HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1407        FILED ON: 1/13/2009

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3542

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act regarding the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Board of Directors..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.  Chapter 161A of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 7, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section:

Section 7. The authority shall be managed by a board of nine directors, one of whom shall be the secretary who shall serve as chairman of the board and shall not be compensated therefor, and eight of whom shall be appointed by the governor to two year terms beginning July 1 and who shall be eligible for reappointment to no more than three consecutive terms. The directors appointed by the governor shall consist of one selected from a list provided by the mayor of Boston, one selected from a list provided by the chief executive officers, as defined in section 7 of chapter 4, of the 14 cities and towns excluding Boston, one selected from a list provided by the metropolitan area planning council on behalf of the 51 cities and towns and other served communities, and one selected from a list provided by the authority riders oversight committee. One of the appointees of the governor shall be experienced in transportation, one shall be a member of a local, national, or international labor organization, one shall be experienced in environmental protection, one shall be experienced in administration and finance, and one shall be experienced in consumer protection. No more than five of the nine directors shall be members of the same political party. Each director shall be a resident of the area constituting the authority and shall use authority transit services regularly. At least three of the directors shall be transit-dependent, defined as not owning or having access within their household to an automobile. Any director, except the chairman, may be removed for cause by the governor. In event of a vacancy, a successor shall be named in the same manner as the vacated director and such successor shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term. The provisions of section 3 of chapter 12 shall not apply to said board of directors. The eight directors appointed by the governor shall receive a salary of $7,500. A majority of the directors shall constitute a quorum, but a majority vote of the entire membership of the board of directors shall be required to take any particular action. The directors shall meet monthly, provided that said meeting shall occur no later than the fifteenth day of the month. Each meeting shall provide a sufficient opportunity for public comment at the beginning and end of each meeting. The agendas for each meeting shall be posted online at least 24 hours before the meeting and written materials provided to directors for the meeting shall be available at the meeting for the public. Meetings shall alternate from month to month between daytime and evening meeting times.