(a) There is hereby established a Council on Transportation.
(b) The Council shall serve in an advisory capacity, except as otherwise provided, to the Secretary, the Deputy Secretary, the Transportation Directors and the Governor, and shall do all of the following:
(1) Consider matters relating to transportation in the State and other matters such as the budget and Capital Transportation Program which may be referred to it by the Governor or the Secretary of the Department.
(2) Study, research, plan and advise on matters it deems appropriate to enable the Department to function in the best possible manner.
(3) Have final approval of and adopt the Department of Transportation Capital Transportation Program which shall be submitted biennially to the Council by the Department.
a. The Council shall review the updated Department Capital Transportation Program prepared by the Department of Transportation, and established under § 8419 of this title, as amended. The updated Capital Transportation Program shall cover a period of not less than 6 years. The draft Capital Transportation Program shall be available to the public and the Council shall publish notices in a newspaper of general circulation in each county. The notices shall specify dates and places at which public meetings will be held, by the Council, 1 in each county, at which time the program will be reviewed and publicly explained and objections or comments may be made by an individual or group. Public meetings shall be held at least 2 weeks after the draft Capital Transportation Program is made available to the public. The notices shall also specify the name and address of the person to whom written comments may be sent. The written comments must be received by the person within 10 days after the last public meeting, which must be scheduled no later than September 30 of the program year. Following the written comment period, the Council may make priority changes to the proposed Capital Transportation Program in an open meeting by documenting the reasons and justifications for changes, using the priority formula-based processes described in § 8419 of this title, and shall adopt the program by March 1 of the program year. The Capital Transportation Program as prepared by the Department and as adopted by vote of the Council shall become the adopted Capital Transportation Program for the upcoming fiscal years. The adopted program shall be submitted to the agency charged with preparation of the State Capital Improvement Program and members of the General Assembly on or before March 15 of the program year for inclusion in the State Capital Improvement Program for the following fiscal year.
b. The Department Capital Transportation Program, as recommended to the agency charged with preparation of the State Capital Improvement Program, shall set forth estimated expenditures by project or program for engineering, rights-of-way, and construction of any major capital transportation project or program when applicable. The Program shall include detailed information by project as to location, description of improvement, areas of deficiency, and priority rating.
(4) Have final approval of and adopt all corridor route projects in connection with new road alignments, which project shall be submitted to the Council by the Department.
(5) Have final approval on matters relating to highway transportation priority planning under § 8419 of this title.
(6) Review and comment on the issuance, suspension, revocation, or reinstatement of all certificates of public convenience and necessity issued under Chapter 18 of Title 2.
(c) The Council shall adopt all motions and approve all projects only by a majority vote of the entire membership of the Council. All voting shall be done in person and at regular or special meetings of the Council. If the Council, for any reason, shall fail to approve and adopt in writing within a reasonable period of time after receipt of the programs or projects referred to it, the Secretary of the Department may, with the approval of the Governor, upon 15 days prior written notice to the Chairperson of the Council, give final approval to said programs or projects notwithstanding the absence of the Council’s written comments or approval.
(d) The Council shall consist of 9 members, with the members of no 1 political party holding a number of seats greater than one in excess of that held by the members of any other political party. This provision shall be applied only as existing Council members complete their present terms and all appointments made after July 18, 1990, shall be made in a manner sufficient to implement the political balance sought by this section, upon completion of the terms of the existing council members, at the earliest possible date.
(e) The Governor shall appoint the members of the Council, all of whom shall reside in the State, with a minimum of 2 members residing in any 1 county. A Chairperson of the Council shall be appointed by the Governor from the membership of the Council to serve at the Governor’s pleasure.
(f) No person shall be eligible for appointment to the Council on Transportation who is a director, officer or employee of any public carrier, as defined by Chapter 18 of Title 2, as amended, or who owns or directly or indirectly controls more than 1 percent of the stock of any public carrier.
(g) No member of the Council shall hold any office or position or be engaged in any business, employment or vocation, the duties of which are incompatible with the duties of their membership on the Council.
(h) Members of the Council shall serve for a term of 3 years, provided however, that after the expiration of 3 years such members shall continue to serve until such time as the Governor appoints a replacement. Members of the Council on Transportation existing prior to January 1, 1990, shall be permitted to complete the existing term of their membership, subject to the other provisions of this section as amended. As the terms of their existing members of the Council expire, each of the first 3 appointments of members of the Council shall be for a term of 1 year, and the next 3 such appointments shall be each for a term of 2 years. Thereafter, all appointments shall be made for 3 year terms such that three members of the Council are appointed each year.
(i) Members of the Council shall serve without compensation, except that they may be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incident to their duties as members of the Council.
(j) (1) Failure to attend 3 consecutive regular meetings of the Council shall be construed as a request by that member to resign from the Council and a replacement may thereafter be appointed in the member’s stead.
(2) Members may be removed only for just cause, except as otherwise provided herein. Prior to removal, members shall be entitled to notice of the reason for removal and shall be entitled to a hearing before the Governor or the Governor’s designee.
(k) Any replacement appointment to the Council to fill a vacancy prior to the expiration of the term shall be filled for the remainder of the term.