Chapter 320
2005 -- H 6477 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED
Enacted 07/15/05
A N A C T
RELATING TO
SEPARATION OF POWERS
Introduced
By: Representatives E Coderre, Ginaitt, Naughton, Crowley, and Almeida
Date
Introduced: May 10, 2005
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1.
Sections 46-12.2-3, 46-12.2-4 and 46-12.2-24 of the General Laws in
Chapter 46-12.2 entitled "Rhode Island
Clean Water Finance Agency" are hereby amended to
read as follows:
46-12.2-3.
Establishment of agency -- Composition of agency -- Appointment of
directors. -- (a) There is hereby
created a body politic and corporate and public instrumentality of
the state having distinct legal existence from the
state and not constituting a department of the
state government to be known as the Rhode Island
clean water protection finance agency. The
exercise by the agency of the powers conferred
by this chapter shall be deemed to be the
performance of an essential public function.
(b) The powers of
the agency shall be exercised by or under the supervision of a board of
directors consisting of five (5) members, three
(3) four (4) of whom shall be members of the
public appointed by the governor, with the advice
and consent of the senate. The governor in
making these appointments shall give due
consideration to persons skilled and experienced in
law, finance, and public administration and give
further due consideration to a recommendation
by the general treasurer for one of those
appointments.
one of whom shall be appointed by the
speaker of the house, and one of whom shall be
appointed by the president of the senate. The
members appointed by the governor shall be
appointed initially for terms, respectively, to expire
on the first day of March 1990 and the first day
of March in the years 1991, and 1992. Upon
expiration of each term and each succeeding two
(2) year term, the governor shall appoint a
successor to serve for a term of two (2) years
so that the governor's appointments shall serve for
staggered terms of two (2) years. The members
appointed by the speaker of the house and the
president of the senate shall serve at the
pleasure of the appointing authority. The newly
appointed member will serve for a limited term
to expire in March of 2006. All appointments by
the governor shall serve for a term of two (2)
years. No one shall be eligible for appointment
unless he or she is a resident of this state.
The members of the board of directors as of the
effective date of this act who were appointed to
the board of directors by members of the general
assembly shall cease to be members of the board
of directors on the effective date of this act. As
of the effective date of this act, the general
treasurer or his or her designee, who shall be a
subordinate within the general treasurer's
department, shall serve on the board of directors as an
ex-officio member. Those members of the board of
directors as of the effective date of this act
who were appointed to the board of directors by
the governor shall continue to serve the balance
of their current terms.
(c) Each member
of the board of directors shall serve until his or her successor is
appointed and qualified. The appointed member of
the board of directors shall be eligible for
reappointment. Any member of the board of
directors appointed to fill a vacancy of a public
member on the board shall be appointed by the
governor with the advice and consent of the
senate for the unexpired term of the vacant position.
in the same manner as the member's
predecessor as set forth in subsection
46-12.2-3(b).
Any member of the board of directors may be
removed by the governor for misfeasance,
malfeasance, or willful neglect of duty upon the filing
by the governor with the secretary of state of a
statement of facts and circumstances which form
the basis for the removal. The public members
of the board of directors shall be removable by the
governor, pursuant to section 36-1-7 of the
Rhode Island general laws and for cause only, and
removal solely for partisan or personal reasons
unrelated to capacity or fitness for the office shall
be unlawful. The governor shall designate one member
of the board of directors to be the
chairperson of the agency to serve in such
capacity during his or her term as a member. The board
of directors may elect from among its members
such other officers as they deem necessary. The
board of directors annually shall elect one of
its members as vice chairperson. Three (3) members
of the board of directors shall constitute a
quorum. A majority vote of those present shall be
required for action. No vacancy in the
membership of the board of directors shall impair the right
of a quorum to exercise the powers of the board
of directors. The members of the board of
directors shall serve without compensation but
each member shall be reimbursed for all
reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of
his or her duties.
(d)
Notwithstanding any other provision of general or special law to the contrary,
any
member of the board of directors, who is also an
officer or employee of the state or of a local
governmental unit or other public body, shall
not thereby be precluded from voting for or acting
on behalf of the agency, the state, or local
governmental unit or other public body on any matter
involving the agency, the state, or that local
governmental unit or other public body, and any
director, officer, employee, or agent of the
agency shall not be precluded from acting for the
agency on any particular matter solely because
of any interest therein which is shared generally
with a substantial segment of the public.
46-12.2-4. General
powers of agency. – General powers and duties of agency. -- (a)
The agency shall have all powers necessary or
convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes
and provisions of this chapter, including
without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the
powers and duties:
(1) To adopt and
amend bylaws, rules, regulations, and procedures for the governance of
its affairs, the administration of its financial
assistance programs, and the conduct of its business;
(2) To adopt an
official seal;
(3) To maintain
an office at such place or places as it may determine;
(4) To adopt a
fiscal year;
(5) To adopt and
enforce procedures and regulations in connection with the performance
of its functions and duties;
(6) To sue and be
sued;
(7) To employ
personnel as provided in section 46-12.2-5, and to engage accounting,
management, legal, financial, consulting and
other professional services;
(8) Except as
provided in this chapter, to receive and apply its revenues to the purposes
of this chapter without appropriation or
allotment by the state or any political subdivision thereof;
(9) To borrow
money, issue bonds, and apply the proceeds thereof, as provided in this
chapter, and to pledge or assign or create
security interests in revenues, funds, and other property
of the agency and otherwise as provided in this
chapter, to pay or secure the bonds; and to invest
any funds held in reserves or in the water
pollution control revolving fund, the Rhode Island
water pollution control revolving fund, or the
local interest subsidy trust fund, or any revenues or
funds not required for immediate disbursement,
in such investments as may be legal investments
for funds of the state;
(10) To obtain
insurance and to enter into agreements of indemnification necessary or
convenient to the exercise of its powers under
this chapter;
(11) To apply
for, receive, administer, and comply with the conditions and requirements
respecting any grant, gift, or appropriation of
property, services, or moneys;
(12) To enter
into contracts, arrangements, and agreements with other persons, and
execute and deliver all instruments necessary or
convenient to the exercise of its powers under
this chapter; such contracts and agreements may
include without limitation, loan agreements with
local governmental units, capitalization grant
agreements, intended use plans, operating plans,
and other agreements and instruments
contemplated by title VI of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C.
