BILL REQ. #: H-4017.1
State of Washington | 63rd Legislature | 2014 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/05/14.
AN ACT Relating to the Washington economic development finance authority membership; and amending RCW 43.163.020.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 43.163.020 and 1995 c 399 s 89 are each amended to
read as follows:
The Washington economic development finance authority is
established as a public body corporate and politic, with perpetual
corporate succession, constituting an instrumentality of the state of
Washington exercising essential governmental functions. The authority
is a public body within the meaning of RCW 39.53.010.
The authority shall consist of ((eighteen [seventeen])) seventeen
members as follows: The director of the department of ((community,
trade, and economic development)) commerce, the director of the
department of agriculture, the state treasurer, one member from each
caucus in the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the
house, one member from each caucus in the senate appointed by the
president of the senate, and ten public members with one representative
of women-owned businesses and one representative of minority-owned
businesses and with at least three of the members residing east of the
Cascades. The public members shall be residents of the state appointed
by the governor on the basis of their interest or expertise in trade,
agriculture or business finance or jobs creation and development. One
of the public members shall be appointed by the governor as chair of
the authority and shall serve as chair of the authority at the pleasure
of the governor. The authority may select from its membership such
other officers as it deems appropriate.
The term of the persons appointed by the governor as public members
of the authority, including the public member appointed as chair, shall
be four years from the date of appointment, except that the term of
three of the initial appointees shall be for two years from the date of
appointment and the term of four of the initial appointees shall be for
three years from the date of appointment. The governor shall designate
the appointees who will serve the two-year and three-year terms.
In the event of a vacancy on the authority due to death,
resignation or removal of one of the public members, or upon the
expiration of the term of one of the public members, the governor shall
appoint a successor for the remainder of the unexpired term. If either
of the state offices is abolished, the resulting vacancy on the
authority shall be filled by the state officer who shall succeed
substantially to the power and duties of the abolished office.
Any public member of the authority may be removed by the governor
for misfeasance, malfeasance or willful neglect of duty after notice
and a public hearing, unless such notice and hearing shall be expressly
waived in writing by the affected public member.
The state officials serving in ex officio capacity may each
designate an employee of their respective departments to act on their
behalf in all respects with regard to any matter to come before the
authority. Such designations shall be made in writing in such manner
as is specified by the rules of the authority.
The members of the authority shall serve without compensation but
shall be entitled to reimbursement, solely from the funds of the
authority, for expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties under
this chapter. The authority may borrow funds from the department for
the purpose of reimbursing members for expenses; however, the authority
shall repay the department as soon as practicable.
((A majority of the authority shall)) Seven or more members of the
authority constitute a quorum.