Chapter
435
2006 -- H 6750 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED
Enacted 07/07/06
A N A C T
RELATING
TO SEPARATION OF POWERS
Introduced
By: Representatives E Coderre, Crowley, Kilmartin, Davey, and Gallison
Date
Introduced: January 10, 2006
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1. Section
19-1-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 19-1 entitled "Definitions
and Establishment of Financial
Institutions" is hereby amended to read as follows:
19-1-2.
Board of bank incorporation. -- (a) The (i) There is hereby
authorized, created
and established within the department of
business regulation a five (5) member board of bank
incorporation, (hereinafter the “board”), all of
whom shall be voting members and serve without
compensation. Three (3) who serve as ex-officio
shall be the director
of the department of
business regulation (hereinafter the “director”) director or his
or her designee, the general
treasurer or his or her designee, and the
attorney general or his or her designee., one member of
the house of representatives, to be appointed by
the speaker, and one member of the senate, to be
appointed by the president of the senate, shall
constitute a board of bank incorporation, The other
two (2) members of the board shall be members of
the general public qualified by training or
experience in the fields of finance or banking,
appointed by the governor with the advice and
consent of the senate. In appointing public
members pursuant to this section, the governor shall
solicit and give due consideration of the
recommendations of the general treasurer with respect
thereto. The designee of a member serving as
ex-officio shall be a subordinate from within the
department of the ex-officio member and shall represent
him or her at all meetings of the board.
No one shall be eligible for public appointment
unless he or she is a resident of this state. The
board shall elect a chair and may elect from
among its own members such other officers as they
deem necessary.
(ii) The board
is a public policy appellate board established to consider appeals from a
decision of the director or the director's
designee concerning major banking matters which affect
the citizens and tax base of the state and to exercise
the powers and perform the duties conferred
or imposed upon it by this title.
(iii)
Newly appointed and qualified public members and designees of ex-officio
members shall, within six (6) months of their
qualification or designation, attend a training course
that shall be developed with board approval and
conducted by the director or his or her designee
and shall include instruction in the provisions
of chapters 19-1, 42-46, 36-14, and 38-2 of Rhode
Island general laws; and the board’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.
(iv) Public
members of the board shall be removable by the appointing authority for
cause only, and removal solely for partisan or
personal reasons unrelated to capacity or fitness for
the office shall be unlawful.
(v) Three
(3) members of the board of bank incorporation shall constitute a quorum for
the transaction of business. A majority vote
of those present shall be required for action. No
vacancy in the membership of the board shall
impair the right of a quorum to exercise all of the
rights and perform all of the duties of the
board. Any vacancy which may occur in the board shall
be filled by the governor with the advice and
consent of the senate, for the remainder of the
unexpired term in the same manner as the
member's predecessor as prescribed in this section.
(vi) Those
members of the board as of the effective date of this act who are members of
the general assembly shall cease to be members
of the board on the effective date of this act, and
the governor shall thereupon nominate one new
member who shall serve an initial term of three
(3) years and one new member who shall serve an
initial term of four (4) years. Thereafter, all
appointed members of the board shall be
appointed to terms of four (4) years and be eligible for
reappointment.
(b)(i) The
board of bank incorporation may adopt, and amend from time to time, rules
and regulations for the orderly conduct of its
affairs and for the administration of its duties
pursuant to this title. The board of bank
incorporation shall collect a filing fee with respect to
applications submitted to it. All fees pursuant
to this section shall be paid to the director, to and
for the use of the board of bank incorporation.
The fees to be charged for each type of application
shall be established annually at the board of
bank incorporation's first public hearing. The board
of bank incorporation shall publish notice of
its proposed fee structure at least once a week for
three (3) successive weeks in a newspaper of
general circulation.
(ii) Within
ninety (90) days after the end of each fiscal year during which the board has
conducted business, the board shall approve and
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: an operating statement summarizing
meetings or hearings held, meeting minutes if
requested, subjects addressed, decisions rendered,
rules or regulations promulgated, studies
conducted, policies and plans developed, approved, or
modified, and programs administered or
initiated; a consolidated financial statement of all funds
received and expended including the source of
the funds, a listing of any staff supported by these
funds, and a summary of any clerical,
administrative or technical support received; a summary of
performance during the previous fiscal year
including accomplishments, shortcomings and
remedies; a synopsis of hearings, complaints,
suspensions, or other legal matters related to the
authority of the board; a summary of any
training courses held pursuant to subsection 19-1-2
(a)(iv); a briefing on anticipated activities in
the upcoming fiscal year; and findings and
recommendations for improvements. The report
shall be posted electronically on the general
assembly and the secretary of state’s websites
as prescribed in section 42-20-8.2 of the Rhode
Island general laws. The director of the
department of administration shall be responsible for the
enforcement of this provision.
