Bill Text: VA HB601 | 2012 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority; board membership.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2012-03-23 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0377) [HB601 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2012-HB601-Chaptered.html
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia: 1. That §15.2-4507 of the Code of Virginia, as it shall become effective, is amended and reenacted as follows: §15.2-4507. (Effective July 1, 2012) Members of transportation district commissions. A. Any transportation district commission created shall consist of the number of members the component governments shall from time to time agree upon, or as may otherwise be provided by law. The governing body of each participating county and city shall appoint from among its members the number of commissioners to which the county or city is entitled; however, for those commissions with powers as set forth in subsection A of §15.2-4515, the governing body of each participating county or city is not limited to appointing commissioners from among its members. In addition, the governing body may appoint from its number or otherwise, designated alternate members for those appointed to the commission who shall be able to exercise all of the powers and duties of a commission member when the regular member is absent from commission meetings. Each such appointee shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing body; however, no appointee to a commission with powers as set forth in subsection B of §15.2-4515 may continue to serve when he is no longer a member of the appointing body. Each governing body shall inform the commission of its appointments to and removals from the commission by delivering to the commission a certified copy of the resolution making the appointment or causing the removal. In the case of a transportation district, commonly known as the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, which was established on or after July 1, 1986, and which includes more than one jurisdiction located within the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, such commission shall also include two members of the House of Delegates and one member of the Senate from legislative districts located wholly or in part within the boundaries of the transportation district. The members of the House of Delegates shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House for terms coincident with their terms of office, and the member of the Senate shall be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules for a term coincident with his term of office. The members of the General Assembly shall be eligible for reappointment for successive terms. Vacancies occurring other than by expiration of a term shall be filled for the unexpired term. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. In the case of the Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads, such commission shall consist of one citizen member appointed by the Governor from each county and city embraced by the Transportation District. The governing body of each such county or city may appoint either a member of its governing body or its county or city manager to serve as an ex officio member with voting privileges. Every such ex officio member shall be allowed to attend all meetings of the commission that other members may be required to attend. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. The Chairman of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, or his designee, shall be a member of each commission, ex officio with voting privileges. The chairman of the Commonwealth Transportation Board may appoint an alternate member who may exercise all the powers and duties of the chairman of the Commonwealth Transportation Board when neither the chairman of the Commonwealth Transportation Board nor his designee is present at a commission meeting. B. Any appointed member of a commission of a transportation
district, commonly known as the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission,
which was established prior to July 1, 1986, and which includes jurisdictions
located within the Washington, D.C., metropolitan statistical area, In selecting from its membership those members to serve on the board of directors of the WMATA, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission shall comply with the following requirements: 1. A board member shall not have been an employee of WMATA within one year of appointment to serve on the board of directors. 2. A board member shall have experience in at least one of the following: transit planning, transportation planning, or land use planning; transit or transportation management or other public sector management; engineering; finance; public safety; homeland security; human resources; the law; or knowledge of the region's transportation issues derived from working on regional transportation issue resolution. 3. A member shall be a regular patron of the services provided by WMATA. 4. Members shall serve a term of four years with a maximum of two consecutive terms. Such term or terms must coincide with their term on the body that appointed them to the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission. Any vacancy created if a board member cannot fulfill his term because his term on the appointing body had ended shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as the member being replaced was appointed within 60 days of the vacancy. The initial appointments to a four-year term will be as follows: the Secretary, or his designee, for a term of four years; the second principal member for a term of three years; one alternate for a term of two years; and the remaining alternate for a term of one year. Thereafter, members shall be appointed for terms of four years. Service on the WMATA board of directors prior to July 1, 2012, shall not be considered in determining length of service. Any person appointed to an initial one or two year term, or appointed to an unexpired term in which two years or less is remaining, shall be eligible to serve two consecutive four-year terms after serving the initial or unexpired term. 5. Members may be removed from the board of directors of the WMATA if they attend fewer than three-fourths of the meetings in a calendar year; if they are conflicted due to employment at WMATA; or if they are found to be in violation of the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act (§2.2-3100 et seq.). If a member is removed during a term, the vacancy shall be filled pursuant to the provisions of subdivision 4. 6. Each member of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission appointed to the board of directors of the WMATA shall file semiannual reports with the Secretary of Transportation's office beginning July 1, 2012. The reports shall include (i) the dates of attendance at WMATA board meetings, (ii) any reasons for not attending a specific meeting, and (iii) dates and attendance at other WMATA-related public events. Any entity that provides compensation to a WMATA board member for his service on the WMATA board shall be required to submit on July 1 of each year to the Secretary of Transportation the amount of that compensation. Such letter will remain on file with the Secretary's office and be available for public review. |
