27:25-4 New Jersey Transit Corporation established; board; powers.
4. a. There is hereby established in the Executive Branch of the State Government the New Jersey Transit Corporation, a body corporate and politic with corporate succession. For the purpose of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the corporation is hereby allocated within the Department of Transportation, but, notwithstanding said allocation, the corporation shall be independent of any supervision or control by the department or by any body or officer thereof. The corporation is hereby constituted as an instrumentality of the State exercising public and essential governmental functions, and the exercise by the corporation of the powers conferred by this act shall be deemed and held to be an essential governmental function of the State.
b.The corporation shall be governed by a board which shall consist of eight members.
Seven of the members shall be voting members and shall consist of: the Commissioner of Transportation and the State Treasurer, who shall be members ex officio, another member of the Executive Branch to be selected by the Governor who shall also serve ex officio, and four other public members who shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for four year staggered terms and until their successors are appointed and qualified. No more than two of the public members shall be members of the same political party. At least one public member shall be a regular public transportation rider. Each public member may be removed from office by the Governor for cause. A vacancy in the membership of the board occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment, but for the unexpired term only. The first appointments shall be for one, two, three and four years respectively, and thereafter for terms of four years as stated. The board shall annually designate a vice chairman and secretary. The secretary need not be a member.
There shall also be one non-voting member of the board, who shall not be considered in determining a quorum. The non-voting member shall be appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the labor organization representing the plurality of the employees of the corporation. The non-voting member shall be appointed for a term of four years, provided, however, that if at any time during the term of appointment the non-voting member ceases to be affiliated with the labor organization representing the plurality of the employees of the corporation, then such labor organization may, thereupon or at any time thereafter during such term, recommend a new member to the Governor for appointment to serve the remainder of the term. If the local bargaining unit decertifies its existing union affiliation and certifies a new union, the union which represents the plurality of the employees may recommend a new member to the Governor for appointment to serve the remainder of the term. The chairman of the board may, at the chairman's discretion, exclude such non-voting member from attending any portion of a board meeting or any other meeting held for the purpose of discussing negotiations with labor organizations, pending litigation involving the labor organization, the investigation, evaluation, or discipline of an employee of the corporation, or matters concerning private entities engaged in the provision of motorbus regular route service, paratransit service, or motorbus charter service that would otherwise not be considered public information. The non-voting member may be removed by the Governor for cause.
c.Board members other than those serving ex officio shall serve without compensation, but members shall be reimbursed for actual expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties.
d.The Commissioner of Transportation shall serve as chairman of the board. He shall chair board meetings and shall have responsibility for the scheduling and convening of all meetings of the board. In his absence, the vice chairman shall chair the board meeting. Each ex officio member of the board may designate two employees of his department or agency, one of whom may represent him at meetings of the board. A designee may lawfully vote and otherwise act on behalf of the member for whom he constitutes the designee. Any such designation shall be in writing delivered to the board and shall continue in effect until revoked or amended by writing delivered to the board.
e.The powers of the corporation shall be vested in the voting members of the board thereof and four voting members of the board shall constitute a quorum at any meeting thereof. Actions may be taken and motions and resolutions adopted by the board at any meeting thereof by the affirmative vote of at least four members. 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.
f.A true copy of the minutes of every meeting of the board shall be delivered forthwith, by and under the certification of the secretary thereof, to the Governor. No action taken at such meeting by the board shall have force or effect until approved by the Governor or until 10 days after such copy of the minutes shall have been delivered. If, in said 10-day period, the Governor returns such copy of the minutes with veto of any action taken by the board or any member thereof at such meeting, such action shall be null and of no effect. The Governor may approve all or part of the action taken at such meeting prior to the expiration of the said 10-day period.
g.The board meetings shall be subject to the provisions of the "Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act," P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-6 et seq.).
L.1979, c.150, s.4; amended 1992, c.214; 2009, c.179.
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Last modified: October 11, 2016