SECTION 2.
Sections 16-57-6.5 and 16-57-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-57
entitled "Higher Education Assistance
Authority" are hereby amended to read as follows:
16-57-6.5. Annual
audited financial report to the governor and general assembly. –
(a) The authority, in conjunction with the
general treasurer and the executive director of the
Rhode Island student loan authority, shall submit to the
governor, and the general assembly the
speaker of the house of representatives, the
president of the senate, and the secretary of state an
annual audited financial report, prepared in
accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles, on the operations of the tuition
savings program by November 1 of each year. The
annual audit shall be made either by the auditor
general or by an independent certified public
accountant approved by the auditor general and
shall include direct and indirect costs attributable
to the use of outside consultants, independent
contractors, and any other persons who are not state
employees.
(b) The
annual audit audited financial report shall be supplemented by
the following
information, to be submitted by April 1 of
each year, on the operations of the program for the
previous calendar year:
(1) Any
studies or evaluations prepared in the subject year; A summary of
meetings or
hearings held, meeting minutes, subjects
addressed, decisions rendered, rules or regulations
promulgated, studies conducted, policies and
plans developed, approved, or modified, and
programs administered or initiated; and a
summary of any clerical, administrative or technical
support received; a summary of performance
during the previous fiscal year including
accomplishments, shortcomings and remedies; a
synopsis of hearings, complaints, suspensions or
other legal matters related to the authority of
the board; a summary of any training courses held
pursuant to subsection 16-57-7(a)(2); a briefing
on anticipated activities in the upcoming fiscal
year; and findings and recommendations for
improvements;
(2) A summary of
the benefits provided by the tuition savings program including the
number of participants and beneficiaries; and
(3) Any other
information which is relevant in order to make a full, fair and effective
disclosure of the assets and operations of the
program.; and
(4) The
foregoing supplemental information shall be posted electronically on the
general
assembly's and the secretary of state's websites
as prescribed in section 42-20-8.2 of the Rhode
Island general laws. The director of the
department of administration shall be responsible for the
enforcement of this provision.
16-57-7.
Directors, officers, and employees. -- (a) (1) The powers of the
authority
shall be vested in a board of directors
consisting of nine (9) members, five (5) members of whom
to be shall be appointed by the governor from
among members of the general public, who are
qualified by training or experience in education
finance or personal investment consulting and
made in accordance with subsection (b) of this
section;
and six (6) members serving ex officio,
who shall be the chairperson of the finance committees
of the senate and house of representatives
or their designees, and two (2) members of the
board of governors for higher education three (3)
of whom shall be appointed by the governor,
who shall give due consideration to the
recommendations made by the chairperson of the
board of governors for higher education and by
the Rhode Island Independent Higher Education
Association for those appointments; , and the
state general treasurer ex-officio or
his or her designee who shall be a subordinate from within the
office of the general treasurer, and the chairperson of
the Rhode Island Independent Higher
Education Association or their designees. All gubernatorial
appointments made to this board shall
be subject to the advice and consent of the senate.
All board members first appointed to the board
after the effective date of this act shall be
residents of this state. Designees of members serving
ex-officio shall represent him or her at all
meetings of the board. Except for the chairpersons of
the house and senate finance committees or their
designees who shall cease to be members of the
authority upon the effective date of this act, Each each
member shall serve until his or her
successor is appointed and qualified. The
original members appointed by the governor shall be
appointed in a manner as to provide for the
expiration of the term of one member on the first day
of July of each year. The governor may remove
any member appointed by him or her for
misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office.
(2) Newly
appointed and qualified public members and designees of ex-officio members
shall, within six (6) months of their
qualification or designation, attend a training course that shall
be developed with board approval and conducted by
the chair of the board and shall include
instruction in the following areas: the
provisions of chapters 16-57, 42-46, 36-14 and 38-2; and
the board’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.
(3) Public
members of the board shall be removable by the appointing authority for cause
only, and removal solely for partisan or
personal reasons unrelated to capacity or fitness for the
office shall be unlawful.
