12103394D
HOUSE BILL NO. 659
Offered January 11, 2012
Prefiled January 11, 2012
A BILL to amend and reenact §§33.1-1 and 33.1-2 of the Code
of Virginia, relating to composition of the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
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Patrons-- Surovell and Watts
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Referred to Committee on Transportation
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§33.1-1 and 33.1-2 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§33.1-1. State Highway and Transportation Board continued as
Commonwealth Transportation Board; number and terms of members; removal from
office; Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner continued as Commissioner of
Highways; vacancies.
The State Highway and Transportation Board, formerly known as
the State Highway and Transportation Commission, is continued and shall
hereafter be known as the Commonwealth Transportation Board. Wherever either
"Commission" or "Board" is used in this title referring to
the State Highway and Transportation Board or the State Highway and
Transportation Commission, it shall mean the Commonwealth Transportation Board.
The Board shall consist of seventeen 18
members: the Secretary of Transportation, the Commissioner of Highways, the
Director of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, and fourteen
15 citizen members. The citizen
members shall be (i) appointed by the Governor as provided in §33.1-2, (ii)
subject to confirmation by the General Assembly, and (iii) removable from
office during their respective terms by the Governor at his pleasure.
Appointments of citizen members shall be for terms of four years commencing
upon July 1, upon the expiration of the terms of the existing members,
respectively. The initial terms of the members appointed in January, 1987,
shall commence when appointed and shall be for terms ending June 30, 1988, June
30, 1989, and June 30, 1990, respectively. Vacancies shall be filled by
appointment by the Governor for the unexpired term and shall be effective until
30 days after the next meeting of the ensuing General Assembly and, if
confirmed, thereafter for the remainder of the term. No person shall be
eligible to serve more than two successive terms of four years, other than the
Secretary of Transportation, the Commissioner of Highways, and the Director of
the Department of Rail and Public Transportation. A person heretofore or
hereafter appointed to fill a vacancy may serve two additional successive
terms.
The Secretary of Transportation shall serve as Chairman of the
Board. The Secretary shall have voting privileges only in the event of a tie.
The Commissioner of Highways shall serve as Vice-Chairman of the Board. The
Commissioner shall have voting privileges only in the event of a tie when he is
presiding during the absence of the Chairman. The Director of the Department of
Rail and Public Transportation shall serve without a vote.
Whenever in this title and in the Code of Virginia "State
Highway Commission" or "State Highway and Transportation Board"
is used, it shall mean "Commonwealth Transportation Board";
"State Highway Commissioner" or "State Highway and
Transportation Commissioner" or "Commonwealth Transportation
Commissioner" shall mean Commissioner of Highways; and all references to
"Department of Highways and Transportation" shall refer to the
Department of Transportation.
§33.1-2. Residence requirements; statewide interest.
Of such Board, one member shall be a resident of the territory
now included in the Bristol
construction district, one in the Salem construction district, one in the
Lynchburg construction district, one in the Staunton construction district, one
in the Culpeper construction district, one in the Fredericksburg construction
district, one in the Richmond construction district, one in the Hampton Roads
construction district and one in the Northern Virginia construction district each congressional district in the Commonwealth.
Upon any redistricting, any member who no longer lives in his
appointed district shall resign.
The remaining five four
members shall be appointed from the Commonwealth at large., but at least two Of the at large members, two
shall reside in standard metropolitan statistical areas and be designated as
urban at-large members,
and at least two shall reside
outside standard metropolitan statistical areas and be designated as rural
at-large members. The at-large members shall be appointed to represent rural
and urban transportation needs and, in addition, one
shall be mindful of the
concerns of appointed to
represent the interests and concerns of seaports and
seaport users, one shall be
appointed to represent the interests and concerns of airports
and airport users, one shall be
appointed to represent the interests and concerns of railways
and railway users, and one shall be
appointed to represent the interests and concerns of mass
transit and mass transit users. Each member so appointed shall be mindful of
the best interest of the Commonwealth at large primarily instead of those of
the district from which chosen or of the transportation interest represented.
2. Nothing in this act shall affect the term of any
member appointed to the Commonwealth Transportation Board prior to July 1,
2012, as long as such member is transitioned into a citizen member seat
according to the congressional districts for the remainder of his term.
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