| Chapter 304 |
| 2025 -- H 6126 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 06/30/2025 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION -- COASTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT COUNCIL |
Introduced By: Representatives Finkelman, Cortvriend, Dawson, and Carson |
| Date Introduced: March 21, 2025 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Sections 46-23-2, 46-23-2.1 and 46-23-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 46- |
| 23 entitled "Coastal Resources Management Council" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 46-23-2. Coastal resources management council created — Appointment of members. |
| (a) There is hereby created the coastal resources management council. The coastal |
| resources management council shall consist of ten (10) members. Nine (9) members shall be |
| appointed by the governor, with advice and consent of the senate, and one member shall serve ex |
| officio. All current appointments to the coastal resources management council made by the |
| governor with advice and consent of the senate are hereby validated and ratified and those |
| appointees shall serve until a new seven (7) member council is selected pursuant to subsection (b) |
| of this section or for the remainder of their term, whichever shall occur first. |
| (1) Six (6) of the members shall be appointed or elected officials of local government: three |
| (3) of whom shall be appointed or elected officials in a municipality of fewer than twenty-five |
| thousand (25,000) in population, three (3) of whom shall be appointed or elected officials in a |
| municipality of more than twenty-five thousand (25,000) in population. The populations are to be |
| determined by the latest federal census. Elected or appointed municipal officials shall hold seats on |
| the council only so long as they remain in their elected or appointed office. Each municipal |
| appointment shall cease if the appointed or elected official shall no longer hold or change the office |
| which they held upon appointment. At least five (5) out of the six (6) appointed or elected members |
| must be appointed or elected in a coastal municipality. When the governor submits his or her |
| appointments to the senate for advice and consent, the governor shall specify the appointed or |
| elected office that each municipal appointment holds; the population of the municipality |
| represented; and the member being replaced. |
| (2) Three (3) members shall be appointed by the governor from the public, with the advice |
| and consent of the senate, one of the public members and his or her successors shall reside in a |
| coastal municipality. |
| (3) All members shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified; during the |
| month of January, the governor shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the senate, a member |
| to succeed the members whose term will then next expire for a term of three (3) years commencing |
| on the first day of February next following and until their successor is named and qualified. A |
| member shall be eligible for successive appointments. No more than two (2) persons on the council |
| shall be from the same municipality. A vacancy other than by expiration shall be filled in the |
| manner of the original appointment but only for the unexpired portion of the term. |
| (4) The director of the department of environmental management, or their designee, shall |
| serve ex officio. The ex-officio member shall not be counted as serving from any particular |
| municipality. |
| (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, on March 1, 2026, all current members |
| of the coastal resources management council shall have their terms expire. In anticipation thereof, |
| prior to March 1, 2026, the governor shall appoint a coastal resources management council that |
| shall consist of seven (7) voting members, one of whom shall be the director of the department of |
| environmental management who shall serve ex officio. The six (6) remaining members shall be |
| public members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. All appointed |
| members shall possess background, qualifications, and expertise in environmental and coastal |
| management matters, provided that one of whom shall be an engineer; one of whom shall be a |
| coastal biologist; and one of whom shall be a representative of an environmental organization. |
| Current or past service on the coastal resources management council shall not disqualify an |
| individual from reappointment pursuant to this subsection. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the |
| seven-(7)member (7) council is not seated by March 1, 2026 in accordance with this section, the |
| members appointed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall continue to serve until such time |
| as all members are appointed and confirmed in accordance with this section. |
| (b)(c) In addition to the foregoing voting members, the coastal resources management |
| council may include a varying number of other members who may serve in an advisory capacity |
| without the right to vote and who may be invited to serve by either the governor or the voting |
| members. These advisory members may represent the federal agencies such as the navy, coast |
| guard, corps of engineers, public health service, and the Federal Water Pollution Control |
| Administration, and such regional agencies as the New England River Basins Commission and the |
| New England Regional Commission and any other group or interest not otherwise represented. |
| (c)(d) There may be established a coastal resources advisory committee which committee, |
| appointed by the executive director of the coastal resources management council, may include, but |