(b) During
the month of June of each year, the governor shall appoint a member to
succeed the member whose term will then next
expire to serve for a term of five (5) years
commencing on the first day of July then next
following, and after this, until a successor is
appointed and qualified. As soon as
practicable after the effective date of this act, the governor
shall appoint a member to serve an initial term
to expire on July 1, 2010. Thereafter, all members
appointed by the general treasurer shall be
appointed to terms of five (5) years, and the governor
shall, during the month of June preceding the
expiration of each term, appoint a member whose
term will then next expire. In the event of a
vacancy occurring in the office of a member by death,
resignation, removal, or otherwise, the vacancy
shall be filled in the same manner as an original
appointment but only for the remainder of the
term of the former member.
(c) The directors shall receive no compensation for the performance of their
duties
under this chapter, but each director shall be
reimbursed for his or her reasonable expenses
incurred in carrying out the duties. A director
may engage in private employment or in a
profession or business.
(d) Upon appointment and qualification of the original board of directors, and
during
the month of July of each year after this, the
board of directors shall elect one of its members to
serve as chairperson. The board may elect
from among its members such other officers as they
deem necessary. Five (5) directors
shall constitute a quorum and any action to be taken by the
authority under the provisions of this chapter may
be authorized by resolution approved by a
majority of the directors present and voting at
any regular or special meeting at which a quorum
is present. A vacancy in the membership of the
board of directors shall not impair the right of a
quorum to exercise all the rights and perform
all the duties of the authority.
(e) (1) In
addition to electing a chairperson, the board of directors shall appoint a
secretary and any additional officers and staff
members as they shall deem appropriate. The board
of directors shall appoint an executive director
who shall be in the unclassified service and vest in
that person or his or her subordinates the
authorization to appoint additional staff members who
shall be in the classified service and to
determine the amount of compensation each individual
shall receive. Those persons who were regularly
established full time employees of the authority,
prior to March 27, 1979, and who are required to
be in the classified service may be placed in
appropriate classifications within the
classified service without the requirement of competitive
examination (as approved by the executive
director). All employees hired after March 27, 1979,
will be hired in accordance with the
requirements of the classified service for examination,
approved state lists, and other procedures of
the state division of personnel. Those persons who
were regularly established full time employees
of the authority, prior to March 27, 1979, shall
have the right to purchase retirement credits
for the period commencing November 1, 1977, to
March 27, 1979, at the its full actuarial cost.
(2) Any employee
in either the classified or unclassified service who was, prior to his or
her hiring by the authority, a participant in
the retirement program adopted for personnel at any
state or private college shall have the option
to either remain with that retirement program while
an employee of the authority or become a
participant in the employees' retirement system of the
state.
(f) No full
time employee shall during the period of his or her employment by the
authority engage in any other private
employment, profession, or business, except with the
approval of the board of directors; provided,
that the executive director shall not engage in any
other private employment, profession, or
business, including, but not limited to consulting.
(g)
Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, it shall not be or constitute a
conflict
of interest for a director, officer, or employee
of any financial institution, investment banking
firm, brokerage firm, commercial bank, trust
company, savings and loan association, credit union,
insurance company, educational institution, or
any other firm, person, or corporation to serve as a
director of the authority, nor shall any
contract or transaction between the authority and any
financial institution, investment banking firm,
brokerage firm, commercial bank, trust company,
savings and loan association, credit union,
insurance company, educational institution, or any
other firm, person, or corporation be void or
voidable by reason of any service as director of the
authority. If any director, officer, or employee
of the authority shall be interested either directly or
indirectly, or shall be a director, officer, or
employee of or have an ownership interest (other than
as the owner of less than one percent (1%) of
the shares of a publicly held corporation) in any
firm or corporation interested directly or
indirectly in any contract with the authority, the interest
shall be disclosed to the authority and set
forth in the minutes of the authority, and the director,
officer, or employee having interest in this
shall not participate on behalf of the authority in the
authorization of any contract. Interested
directors may be counted in determining the presence of
a quorum at a meeting of the board of directors
of the authority which authorizes the contract or
transaction.
(h) Any
action taken by the authority under the provisions of this chapter may be
authorized by vote at any regular or special
meeting, and each vote shall take effect
immediately. (i) The board of
directors may designate from among its members an executive
committee and one or more other committees each
of which, to the extent authorized by the board
of directors, shall have and may exercise all
the authority of the board of directors, but no
committee shall have the authority of the board
of directors in reference to the disposition of all
or substantially all the property and assets of
the authority or amending the bylaws of the
authority.
