Chapter 277
2010 -- S 2704
Enacted 06/25/10
A N A C T
RELATING TO
SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS --
Introduced By: Senators DaPonte, and DeVall
Date Introduced: March 18, 2010
It is enacted by the General
Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 5, contained in Section 1 of Chapter 345
of the 2003 Public Laws
entitled "An Act Relating to Special Development
Districts –
amended to read as follows:
Section 5. District
governance -- Commission. The powers of the District shall be
exercised by a commission as herein provided.
(a)
Membership of the Commission. There shall be a commission of nineteen (19)
members as follows: five (5) members shall be appointed by
the City Council, the terms shall be
four (4) years, with the initial appointments being two
(2) for two (2) year terms, two (2) for three
(3) year
terms, one (1) for a four (4) year term, who shall be either electors or
property owners of
the City or persons engaged in business in the City; five
(5) members appointed by the Governor,
with the advice and consent of the Senate, the terms shall
be four (4) years, with the one (1) for a
four (4) year term, who shall have expertise in the following
areas: architecture, planning, labor,
finance, and commercial real estate development; the
Mayor, with the approval of the City
Council, and the Governor shall jointly appoint a member who
shall be the chairperson, subject to
the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall have a
four (4) year term; in addition to these
voting members, there shall be eight (8) ex officio,
non-voting members as follows: the City
Manager, the City Planning
Director, the Public Works Director, the Executive Director of the RI
Economic Development Corp,
the Director of the Department of Transportation, the Director of
the Department of Environmental Management or an
associate director designated by the
director, a member of the Senate appointed by the Senate
President, and a member of the House
appointed by the Speaker. In the event of a vacancy occurring
in the office of a member by death,
resignation, or otherwise, that vacancy shall be filled in the
same manner as an original
appointment, but only for the remainder of the term of the former
member. Each member of the
Commission may serve until
a successor is appointed and qualified.
(b)
The commissioners shall receive no compensation for the performance of their
duties
under this chapter, but each commissioner shall be
reimbursed for his or her reasonable expenses
incurred in carrying out those duties. A commissioner may
engage in private employment, or in a
profession or business.
(c)
The chairperson shall designate a vice chairperson who shall serve at the
pleasure of
the chairperson. Seven (7) A majority of the
appointed voting commissioners shall constitute a
quorum, and any action to be taken by the District under the
provisions of this chapter may be
authorized by resolution approved by a majority of the
commissioners present and entitled to vote
at any regular or special meeting at which a quorum is
present. A vacancy in the membership of
the Commission shall not impair the right of a quorum to
exercise all of the rights and perform all
of the duties of the commission.
(d)
The Commission shall appoint a secretary and such additional officers and staff
members as they shall deem appropriate and shall determine
the amount of reasonable
compensation, if any, each shall receive. The Commission may vest
in an executive director or
the director's subordinates the authority to appoint
additional staff members and to determine the
amount of compensation each individual shall receive.
(e)
No full-time employee shall during the period of his or her employment by the
District engage in any
other private employment, profession, or business, except with the
approval of the board of directors.
(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, building-loan association,
architecture firm,
insurance company, or any other firm, person, or corporation to
serve as a commissioner, nor
shall any contract or transaction between the District and
a financial institution, investment
banking firm, brokerage firm, commercial bank, trust company,
building-loan association,
architecture firm, insurance company, or other firm, person, or
corporation be void or voidable by
reason of that service as director of the District . If any
commissioner, officer, or employee of the
District 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 Commission, that interest shall
be disclosed to the Commission and set
forth in the minutes of the Commission, and the
Commissioner, officer, or employee having that
ownership interest shall not participate on behalf of the
Commission in the authorization of that
contract. Interested commissioners may be counted in
determining the presence of a quorum at a
meeting of the Commission which authorizes the contract or
transaction.
(g)
Any action taken by the Commission under the provisions of this chapter may be
authorized by vote at any regular or special meeting, and each
vote shall take effect immediately.
All meetings shall be open
to the public and all records shall be a matter of public record except
that if a majority of the Commission decides, consistent
with the requirements of the open
meetings law, that it would be in the best interests of the
District and the City and/or the State to
hold an executive session in private, then the Commission
is authorized to transact any business
as allowable under law at that executive session in
private, and the record of the executive session
shall not become a matter of public record until the
transaction discussed has in the opinion of the
Commission been completed.
(h)
Employees of the District shall not, by reason of their employment, be deemed
to be
employees of the State or the City for any purpose, any other
provision of the general laws,
charter, or ordinance to the contrary notwithstanding.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02201
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