§ 23-19-6 - Creation, membership, and terms of the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation.
SECTION 23-19-6
§ 23-19-6 Creation, membership, and termsof the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation. – (a) There is authorized, created, and established a public corporation of thestate, having a distinct legal existence from the state and not constituting adepartment of the state government, with the politic and corporate powers setforth in this chapter, to be known as the Rhode Island resource recoverycorporation, ("the corporation") to carry out the provisions of this chapter.The corporation is constituted a public instrumentality and agency exercisingpublic and essential governmental functions, and the exercise by thecorporation of the powers conferred by this chapter shall be deemed and held tobe the performance of an essential governmental function of the state.
(b) It is the intent of the general assembly by the passageof this chapter to create and establish a public corporation andinstrumentality and agency of the state for the purpose of the activitiesauthorized by this chapter, and to vest the corporation with all powers,authority, rights, privileges, and titles that may be necessary to enable it toaccomplish those purposes. This chapter shall be liberally construed inconformance with the purpose expressed in this section.
(c) The powers of the corporation shall be vested in eight(8) commissioners, consisting of the director of administration, or thedirector's designee, who shall be a subordinate within the department ofadministration, who shall serve as a nonvoting ex-officio member, and seven (7)public members to be appointed by the governor with advice and consent of thesenate, at least two (2) of whom shall be a resident of the town of Johnston.In making these appointments, the governor shall give due consideration torecommendations from the mayor of the town of Johnston and from the League ofCities and Towns. The governor shall also give due consideration torecommendations from representatives of the commercial waste haulers, andenvironmental advocacy organizations, and shall consider persons experienced inthe field of recycling. Those members of the corporation as of May 4, 2006 whowere appointed to the corporation by members of the general assembly shallcease to be members of the corporation on May 4, 2006, and the governor shallthereupon nominate one new member who shall serve the balance of the unexpiredterm of his or her predecessor. Those members of the corporation as of May 4,2006 who were appointed to the corporation by the governor shall continue toserve the balance of their current terms. Thereafter, the appointments shall bemade by the governor with advice and consent of the senate as prescribed inthis section.
(d) All public members shall serve staggered three (3) yearterms except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this section. In themonth of June each year thereafter, the governor shall appoint the successor(s)to the commissioners the governor has appointed whose terms expire that year,to serve for a term of three (3) years commencing on the day they arequalified. All public members shall serve until their respective successors areappointed and qualified. The members of the corporation shall be eligible tosucceed themselves.
(e) Any vacancy occurring in the office of a member by death,resignation, or otherwise shall be filled by the governor with advice andconsent of the senate in the same manner as the original appointment for thebalance of the unexpired term of the former member as prescribed in subsection23-19-6(c).
(f) Members of the corporation shall be removable by thegovernor pursuant to § 36-1-7 of the Rhode Island general laws, andremoval solely for partisan or personal reasons unrelated to capacity orfitness for the office shall be unlawful.
(g) The commissioners shall annually elect from among theirnumber a chair, vice chair and a treasurer, and any other officers that theymay determine. Meetings shall be held at the call of the chair or whenever two(2) commissioners so request. Four (4) commissioners shall constitute a quorum,and any action taken by the corporation under the provisions of this chaptermay be authorized by resolution approved by a majority of the commissionerspresent and voting at any regular or special meeting. No vacancy in themembership of the corporation's board of commissioners shall impair the rightof a quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of thecorporation.
(h) Commissioners shall receive no compensation for theperformance of their duties, but the commissioner shall be reimbursed for hisor her reasonable expenses incurred in carrying out the duties under thischapter.
(i) The commissioners of the corporation shall at regularintervals at least eight (8) times a year conduct business meetings for thepurpose of carrying out its general business. The meetings shall be open to thepublic and all records and minutes will be a matter of public record. Thecorporation shall be considered a "public body" and shall be subject to theprovisions of the Open Meetings Law, chapter 42-46 and to the provisions oftitle 38 concerning public records.
(j) The corporation shall continue until its existence isterminated by law. At that time its holdings and assets shall pass to andbecome vested in the state.
(k) The state shall indemnify and hold harmless every past,present, or future commissioner, officer, or employee of the corporation who ismade a party to or is required to testify in any action, investigation, orother proceeding in connection with or arising out of the performance oralleged lack of performance of that person's duties on behalf of thecorporation. These persons shall be indemnified and held harmless, whether theyare sued individually or in their capacities as commissioners, officers, oremployees of the corporation, for all expenses, legal fees and/or costsincurred by them during or resulting from the proceedings, and for any award orjudgment arising out of their service to the corporation that is not paid bythe corporation and is sought to be enforced against a person individually, asexpenses, legal fees, costs, awards or judgments occur. Provided, however, thatneither the state nor the corporation shall indemnify any commissioner,officer, or employee:
(1) For acts or omissions not in good faith or which involveintentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;
(2) For any transaction from which the member derived animproper personal benefit; or
(3) For any malicious act.
(l) No one shall be eligible for appointment unless he or sheis a resident of the state.