12101641D
SENATE BILL NO. 161
Offered January 11, 2012
Prefiled January 10, 2012
A BILL to amend and reenact §§33.1-1 and 33.1-2 of the Code
of Virginia, relating to composition of the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
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Patrons-- Petersen; Delegate: Surovell
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Referred to Committee on Transportation
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§33.1-1 and 33.1-2 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§33.1-1. State Highway and Transportation Board continued as
Commonwealth Transportation Board; number and terms of members; removal from
office; Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner continued as Commissioner of
Highways; vacancies.
The State Highway and Transportation Board, formerly known as
the State Highway and Transportation Commission, is continued and shall
hereafter be known as the Commonwealth Transportation Board. Wherever either
"Commission" or "Board" is used in this title referring to
the State Highway and Transportation Board or the State Highway and
Transportation Commission, it shall mean the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
The Board shall consist of seventeen 18
members: the Secretary of Transportation, the Commissioner of Highways, the
Director of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, and fourteen
15 citizen members. The citizen
members shall be (i) appointed by the Governor as provided in §33.1-2, (ii)
subject to confirmation by the General Assembly, and (iii) removable from
office during their respective terms by the Governor at his pleasure.
Appointments of citizen members shall be for terms of four years commencing
upon July 1, upon the expiration of the terms of the existing members,
respectively. The initial terms of the members appointed in January, 1987,
shall commence when appointed and shall be for terms ending June 30, 1988, June
30, 1989, and June 30, 1990, respectively. Vacancies shall be filled by
appointment by the Governor for the unexpired term and shall be effective until
30 days after the next meeting of the ensuing General Assembly and, if
confirmed, thereafter for the remainder of the term. No person shall be
eligible to serve more than two successive terms of four years, other than the
Secretary of Transportation, the Commissioner of Highways, and the Director of
the Department of Rail and Public Transportation. A person heretofore or
hereafter appointed to fill a vacancy may serve two additional successive
terms.
The Secretary of Transportation shall serve as Chairman of the
Board. The Secretary shall have voting privileges only in the event of a tie.
The Commissioner of Highways shall serve as Vice-Chairman of the Board. The
Commissioner shall have voting privileges only in the event of a tie when he is
presiding during the absence of the Chairman. The Director of the Department of
Rail and Public Transportation shall serve without a vote.
Whenever in this title and in the Code of Virginia "State
Highway Commission" or "State Highway and Transportation Board"
is used, it shall mean "Commonwealth Transportation Board";
"State Highway Commissioner" or "State Highway and
Transportation Commissioner" or "Commonwealth Transportation
Commissioner" shall mean Commissioner of Highways; and all references to
"Department of Highways and Transportation" shall refer to the
Department of Transportation.
§33.1-2. Residence requirements; statewide interest.
Of such Board, one member shall be a resident of the territory
now included in the Bristol
construction district, one in the Salem construction district, one in the
Lynchburg construction district, one in the Staunton construction district, one
in the Culpeper construction district, one in the Fredericksburg construction
district, one in the Richmond construction district, one in the Hampton Roads
construction district and one in the Northern Virginia construction district each congressional district in the Commonwealth,
as those congressional districts and their boundaries existed on January 1, 2012.
The remaining fivefour members shall be appointed
from the Commonwealth at large, but at least two shall reside in standard
metropolitan statistical areas and be designated as urban at-large members, and
at least two shall reside outside standard metropolitan statistical areas and
be designated as rural at-large members. The at-large members shall be
appointed to represent rural and urban transportation needs and, in addition, one shall be mindful of the concerns of appointed to represent the interests and concerns
of seaports and seaport users, one
shall be appointed to represent the interests and concerns of airports
and airport users, one shall be
appointed to represent the interests and concerns of railways
and railway users, and one shall be
appointed to represent the interests and concerns of mass transit
and mass transit users. Each member so appointed shall be mindful of the best
interest of the Commonwealth at large primarily instead of those of the
district from which chosen or of the transportation interest represented.
2. Nothing in this act shall affect the term of any member
appointed to the Commonwealth Transportation Board prior to July 1, 2012.
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