§ 50-39-4 — Membership; structure; operation; appointment of executive director; annual reporting

(a) (1) The board of directors of the authority shall consist of 16 members, ten of whom shall be appointed from the authority districts described in paragraph (2) of this subsection, five of whom shall be appointed as described in paragraph (3) of this subsection, and the commissioner of transportation who shall serve ex officio and be a nonvoting member. The members appointed from such authority districts shall be chosen by a majority vote of a caucus of the members of the House of Representatives and Senate whose respective districts include any portion of such authority district, the chairpersons of the county board of commissioners whose counties are located within such authority districts, and one mayor from the municipalities located within such authority districts who shall be chosen by a caucus of all mayors from the municipalities located within such authority districts; provided that if any authority district is wholly or partially located within the City of Atlanta, the mayor of the City of Atlanta shall be entitled to his or her own vote in addition to the vote by the mayor outside the limits of such city selected by the caucus of mayors to cast a vote. Each such appointee shall be a resident of the authority district which he or she represents and possess significant experience or expertise in a field that would be beneficial to the accomplishment of the function and purpose of this chapter. No later than December 1, 2018, the respective caucuses appointing board members from the authority districts shall meet and appoint their respective board members of said board of directors. A majority of eligible caucus members shall constitute a quorum for purposes of any meeting provided for in this Code section. Selection of an individual to serve as an appointee from an authority district shall be chosen by a majority vote of the quorum present at any meeting called in compliance with the notice requirements set forth in this Code section. Beginning in 2021, the respective caucuses appointing board members from the authority districts shall meet during the regular session of the General Assembly immediately preceding the expiration of the term of office of each member appointed by an authority district. All such meetings shall be called by the chairperson of the authority and be held at the state capitol. Notice of such meeting shall be sent by email to all appointing members of any respective caucus at least seven calendar days prior and shall state the time, place, and purpose for such meeting. Voting shall be in person by secret ballot, and use of proxies, teleconference, or other technology where an appointing member is not physically present at such meeting shall be prohibited. (2) (A) For purposes of appointing members of the board other than those members appointed pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection, there are hereby created ten authority districts, which shall be as described in the plan attached to and made part of this Act and further identified as "Plan: transit-dist-2018 Plan Type: Regional Administrator: H009 User: Gina." (B) When used in such attachment, the term "VTD" (voting tabulation district) shall mean and describe the same geographical boundaries as provided in the report of the Bureau of the Census for the United States decennial census of 2010 for the State of Georgia. (C) The separate numeric designations in an authority district description which are underneath a VTD heading shall mean and describe individual blocks within a VTD as provided in the report of the Bureau of the Census for the United States decennial census of 2010 for the State of Georgia. (D) Any part of the jurisdiction of the authority which is not included in any such authority district described in that attachment shall be included within that authority district contiguous to such part which contains the least population according to the United States decennial census of 2010 for the State of Georgia. (E) Any part of the jurisdiction of the authority which is described in that attachment as being in a particular authority district shall nevertheless not be included within such authority district if such part is not contiguous to such authority district. Such noncontiguous part shall instead be included within that authority district contiguous to such part which contains the least population according to the United States decennial census of 2010 for the State of Georgia. (F) Except as otherwise provided in the description of any authority district, whenever the description of such authority district refers to a named city, it shall mean the geographical boundaries of that city as shown on the census map for the United States decennial census of 2010 for the State of Georgia. (G) The plan attached shall be reviewed by the Senate and House Transportation Committees after the report of the Bureau of the Census for the United States decennial census of 2020 or any future such census. (3) The Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House of Representatives shall each appoint two board members. The Governor shall appoint one member who shall serve as the chairperson. (b) All members of the board and their successors shall each be appointed for terms of four years, except that those members appointed from even-numbered authority districts shall serve an initial term that expires on April 15, 2023, and those members appointed from odd-numbered authority districts shall each serve an initial term that expires on April 15, 2021. After such initial term, that caucus which appointed such member