SB337 By Senator Waggoner RFD Local Legislation, Jefferson County Rd 1 07-APR-15

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT

Relating to Jefferson County; to amend Section 4 of Act 547 of the 1965 Regular Session (Acts 1965, p. 797), as amended, relating to civic center authority in the county; to provide further for the procedure for selecting members of the board.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:

Section 1. Section 4 of Act 547 of the 1965 Regular Session, as amended, is amended to read as follows:

"Section 4. There is hereby established in the County a public corporation for the purposes hereinafter specified, which corporation shall be vested with the powers conferred upon it by this act. The said public corporation is at times hereinafter referred to as "the Authority."

"Subject to the conditions and qualifications herein stated, the name of the said corporation shall be "Civic Center Authority of the Cities and County of ___________ County" (In the blank space will be inserted the name of the County). The Board of Directors of the Authority may choose some name other than that above specified at any time it elects to do so; provided, however, that if the Board of Directors chooses any other name there shall be filed for record in the office of the Probate Judge of the County a copy of the resolution of the Board of Directors stating the name adopted by the Authority, which resolution shall be followed by a certificate signed by the Chairman Chair of the Board of Directors stating the date on which the resolution was adopted and stating that the copy of the resolution preceding said the certificate is a true and correct copy of the resolution adopted by the Board of Directors. The term "Legislative Electoral College," as used in this Section, shall mean that group of legislators who shall elect the elective members of the Board of Directors of the Authority, which group of legislators shall consist of the following: Each member of the House of Representatives of the Legislature of Alabama from that representative district in which the County is located and each member of the State Senate from that senatorial district in which the County is situated.

"The affairs of the Authority shall be managed and controlled by a Board of Directors consisting of nine members. One of said the members shall be the mayor chief executive officer of the largest municipality in the county; at least two additional of said the members shall be resident citizens of the largest municipality in the county; one of said the members shall be the President or Chairman Chair of the governing body of the county; and none of said the members shall be a member of the Legislative Electoral College Legislature. The remaining members shall be elected in the manner hereinafter prescribed; provided, however, that if there shall be a branch court house in the County, one of the members of the Board shall be a resident of the area served by such the branch court house. The Chairman Chair of the Board of Directors shall be elected by said the Board after all members of the Board shall have been elected and qualified as such.

"Each of the seven elected board members shall serve a four-year term of office. A board member who is serving on the effective date of the act adding this language shall continue to serve as a board member for a four-year term commencing from the date his or her current term of office began. At the expiration of the board member's term, the incumbent members of the State Senate from Jefferson County and the incumbent members of the House of Representatives from Jefferson County serving at that time shall separately and alternatively elect a successor to the vacant directorship. The first vacancy to occur after the passage of this act shall be filled by the House of Representatives members with the second vacancy being filled by the Senate members. If a directorship held by an elected director becomes vacant during his or her term, the successor shall be elected by the Senate or House of Representatives members based on members of the body that made the appointment to the seat that is vacant for the remainder of the term of the vacant position.

"Seven elected members of the Board of Directors shall hold specific seats on the board designated as seats 1 through 7. The seats for the two directors whose terms expire in 2015 shall be designated as seats 1 and 2. The seats of the three directors whose terms expire in 2016 shall be designated as seats 3, 4, and 5. The seats of the two directors whose terms expire in 2018 shall be designated as seats 6 and 7. As these terms expire and new directors are elected, the members of the House of Representatives shall elect the director designated as seat 1 and the members of the Senate shall elect the director for seat 2, and thereafter the election shall be made on an alternating basis until appointments have been made for all seven elected seats. Thereafter, all succeeding appointments shall continue to be made on an alternating basis with the members of the Senate next electing the director designated as seat 1, the members of the House electing the director for seat 2, and so forth. Seat number 1 shall be designated as the seat to be occupied by a resident of the area served by the branch courthouse. Seats number 2 and number 3 shall be designated as the seats to be occupied by two resident citizens of the largest municipality in the county. No appointment to fill an expiring term may be made sooner than 120 days prior to the start of a new term. All terms of office shall commence on October 1 and last for four years, ending on September 30.

"Upon the election of any director by the House of Representatives or the Senate, as the case may be, the Chair of local legislative delegation for the respective legislative body shall deliver a written certificate to the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate, as the case may be, advising that the individual has been elected to a designated director's seat. The Clerk of the House or Secretary of the Senate shall maintain the originals of the certificates as official records filed with that office. The chair of the legislative body shall also forward a copy of the filed certificate to the Executive Director of the Authority, who will file a copy of the certificate in the office of the judge of probate of the county in which the Authority is located. The certificate shall also be spread upon the official records or minutes of the Board of Directors of the Authority.

