(a)  The board of utility commissioners shall consist of five (5) members, no less than three (3) of whom shall be residents of the town of New Shoreham as defined by the Revised Ordinances of the town of New Shoreham, Chapter 2, Article I, Section 2-2. A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum and a majority of the members shall be necessary for all actions taken by the board. No vacancy in the membership of the board shall impair the right of a quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the board. The initial elected members of the board of utility commissioners shall be elected with staggered terms of two (2) years and four (4) years. The three (3) candidates receiving the most votes will serve four-year (4) terms; the two (2) candidates receiving the next highest number of votes will serve two-year (2) terms. Thereafter, the members of the board of utility commissioners of the utility district shall be elected for a term of four (4) years by ballot of qualified electors.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 45-67-6

  • BIPCo: means the Block Island Power Company. See Rhode Island General Laws 45-67-2
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Qualified elector: means any person whose name appears on an active account with the utility district and who is designated by the account holder to be the qualified elector. See Rhode Island General Laws 45-67-2
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
  • Utility district: means the Block Island utility district, a quasi-municipal corporation, having a distinct legal existence from the state, established and empowered by this chapter to:

    (i)  Fulfill electric utility functions, powers, rights, and obligations;

    (ii)  Exercise certain powers as an electric distribution company and power producer; and

    (iii)  Provide additional utility services not inconsistent with the duties, powers and obligations of the utility district as defined in this section. See Rhode Island General Laws 45-67-2

(b)  The election of the initial board of utility commissioners shall be administered by the town of New Shoreham using the list of qualified electors provided by BIPCo.

(c)  Each member of the board of utility commissioners shall be a qualified elector. A qualified elector shall be eligible to be a candidate for election to the board; provided, however, that they shall first have filed a declaration of candidacy with the secretary of the board of utility commissioners not later than thirty (30) calendar days prior to the scheduled date of the election through which such person seeks to be elected. In the event of a vacancy occurring on the board of utility commissioners by reason of death, resignation, or other cause, the board itself may select an eligible candidate to fill the vacancy until the next annual election. In the event that an active account is in the name of a corporation or other entity, the designated qualified elector of such an entity shall also be eligible to be a candidate for election to the board.

(d)  The board of utility commissioners shall elect each year from among its members:

(1)  A chairperson;

(2)  A vice chairperson;

(3)  A secretary; and

(4)  A treasurer.

(e)  The board of utility commissioners shall establish and adopt bylaws for the management and conduct of the utility district’s affairs and other aspects of the governance of the utility district not otherwise controlled by this chapter.

History of Section.
P.L. 2017, ch. 280, § 1; P.L. 2017, ch. 293, § 1.