for such initial term shall appoint successors thereto for terms of office of four years. All members of the board shall serve until the appointment and qualification of a successor except as otherwise provided in this Code section. Other than the commissioner of transportation, no person holding any other office of profit or trust under the state shall serve upon the board. The chairperson of the board of directors shall be appointed by the Governor, and a vice chairperson shall be selected annually from among the members by majority vote of those members present and voting. (c) Vacancies in office of members appointed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of this Code section shall be filled in the same manner as original appointments. If a vacancy in office of a member appointed by an authority district pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section occurs during any regular session of the General Assembly, the election for such vacancy shall be held in the same manner as provided in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section. For all other vacancies in office of a member appointed by an authority district, the remainder of the unexpired term shall be filled by a member elected at a meeting called by the chairperson of the authority at a location designated by such chairperson, which shall be at the state capitol or a location within the authority district where such vacancy occurs. Notice of such meeting shall be sent by email to all appointing members of any respective caucus at least seven calendar days prior and shall state the time, place, and purpose for such meeting. A person appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the unexpired term. No vacancy on the board shall impair the right of the quorum of the remaining members then in office to exercise all rights and perform all duties of the board. (d) The members of the board of directors shall be entitled to and shall be reimbursed for their actual travel expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties and, for each day actually spent in the performance of their duties, shall receive the same per diem as do members of the General Assembly. (e) Members of the board of directors shall be subject to removal by the appointing authority or a majority vote of the appointing caucus for misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance, failure to attend three successive meetings of the board without good and sufficient cause, abstention from voting unless authorized under subsection (h) of this Code section, or upon a finding of a violation of Code Section 45-10-3 pursuant to the procedures applicable to such Code section. A violation of Code Section 45-10-3 may also subject a member to the penalties provided in subparagraphs (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), and (a)(1)(C) of Code Section 45-10-28 , pursuant to subsection (b) of such Code section. In the event that a vacancy or vacancies on the board render the board able to obtain a quorum but unable to obtain the attendance of a number of members sufficient to constitute such supermajorities as may be required by this chapter, the board shall entertain no motion or measure requiring such a supermajority until a number of members sufficient to constitute such supermajority is present. (f) The members of the authority shall be subject to the applicable provisions of Chapter 10 of Title 45, including without limitation Code Sections 45-10-3 through 45-10-5 . Members of the authority shall be public officers who are members of a state board for purposes of the financial disclosure requirements of Article 3 of Chapter 5 of Title 21. The members of the authority shall be accountable in all respects as trustees. The authority shall keep suitable books and records of all actions and transactions and shall submit such books together with a statement of the authority's financial position to the state auditor on or about the close of the state's fiscal year. The books and records shall be inspected and audited by the state auditor at least once in each year. (g) Meetings of the board of directors, regular or special, shall be held at the time and place fixed by or under the bylaws, with no less than five days' public notice for regular meetings as prescribed in the bylaws and such notice as the bylaws may prescribe for special meetings. Each member shall be given written notice of all meetings as prescribed in the bylaws. Meetings of the board may be called by the chairperson or by such other person or persons as the bylaws may authorize. (h) No member may abstain from a vote other than for reasons constituting disqualification to the satisfaction of a majority of a quorum of the board on a record vote. (i) The board may, in its discretion, appoint an executive director as the administrative head of the authority and shall set his or her salary. The authority is assigned to the Department of Transportation for administrative purposes only. (j) The authority shall annually submit a report of projects of regional and state significance from the regional transit plan to the Office of Planning and Budget, the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives for consideration by such parties for inclusion in the bond package for the upcoming fiscal year budget. The required date of submission of such report shall coincide with the required submission date of estimates of financial requirements of a budget unit pursuant to Code Section 45-12-78 .

Legislative History

Amended by 2020 Ga. Laws 572,§ 2, eff. 1/1/2021. Amended by 2019 Ga. Laws 321,§ 50, eff. 5/12/2019. Added by 2018 Ga. Laws 409,§ 2-1, eff. 5/3/2018.