section 1381 et seq., or this chapter, grant
agreements, contracts for financial assistance or other
forms of assistance from the state or the United
States, and trust agreements and other financing
agreements and instruments pertaining to bonds;
(13) To authorize
a representative to appear on its own behalf before other public bodies,
including, without limiting the generality of
the foregoing, the congress of the United States, in
all matters relating to its powers and purposes;
(14) To provide
financial assistance to local governmental units to finance costs of
approved projects, and to acquire and hold local
governmental obligations at such prices and in
such manner as the agency shall deem advisable,
and sell local governmental obligations acquired
or held by it at prices without relation to cost
and in such manner as the agency shall deem
advisable, and to secure its own bonds with such
obligations all as provided in this chapter;
(15) To establish
and collect such fees and charges as the agency shall determine to be
reasonable;
(16) To acquire,
own, lease as tenant, or hold real, personal or mixed property or any
interest therein for its own use; and to improve,
rehabilitate, sell, assign, exchange, lease as
landlord, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of or
encumber the same; and
(17) To do all
things necessary, convenient, or desirable for carrying out the purposes of
this chapter or the powers expressly granted or
necessarily implied by this chapter.;
(18) To conduct
a training course for newly appointed and qualified members and new
designees of ex-officio members within six (6)
months of their qualification or designation. The
course shall be developed by the executive
director, approved by the board of directors, and
conducted by the executive director. The board
of directors may approve the use of any board of
directors or staff members or other individuals
to assist with training. The training course shall
include instruction in the following areas: the
provisions of chapters 46-12.2, 42-46, 36-14, and
38-2; and the agency's rules and regulations.
The director of the department of administration
shall, within ninety (90) days of the effective
date of this act, prepare and disseminate, training
materials relating to the provisions of chapters
42-46, 36-14 and 38-2; and
(19) To meet at
the call of the chair at least eight (8) times per year. All meetings shall be
held consistent with chapters 42-46.
(b)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the agency shall not be
authorized or empowered:
(1) To be or to
constitute a bank or trust company within the jurisdiction or under the
control of the department of banking and
insurance of the state, or the commissioner thereof, the
comptroller of the currency of the United States
of America, or the treasury department thereof;
or
(2) To be or
constitute a bank, banker or dealer in securities within the meaning of, or
subject to the provisions of, any securities,
securities exchange, or securities dealers' law of the
United States or the state.
46-12.2-24.
Record keeping -- Financial statements. -- The agency shall, at all
times,
keep full and accurate accounts of its receipts,
expenditures, disbursements, assets, and liabilities
which shall be open to inspection by any officer
or duly appointed agent of the state. The agency
shall submit an annual report, in writing, to
the governor, speaker of the house of representatives,
and president of the senate. The report shall
include financial statements relating to the
operations, properties, and expenditures of the
agency maintained in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles, so far as
applicable, and audited by an independent certified
public accountant firm.
SECTION 2. Chapter
46-12.2 of the General Laws entitled "Rhode Island Clean Water
Finance Agency" is hereby amended by adding
thereto the following section:
46-12.2-24.1.
Reporting requirements. – Within ninety (90) days after the end of
each
fiscal year, the agency shall submit an annual
report to the governor, the speaker of the house of
representatives, the president of the senate,
and the secretary of state of its activities during that
fiscal year. The report shall provide: a summary
of the agency's meetings including when the
agency met, subjects addressed, decisions
rendered and meeting minutes; a summary of the
agency's actions including a listing of rules,
regulations, or procedures adopted or amended,
applications received for financial assistance
for water pollution abatement projects, contracts or
agreements entered into, applications and
intended use plans submitted to federal agencies for
capitalization grants, properties acquired or
leased, and bonds issued; a synopsis of any
complaints, suspensions, or other legal matters
related to the authority of the agency; a
consolidated financial statement of all funds
received and disbursed by the agency including the
source of and recipient of the funds which shall
be audited by an independent certified public
accountant firm; copies of audits or reports
required under federal law; a listing of the staff and/or
consultants employed by the agency; a listing of
findings and recommendation derived from
agency activities; and a summary of performance
during the previous fiscal year including
accomplishments, shortcomings and remedies. The
report shall be posted as prescribed in section
42-20-8.2. The director of the department of
administration shall be responsible for the
enforcement of this provision.
SECTION 3.
Severability. If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any
person or circumstances is held invalid, such
invalidity shall not affect other provisions or
applications of the act, which can be given
effect without the invalid provision or application, and
to this end the provisions of this act are
declared to be severable.
SECTION
4. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC03182/SUB
A/2
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