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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCA-0028 - Proposed Amendments to Section 13-4 and Section 15-3 - formattedCHARTER AMENDMENT NO. CA -28 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII: Section 1. Article XIII, Section 13-4, of the Hawai`i County Charter (2018 Edition), is amended to read as follows: "Section 13-4. Boards and Commissions. Except as otherwise provided in this charter, all boards and commissions specifically established by this charter shall be governed by the following provisions: (a) The members shall serve staggered terms of five years. Upon the initial appointment of the members of a commission consisting of five members, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, one for a term of three years, one for a term of four years, and one for a term of five years. Upon the initial appointment of the members of a commission consisting of seven members, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, two for a term of three years, two for a term of four years, and one for a term of five years. Upon the initial appointment of a commission consisting of nine members, one shall be appointed to a term of one year, two for a term of two years, two for a term of three years, two for a term of four years, and two for a term of five years. (b) The members shall be appointed by the mayor, and confirmed by the council, and may be removed upon recommendation by the mayor and the approval of the council. (c) No member shall be eligible for a second appointment to the same board or commission prior to the expiration of two years, however, members of any board or commission appointed for a term of two years or less shall be eligible to succeed themselves for an additional full term. (d) No member whose term has expired shall continue to serve on such board or commission, except that if no successor has been appointed and confirmed, the member shall continue to serve for ninety days or until a successor is appointed and confirmed, whichever comes first. (e) Any vacancy occurring in any board or commission shall be filled for the unexpired term. (f) [{g}] political party.] Members shall receive no compensation but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. Necessary expenses may be paid in advance as per diem allowance which shall be established by ordinance. Members of boards and commissions who do not receive compensation from their employers during the time they are serving on boards and commissions may be reimbursed by the county for actual work hours lost at the straight time rate of pay of such members in their regular employment but in no case shall such reimbursement exceed two times the state minimum wage hour rate. [(10](g) A chairperson shall be elected from its membership annually. [(i)]Q The affirmative vote of a majority of the entire membership to which a board or commission is entitled shall be necessary to make any action valid; except that in the case of a board or commission which has only advisory functions, the affirmative vote of a majority of those present shall be sufficient to make any action valid. [Ej-)lijj Each board and commission shall have the power to establish its rules of procedure necessary for the conduct of its business, which rules shall contain the time and place of all regular meetings, and which shall specify that a quorum shall be a majority of the members to which the board or commission is entitled. [(k)] Notwithstanding any other provision in this charter, no person shall, by reason of occupation alone, be barred from serving as a member of any board or commission. [{t}]Q) The council shall act to confirm or reject any appointment made to a board or commission by the mayor within forty-five days after receiving notice of the appointment from the mayor. If the council does not confirm or reject any such appointment within forty-five days, the appointee shall be deemed to have been confirmed. [(HOU The redrawing of council district boundaries during a commission member' s term shall not affect a member' s eligibility to represent the district to which the member was appointed." Section 2. Article XV, Section 15-3, of the Hawai`i County Charter (2018 Edition), is amended to read as follows: "Section 15-3. Mandatory Charter Reviews. The charter shall be reviewed in 1989 and every tenth year thereafter. Not later than the first day of July prior to the charter review year, the mayor with the confirmation of the council, shall appoint a charter commission composed of eleven members to study and review the operation of the government of the county under this charter. Commission members[, no more than a majority of whom shall belong to the same political party,] shall be representative of the various geographical areas of Puna, Ka`u, Kona, Kohala, Hamakua, and Hilo. The council shall appropriate funds to enable the commission to carry out its duties, including the hiring of necessary staff. The commission shall hold at least one public hearing in each of the geographical areas. The commission may propose amendments to the existing charter or a draft of a new charter which shall be submitted to the county clerk. Upon receipt of the amendments or charter in the form as proposed by the commission, the county clerk shall provide for the submission of such amendments or charter to the electors of the county at either a special election as determined by the commission or at the first general election following the charter review year. The commission shall prepare the language of the question to be submitted to the voters for each of the amendments it proposes. 2 The commission shall publish not less than forty-five days before any election, at least once in at least two daily newspapers of general circulation within the county, as well as via an electronic medium, such as the Internet, a brief digest of the amendments or charter and the purpose thereof and a notice to the electorate that copies of the amendments or charter are available at the office of the county clerk. Members of the commission shall hold office until the amendments or charter is ratified or rejected. If the majority of the voters voting upon a charter amendment votes in favor of it or a new charter, if a new charter is proposed, the amendment or new charter shall become effective at the time fixed in the amendment or charter." Section 3. Charter material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken through. New charter material is underscored. When revising, compiling, or printing these charter provisions for inclusion in the Charter of the County of Hawai`i (2020), the revisor need not include the brackets, bracketed and stricken material, or underscoring. Section 4. The revisor of the charter shall renumber charter article, chapter, and section numbers and any cross references thereto pursuant to amendments approved by the electorate. Section 5. Severability. If any provision of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end, the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. Section 6. This amendment shall take effect upon approval by the electorate. 3