Senate Bill No. 404
(By Senators Facemyer, Smith, Minard, Sharpe, Edgell,
Boley, Deem and Kessler)
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[Introduced January 30, 2003; referred to the Committee on
Government Organization; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to establish the "Blue and Gray Intermodal Highway
Authority"; functions; members; appointment; powers and
duties; officers; bylaws; rules; compensation; authority as
corporate body; and severability.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
BLUE AND GRAY INTERMODAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY.
§1. Intermodal highway authority created; functions.
There is hereby created a Blue and Gray Intermodal Highway
Authority, to promote and advance the construction of a modern
highway which would connect Interstate 79 and Interstate 77. The
highway must travel through Jackson, Roane, Calhoun, Gilmer,
Braxton and Lewis counties. The authority must coordinate with
counties, municipalities, state and federal agencies, public
nonprofit corporations, private corporations, associations,
partnerships and individuals for the purpose of planning, assisting and establishing recreational, tourism, industrial, economic and
community development of the Blue and Gray Intermodal Highway for
the benefit of the region and all West Virginians.
§2. Members; appointment; officers; bylaws; rules; compensation.
(a) The authority consists of twelve voting members and two ex
officio nonvoting members. All members shall be appointed before
the first day of July, two thousand three.
(b) Each of the county commissions of the counties of Jackson,
Roane, Calhoun, Gilmer, Braxton and Lewis shall appoint two voting
members to the commission. The terms of the voting members
initially appointed by a county commission are as follows: One
member from each county shall be appointed for two years and the
other member appointed from each county shall be appointed for four
years. All successive appointments are for terms of four years.
Any voting member may be removed for cause by the appointing county
commission.
(c) The two ex officio nonvoting members are the commissioner
of highways, or his or her designee, and the executive director of
the West Virginia development office, or his or her designee. All
terms of ex officio nonvoting members are for four years.
(d) Should a vacancy occur, the person appointed to fill the
vacancy shall serve only for the unexpired portion thereof. All
members are eligible for reappointment.
(e) The authority shall meet annually on the third Monday in July and at other times that the authority designates in its
bylaws. A special meeting may be called by the president, the
secretary or any four members of the authority and may be held only
after all members are given notice of the meeting in writing. The
presence of seven voting members constitutes a quorum for all
meetings. At each annual meeting of the authority, it shall elect
a president, secretary and treasurer. The authority shall adopt
bylaws and rules as may be necessary for its operation and
management.
§3. Powers of authority.
The authority, as a public corporation and governmental
instrumentality exercising public powers of the state, may exercise
all powers necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of
this article, including, but not limited to, the power:
(1) To acquire, own, hold and dispose of property, real and
personal, tangible and intangible;
(2) To lease property, whether as lessee or lessor, and to
acquire or grant through easement, license or other appropriate
legal form, the right to develop and use property and open it to
the use of the public;
(3) To sue and be sued;
(4) To adopt, use and alter a corporate seal;
(5) To promote economic development and tourism along the Blue
and Gray Intermodal Highway;
(6) To advocate actions consistent with its plan of economic
development and tourism or its provisions to or before any
governmental entity or any private person or entity;
(7) To otherwise act in an advisory capacity with regard to
any aspects of the Blue and Gray Intermodal Highway at the request
of or without the request of any governmental entity or private
person or entity;
(8) To zone property adjacent to the Intermodal Highway;
(9) To regulate advertising along the Intermodal Highway; and
(10) To regulate the speed limit on the Intermodal Highway.
The authority may own any of the real estate or real property
herein described for development and is responsible for operating
or maintaining the parkway.
Each voting member of the authority shall be compensated
monthly by the governing body that appointed him or her, in an
amount to be fixed by the governing body.
§4. Body corporate.
The authority hereby created is a public corporation with all
the powers and duties thereof.
§5. Severability.
If any provision of this act is held invalid, that invalidity
does not affect other provisions hereof which can be given effect
without the invalid provision, and to this end, the provisions of
this act are severable.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish the Blue and
Gray Intermodal Highway Authority.
This local act is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.