall be filled by the
governor or the mayor of
duration of the unexpired term. It shall be the role of the citizens advisory board to give advice to
the corporation concerning rules and regulations and
legislation affecting solid waste
management, resource recovery, and recycling; and to study the
effects of existing recovery and
recycling programs, and to annually report its findings to the
corporation for inclusion in the
annual report and to recommend to the corporation, special
studies and projects which it feels are
needed to further economic solid waste management, resource
recovery, and recycling. At least
two (2) members of the board shall be designated from
time to time to attend all meetings of the
solid waste management corporation. The members of the
citizen advisory board shall serve
without compensation. The board shall, at regular intervals,
conduct business meetings for the
purpose of carrying out its general business, and the
meetings shall be open to the public and all
records and minutes will be a matter of public record.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02803
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