Introduced By: Representatives Naughton, Murphy, Kilmartin and Williamson
Date Introduced : February 3, 1998
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 46-23-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-23 entitled "Coastal Resources Management Council" is 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.
(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 lieutenant governor, 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) In addition, four (4) of the members shall be appointed or elected officials of local government appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be from a municipality of less than twenty-five thousand (25,000) population, appointed to serve until January 31, 1972, one of whom shall be from a coastal municipality of more than twenty-five thousand (25,000) 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 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 municipal appointment shall cease if the appointed or elected official shall no longer hold or change the office which he or she held upon appointment, and further, each appointee shall be eligible to succeed him or herself.
(3) 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 members and their successors shall represent a coastal community.
(4) All members shall serve until their successors are appointed
and qualified; during the month of January, the governor shall
appoint, with advice and consent of 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 successor is named and qualified. {ADD The
provisions of this section as it relates to terms and appointment
shall supersede any other provisions of this act. ADD} A member
shall be eligible to succeed him or herself. No more than two
(2) persons on the council shall be from the same community {DEL . DEL}
{ADD and in the case of legislators, they shall, for the purpose
of serving from a community, be considered to serve from the district
in which they live. ADD}
(5) Appointments shall first be made by the governor, then by the lieutenant governor, and then by the speaker. A vacancy other than by expiration shall be filled in like manner as an original appointment but only for the unexpired portion of the term. The commissioner of the environmental protection branch or his or her designee within the department of environment shall serve ex officio. {ADD The ex-officio member shall not be counted as serving from any particular community. ADD}
(b) In addition to the foregoing voting members, the council shall include a varying number of other members who shall serve in an advisory capacity without the right to vote and who shall be invited to serve by either the governor or the voting members. These advisory members shall 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 be established a coastal resources advisory committee which committee, appointed by the executive director of the coastal resources management council, shall include, but not be limited to, representation from the following groups: one (1) of whom shall be a representative of the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography and the College of Resources Development, one (1) of whom shall be a representative of the Sea Grant National College Program, one (1) of whom shall be a representative of the army corps of engineers, one (1) of whom shall be a representative of the federal environmental protection agency's Narragansett Bay laboratory, one (1) of whom shall be a representative of the coastal resources management council, one (1) of whom shall be the director of environmental management; one (1) of whom shall be a member of the Rhode Island Marine Trade Association and one (1) of whom shall 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 sections 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.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