"Within thirty days after this act, as amended, becomes applicable to the County the Mayor of the county seat and the President or Chairman of the governing body of the County shall address a letter, signed by them jointly in their respective official capacities, to each member of the Legislative Electoral College requesting that the Legislative Electoral College elect those members of the Board of Directors of the Authority to be elected by the Legislative Electoral College. As soon as practical after the members of the Legislative Electoral College receive the said letters, the Legislative Electoral College shall elect seven members of the Board of Directors of the Authority. If the legislative delegation has a chairman, said chairman shall send written notice to the member of the Legislative Electoral College, other than himself, notifying them of the time and place of the meeting to be held for the purpose of electing the members of the Board of Directors to be elected by the Legislative Electoral College, which time shall be not less than six days subsequent to the date on which the Chairman of the Legislative Delegation transmits said written notice to the members of the Legislative Delegation belonging to the legislative Electoral College. If the Legislative Delegation has no chairman, then the Senator of the senatorial district in which the County is situated shall give said written notice to the members of the legislative delegation. If there is more than one Senator from the County, then that Senator who has served the longest period in the Senate shall give the said notice; and if there is more than one Senator from the County and no Senator has seniority over the over Senator or Senators, then the oldest Senator shall give said notice. The Legislative Electoral College may elect the members of the Board of Directors to be elected by it either at the initial meeting held for that purpose or at some later meeting, provided, however, that if the election is at a later meeting, the time and place of such later meeting shall be fixed by a majority vote of the Legislative Electoral College at a meeting regularly call, or notice of the time and place of such later meeting shall be given in the manner herein prescribed for giving the notice of the initial meeting of the Legislative Electoral College. The election by the Legislative Electoral College shall be by a majority vote of the Senators present and a majority vote of the members of the House of Representatives present. To be elected as a member of the Board of Directors, a person must receive both the vote of a majority of the Senators present and also the vote of a majority of the House members present. Two members of the Board of Directors of the Authority elected by the Legislative Electoral College shall serve for a term of two years, two members of the Board of Directors of the Authority elected by the Legislative Electoral College shall serve for a term of three years, and three members of the Board of Directors of the Authority elected by the Legislative Electoral College shall serve for a term of four years, as fixed by the Legislative Electoral College, which terms shall commence from the October 1 closest to the date on which they are elected. In the event that seven members of the Board of Directors were not initially elected or the terms of office of such members are not fixed by the Legislative Electoral College, a meeting shall be called in the same manner as hereinabove provided to elect the required additional member or members and to fix the terms of office of all elected members.

"The person who under the terms hereof is to give notice of meeting of the Legislative Electoral College shall notify the Mayor or chief executive officer of the largest municipality in the county and the President or Chairman of the governing body of the County who the Legislative Electoral College elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Authority.

"When the Mayor or chief executive officer of the largest municipality in the county and the President or Chairman of the governing body of the County shall have been notified of the election of the members of the Board of Directors to be elected by the Legislative Electoral College, the said mayor and the said President or Chairman shall by letter signed by them jointly notify the members of the Board of Directors elected by the Legislative Electoral College of the time and place of the first meeting of the Board of Directors of the Authority. The Board of Directors shall fix the time and place at which they shall meet for the purpose of electing a Chairman of the Board; and the said members shall give such notice as is deemed appropriate by them of the time and place of said meeting.

"The Board of Directors shall elect a Chairman Chair of the Board and he who shall serve as Chairman Chair until his term as a member of the Board, which he is serving at the time of his election as Chairman Chair, expires. The Chairman Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors and the Chairman Chair shall have a vote the same as any other member of the Board of Directors.

"No person shall be elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the Authority unless he is a qualified elector of the County. Not more than one member of the Board of Directors elected by the Senate members or House members or by the Directors shall hold any public office; provided that this restriction shall not apply to the first members so elected.

"The members of the said Board of Directors shall serve without compensation except that they shall be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in and about the performance of their duties hereunder.

"In case a directorship held by an elected director become vacant during his term his successor shall be elected in the same manner in which he was elected. The successor shall be deemed to be elected for the remainder of the term during which the vacancy occurred; provided, however, that if a person is elected to any vacant directorship during the last six months of the any term of such directorship, he shall be deemed elected for the remained of such term and for the next succeeding term of such directorship. In the event the Legislative Electoral College shall fail for any reason to elect within sixty days after this Act, as amended, becomes applicable to the County the members of the Board of Directors, which this act provides said Electoral College shall elect, then in that event the two ex officio members of the Board (they being the Mayor or chief executive officer of the largest municipality in the county and the President or Chairman of the governing body of the County) and any other member or members of the Board of Directors theretofore elected shall elect such members of the Board of Directors to fill the directorship which the electoral college fails to fill. In the event a vacancy on the Board of Directors occurs which is to be filled by the Legislative Electoral College pursuant to this act members of the House or Senate as is appropriate fail fails for any reason to fill said the vacancy within sixty (60) days from the date of the occurrence of said the vacancy, the remaining members of the Board of Directors shall elect a member of the Board to fill said the vacancy.

"After March 1, 1986, the seven elected members of the Board of Directors shall no longer be elected by the Legislative Electoral College. After said date, whenever a Board member's term expires or his seat becomes vacant during a term, the incumbent members of the state Senate from Jefferson County and House of Representatives from Jefferson County shall hereafter separately and alternatively elect successors to vacant directorships with the Senate members filling the first vacancy after such date and the House members filling the second vacancy after such date. In case a directorship help by an elected Director becomes vacant during his or her term, the successor shall be elected by the Senate or House members, as the case may be, for the remainder of the term during which such vacancy occurred; provided, however, that if a person is elected to any vacant directorship during the last six months of any term of such directorship, he shall be deemed elected for the remainder of such term and for the next succeeding term of such directorship. In the event a vacancy shall occur on the Board of Directors by resignation, death or expiration of a Board member's term, said vacancy shall be filled by the Legislative delegation, as set out above, and if said legislative delegation fails for any reason to fill said vacancy within sixty (60) days from the date of the occurrence of said vacancy, the remaining member of the Board of Directors shall fill said vacancy."

Section 2. This act shall become effective immediately upon its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

Jefferson County

Counties

Birmingham-Jefferson County Civic Center Authority

Legislature

Authorities

Birmingham

Acts Amended