(a)  Members of the board of utility commissioners shall not be entitled to receive compensation for attendance at scheduled and special meetings of the board of utility commissioners, but shall be entitled to reimbursement of the actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The salaries, compensation, and expenses of employees and agents of the utility district shall be paid solely out of funds of the utility district. No part of the earnings of the utility district shall inure to the benefit of any private person.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 45-67-7

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • 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 board may enter into employment contracts with its executive employees. The board shall have the authority to approve employee benefit plans, including fringe benefits such as, but not limited to, pension, health, disability, and other insurances.

(c)  No member of the board of utility commissioners shall directly or indirectly engage or participate in the proceeds of any contract or agreement to supply anything of value or receive anything of value from the utility district. The prohibition set forth in this subsection may be waived by a vote of four (4) of the board of utility commissioners if, and only if, the board of utility commissioners shall have first obtained an opinion of the attorney general and/or the Rhode Island ethics commission based on full disclosure of all relevant facts that the waiver does not contravene state law and is otherwise in the best interests of the consumers served by the utility district.

History of Section.
P.L. 2017, ch. 280, § 1; P.L. 2017, ch. 293, § 1; P.L. 2022, ch. 266, § 1, effective July 2, 2022; P.L. 2022, ch. 308, § 1, effective July 6, 2022.