SECTION 3. Section
16-62-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-62 entitled "The Rhode
Island Student Loan Authority" is hereby
amended to read as follows:
16-62-7.
Directors, officers, and employees. -- (a) The powers of the authority
shall be
vested in a board of directors consisting of
seven (7) members as follows: six (6) five (5)
members appointed by the governor to the Rhode
Island higher education assistance authority
from among members of the general public as provided in section
16-57-7, all appointments
subject to the advice and consent of the senate;
and the general treasurer, ex-officio. The general
treasurer may designate a subordinate within his
or her department or agency to represent him or
her at all meetings of the board.
(b) The directors
shall receive no compensation for the performance of their duties under
this chapter, but each director shall be
reimbursed for his or her reasonable expenses incurred in
carrying out those duties. A director may engage
in private employment, or in a profession or
business.
(c) The board of
directors shall elect one of its members to serve as chairperson. Four (4)
directors shall constitute a quorum and any
action to be taken by the authority under the
provisions of this chapter may be authorized by
resolution approved by a majority of the directors
present and voting at any regular or special
meeting at which a quorum is present. A vacancy in
the membership of the board of directors shall
not impair the right of a quorum to exercise all the
rights and perform all the duties of the
authority.
(d) In addition
to electing a chairperson, the board of directors shall appoint a secretary
and any additional officers and staff members as
they shall deem appropriate and shall determine
the amount of compensation, if any, each shall
receive. The board of directors may appoint a
chief executive officer and vest in that person
or his or her subordinates the authority to appoint
additional staff members and to determine the
amount of compensation each individual shall
receive.
(e) No fulltime
employee shall during the period of his or her employment by the
authority engage in any other private
employment, profession, or business, including, but not
limited to, consulting.
(f)
Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, it shall not be or constitute a
conflict
of interest for a director, officer, or employee
of any financial institution, investment banking
firm, brokerage firm, commercial bank, trust
company, savings and loan association, credit union,
insurance company, educational institution, or
any other firm, person, or corporation to serve as a
director of the authority nor shall any contract
or transaction between the authority and any
financial institution, investment banking firm,
brokerage firm, commercial bank, trust company,
savings and loan association, credit union,
insurance company, educational institution, or any
other firm, person, or corporation be void or
voidable by reason of any service as director of the
authority. If any director, officer, or employee
of the authority shall be interested either directly or
indirectly, or shall be a director, officer, or
employee of or have an ownership interest (other than
as the owner of less than one percent (1%) of
the shares of a publicly held corporation) in any
firm or corporation interested directly or
indirectly in any contract with the authority, that interest
shall be disclosed to the authority and set
forth in the minutes of the authority, and the director,
officer, or employee having that interest in it
shall not participate on behalf of the authority in the
authorization of this contract. Interested
directors may be counted in determining the presence of
a quorum at a meeting of the board of directors
of the authority which authorizes the contract or
transaction.
(g) Any action
taken by the authority under the provisions of this chapter may be
authorized by vote at any regular or special
meeting, and each vote shall take effect immediately.
(h) The board of
directors may designate from among its members an executive
committee and one or more other committees each
of which, to the extent authorized by the board
of directors, shall have and may exercise all
the authority of the board of directors, but no
committee shall have the authority of the board
of directors in reference to the disposition of all
or substantially all the property and assets of
the authority, or amending the bylaws of the
authority.
(i) Any action
required by this chapter to be taken at a meeting of the board of directors,
or any action which may be taken at a meeting of
the board of directors, or committee of it, may
be taken without a meeting if a consent in
writing, setting forth the action to be taken, shall be
signed before or after that action by all of the
directors, or all of the members of the committee.
(j) The board
shall 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 chair of the board, approved by the board, and
conducted by the chair of the board. The board
may approve the use of any board or staff
members or other individuals to assist with
training. The training course shall include instruction
in the subject area of this chapter and chapters
46 of title 42, 14 of title 36, and 2 of title 38; and
the board's rules and regulations. The director
of the department of administration shall, within
ninety (90) days of the effective date of this
act, disseminate training materials relating to the
provisions of chapters 46 of title 42, 14 of
title 36, and 2 of title 38.
SECTION 4.
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 5. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00329/SUB
A/5
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