42-4-105 - Governing body. - Tennessee Statutes

42-4-105. Governing body.

(a)  (1)  (A)  The governing body of the authority shall be a board of commissioners of seven (7) persons appointed by the executive officer of the creating municipality and approved by its governing body, at least five (5) of whom shall be residents of the creating municipality, who shall have no financial interest in an airport or its concessions.

          (B)  The governing body of the authority in any county having a metropolitan form of government shall be a board of commissioners of ten (10) persons appointed by the executive officer of such creating municipality and approved by its governing body, who shall have no financial interest in an airport or its concessions, at least seven (7) of whom shall be residents of such county having a metropolitan form of government. Of the ten (10) persons appointed, at least one (1) shall be a female and one (1) shall be black. However, a black female shall not satisfy the requirement of one (1) female and one (1) black. The new position on the board of commissioners provided for by Acts 1988, ch. 887, shall be the mayor of the county having a metropolitan form of government or the mayor's designee. This commissioner shall have full voting rights on the board. This subdivision (a)(1)(B) shall not apply to any county having a population in excess of seven hundred thousand (700,000), according to the 1980 federal census or any subsequent federal census, even if the county in the future adopts a metropolitan form of government.

          (C)  The governing body of the authority of an airport that has regularly scheduled commercial passenger service, located in a county other than the county where the creating municipality is located, shall be a board of commissioners of nine (9) persons who shall have no financial interest in an airport or its concessions, to be appointed by the executive officer of the creating municipality and approved by its governing body, at least six (6) of whom shall be residents of the creating municipality, and three (3) of whom shall be residents outside of the creating municipality; provided, that at least one (1) is a resident of the county in which the airport is located.

          (D)  The governing body of the authority located in a county that borders only one (1) other state, and which county contains at least ten (10) cities, shall be a board of commissioners of nine (9) persons of good standing and reputation appointed by the executive officer of the creating municipality, and approved by its governing body, who shall have no financial interest in an airport or its concessions, at least five (5) of whom shall be residents of that county. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no other restrictions shall apply to the membership of the board of commissioners or their qualifications. Members of the board shall be appointed for terms of three (3) years and until their successors are appointed and qualified.

          (E)  In the process of selecting, nominating, and choosing the members to serve on the board of the authority, the mayor shall review all candidates when making appointments to assure that full consideration has been given to each appointment and has considered age, gender and race, and further that appropriate balance should be given to each consideration. The purpose of the review is to assure inclusion in the operation of the authority.

          (F)  Further, members of the legislative delegation shall be given quarterly reports or briefings of the activities and plans and conditions of the authority, and any proposals for capital expansion or improvements shall be given to the legislative delegation prior to the expansion or improvements.

     (2)  (A)  Except as provided in subdivisions (a)(1)(D), (a)(2)(B) and (a)(2)(C), the boards of commissioners shall include a person of good standing and reputation in each of the following fields: engineering, law, industry or commerce, and finance.

          (B)  However, in any county with a population in excess of eight hundred twenty-five thousand (825,000), according to the 1990 federal census or any subsequent federal census, the boards of commissioners may include, but are not limited to, a person of good standing and reputation in each of the following fields: engineering, law, industry or commerce, and finance.

          (C)  Four (4) seats on the governing body of the authority of an airport that has regularly scheduled commercial passenger service, located in a county other than the county where the creating municipality is located, shall be filled by persons of good standing and reputation in one (1) of the following five (5) fields: engineering, law, industry, commerce and finance.

(b)  Not less than two (2) of the commissioners shall hold airman's certificates issued by the federal aviation administration. The required certificates shall be private pilot's rating or a higher pilot rating; student certificates shall not satisfy the requirements. The engineer shall be an engineer licensed to practice in the state and shall have actively practiced such profession for the preceding five (5) years. The lawyer shall be licensed to practice before the highest court in the state and shall have been so licensed for a period of not less than five (5) years. The commissioners appointed from the fields of industry, commerce and finance shall be eminently qualified in their particular fields of endeavor. All commissioners shall be of excellent character and reputation.

(c)  (1)  Except as provided in subdivision (c)(2), if there is one (1) participating municipality, one (1) member of the board shall be appointed by the executive officer of the creating municipality and approved by its governing body from the person or persons nominated by the executive officer of the participating municipality. If there are two (2) or more participating municipalities, up to two (2) members of the board, but not exceeding two (2), may be appointed by the executive officer of the creating municipality and approved by its governing body from the persons nominated by each of the executive officers of the participating municipalities. No commissioner shall be an officer or employee of the creating municipality or a participating municipality.

     (2)  If the airport authority is located in a county with a population in excess of eight hundred twenty-five thousand (825,000), according to the 1990 federal census or any subsequent federal census, then two (2) members of the seven-member board shall be among the nominees of the executive officer of the participating county, and approved by the executive officer and governing body of the creating municipality.

(d)  (1)  (A)  Commissioners first appointed to the board shall be appointed for terms of one (1), two (2), three (3), four (4), five (5), six (6) and seven (7) years, respectively, but thereafter each commissioner shall be appointed for a term of seven (7) years.

          (B)  The additional two (2) commissioners first appointed to the board pursuant to subdivision (a)(1)(B) in any county having a metropolitan form of government shall be appointed for terms of six (6) and seven (7) years, respectively, but thereafter each such commissioner shall be appointed for a term of seven (7) years. At least one (1) member of the board appointed under subdivision (a)(1)(B) shall be a minority. Based upon the Metro Airport Authority's Noise Abatement Report compiled from population figures per the metro planning commission, those persons living within three (3) miles from the end of the north/south runway and the southeast/northwest runway are those persons most adversely impacted by air traffic noise. Therefore, the two (2) additional positions created by subdivision (a)(1)(B) shall be filled by persons who, at the time of appointment, are domiciled within five (5) miles of the end of those runways previously described and shall continue to be domiciled within this five-mile radius throughout their terms. This subdivision (d)(1)(B) shall not apply to any county having a population in excess of seven hundred thousand (700,000), according to the 1980 federal census or any subsequent federal census, even if such county in the future adopts a metropolitan form of government.

          (C)  Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, the commissioners appointed to the board pursuant to subdivision (a)(1)(B) on and after July 1, 1988, in any county having a metropolitan form of government shall be appointed for a term of four (4) years.

     (2)  Any vacancy by reason of nonresidence, incapacity, resignation or death shall be filled in like manner for the unexpired term.

     (3)  A commissioner's term shall continue until the appointment and qualification of a successor.

     (4)  A commissioner may be removed from office by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the governing body of the creating municipality, but only after notice of the cause of such removal has been served upon the commissioner, and only after the commissioner has been granted an opportunity for a public hearing on the cause.

(e)  The board shall elect from among its members a chair, vice chair, and secretary, each of whom shall continue to be voting members, and shall adopt its own bylaws and rules of procedure. A majority of the commissioners shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Except as expressly otherwise specified in this chapter, all powers granted to an authority by this chapter shall be exercised by the board.

(f)  Commissioners shall receive no salary but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties.

[Acts 1969, ch. 174, § 5; T.C.A., § 42-705; Acts 1984, ch. 853, § 1; 1986, ch. 745, §§ 1-4; 1988, ch. 887, §§ 1, 2; 1988, ch. 909, § 1; 1990, ch. 1080, §§ 1, 2; 1995, ch. 328, §§ 1, 2; 1998, ch. 640, §§ 1, 2; 1999, ch. 155, §§ 1, 2; 2002, ch. 562, § 1.]