§ 46-9-5 - Pilotage commission. - Rhode Island Statutes

SECTION 46-9-5

   § 46-9-5  Pilotage commission. – (a) There is hereby created a state pilotage commission within the departmentof environmental management independent of the department and the director,consisting of four (4) members, two (2) of whom shall be appointed by thegovernor. Of the members appointed by the governor, one shall be a licensedpilot with five (5) years active service on the waters of this state, and oneshall represent the public. The associate director of the bureau of naturalresources within the department of environmental management, or his or herdesignee, and the director of the department of environmental management, orhis or her designee, shall serve as ex officio members of the commission. Eachappointed member of the commission shall serve for a term of three (3) yearsand until his or her successor shall be appointed and qualified. In the monthof February, the governor shall appoint a member to hold office until the firstday of March in the third year of his or her appointment, and until his or hersuccessor shall be appointed and qualified to succeed the member whose termshall next expire.

   Gubernatorial appointments made under this section after theeffective date of this act [April 20, 2006] shall be subject to theadvice and consent of the senate.

   (b) Any vacancy which may occur in the commission shall befilled by the governor as in the case of an original appointment for theremainder of the unexpired term. Any member shall be eligible to succeedhimself or herself.

   (c) Newly appointed and qualified public members anddesignees of ex-officio members shall, within six (6) months of theirqualification or designation, attend a training course that shall be developedwith commission approval and conducted by the chair of the commission and shallinclude instruction in the following areas: the provisions of chapters 46-9,42-46, 36-14 and 38-2 and the commission's rules and regulations. The directorof the department of administration shall, within ninety (90) days of theeffective date of this act [April 20, 2006], prepare and disseminatetraining materials relating to the provisions of chapters 42-46, 36-14 and 38-2.

   (d) Members of the commission shall be removable by thegovernor pursuant to § 36-1-7 of the general laws and for cause only, andremoval solely for partisan or personal reason unrelated to capacity or fitnessfor the office shall be unlawful.