| not be limited to, representation from the following groups: one of whom may be a representative |
| of the university of Rhode Island graduate school of oceanography and the college of resources |
| development, one of whom may be a representative of the Sea Grant National College Program, |
| one of whom may be a representative of the army corps of engineers, one of whom may be a |
| representative of the federal environmental protection agency’s Narragansett Bay laboratory, one |
| of whom shall be a representative of the coastal resources management council, one of whom may |
| be the director of the department of environmental management; one of whom may be a member |
| of the Rhode Island Marine Trade Association and one of whom may be a representative of a |
| regional environmental group. The coastal resources management council shall have the authority |
| to appoint these additional members to the advisory committee as is deemed necessary or advisable |
| by the advisory committee or the council. It shall be the responsibility of the committee to advise |
| the coastal resources management council on environmental coastal resources management issues |
| relating to dredging and permitting related thereto, including, but not limited to, those issues |
| defined in §§ 46-23-18.1 — 46-23-18.3, inclusive. |
| (d)(e) The council shall have the authority to form committees of other advisory groups as |
| needed from both its own members and others. |
| 46-23-2.1. Members — Term of office — Vacancies. |
| (a) The term of office of the appointed members shall be three (3) years, only so long as |
| the members shall remain eligible to serve on the council under the appointment authority. |
| (1) Subject to the provisions of § 46-23-2, all members shall serve until their successors |
| are appointed and qualified. |
| (2) Term limits on the coastal resources management council shall be determined by the |
| governor as follows: twoTwo (2) appointees shall serve an initial term of three (3) years and shall |
| be eligible for reappointment in accordance with this section; twoTwo (2) appointees shall serve |
| an initial term of two (2) years and shall be eligible for reappointment in accordance with this |
| section; and two (2) appointees shall serve an initial term of one year and shall be eligible for |
| reappointment in accordance with this section. |
| (3) After the expiration of the terms of all initial members pursuant to this subsection, |
| succeeding appointments shall be for a term of three (3) years, and during the month of January, |
| the governor shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the senate, a member to succeed the |
| member whose term will then next expire for a term of three (3) years commencing on the first day |
| of February next following and until a successor is named and qualified. |
| (b) The members are eligible for successive appointments. |
| (c) Elected or appointed municipal officials shall hold seats on the coastal resources |
| management council, only so long as they remain in their elected or appointed office. |
| (d) A vacancy other than by expiration shall be filled in the manner of the original |
| appointment but only for the unexpired portion of the term. Any person appointed to fill said |
| vacancy shall complete the unexpired term and shall then be eligible for reappointment pursuant to |
| this section. The governor shall have the power to remove his or hertheir appointee for just cause. |
| 46-23-4. Officers of the council — Quorum and vote required for action. |
| The governor shall select from the appointed members a chairperson and vice chairperson. |
| The coastal resources management council shall thereupon select a secretary from among its |
| membership or staff. The council may engage staff, including legal counsel, as it deems necessary. |
| A quorum shall consist of six (6) members of the council provided, however, for the council |
| appointed pursuant to § 46-23-2(b) a quorum shall consist of four (4) members of the council. A |
| majority vote of those present shall be required for action. |
| SECTION 2. Section 46-23-12 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-23 entitled "Coastal |
| Resources Management Council" is hereby repealed. |
| 46-23-12. Representation from coastal communities. |
| Upon the expiration of a term of a member appointed by the governor, as an appointed or |
| elected official of local government from a coastal municipality as set out in § 46-23-2, the governor |
| shall appoint an appointed or elected official of a coastal municipality which, at the time of the |
| governor’s appointment, has no appointed or ex officio representation on the council. |
| SECTION 3. Chapter 46-23 of the General Laws entitled "Coastal Resources Management |
| Council" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: |
| 46-23-27. Effective date. |
| (a) Within thirty (30) business days of the date of passage of this section, the council shall |
| post for notice and comment revisions of its coastal resources management program (referred to as |
| "red book") and management procedures in order to implement the changes to the council. |
| (b) Within fourteen (14) days of promulgation of the revised coastal resources management |
| program (referred to as "red book") and management procedures, the council shall submit a coastal |
| zone management act program change request to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric |
| Administration (NOAA) for the approval of the amendments to this chapter and the management |
| procedures. |
| SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC002481/SUB A |
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