§ 9–904. Membership; terms; officers.

(a)(1) The Authority shall consist of 17 members as follows:

(A) Seven appointed by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia;

(B) Four appointed by the Mayor of the District of Columbia;

(D) Three appointed by the President of the United States.

(2) For the purposes of doing business, 9 members shall constitute a quorum.

(3) Members representing the District of Columbia shall be subject to confirmation by the Council of the District of Columbia.

(4) The failure of a single appointing official to appoint one or more members, as provided in this chapter, shall not impair the Authority’s creation when the conditions of this creation have been met.

(b) Members shall not hold elective or appointive public office, shall serve without compensation, and shall reside within the Washington Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area, except that the members appointed by the President of the United States shall be registered voters of states other than Maryland or Virginia or the District of Columbia. Members of the Authority shall be entitled to reimbursement of their expenses incurred in attending the meetings of the Authority or while otherwise engaged in the discharge of their duties.

(c)(1) Appointments to the Authority shall be for a period of 6 years, except that initial appointments shall be made as follows: each jurisdiction shall appoint 1 member for a full 6-year term, a second member for a 4-year term, and in the case of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia, a third member for a 2-year term. The Governor of Virginia shall make the final 2 Virginia initial appointments for one 2-year term and one 4-year term. The President shall make one of his initial appointments pursuant to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Amendments Act of 1996, approved October 9, 1996 (110 Stat. 3213), for a 4-year term. The President shall make subsequent appointments for 6-year terms.

(2) A member of the Authority shall be eligible for reappointment for one additional term. A member may not serve after the expiration of the member’s term or terms.

(d) Ten affirmative votes shall be required to approve bond issues and the annual budget of the Authority.

(e) Each member may be removed or suspended from office only for cause and in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction from which the member is appointed.

(f) The Authority shall elect annually 1 of its members as chairman and another as vice-chairman and shall also elect annually a secretary and a treasurer, or a secretary-treasurer, who may or may not be members of the Authority. The Authority shall prescribe the powers and duties of these officials. The Authority may also appoint from its staff an assistant secretary and an assistant treasurer, or an assistant secretary-treasurer, who shall, in addition to other duties, discharge such functions of the secretary and the treasurer.

(g) A vacancy among the members shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointment was made. A person appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the unexpired term.

(h) Members of the Authority, including any nonvoting members, shall not be personally liable for any act done or action taken in their capacities as members of the Authority, nor shall they be personally liable for any bond, note, or other evidence of indebtedness issued by the Authority.

(Dec. 3, 1985, D.C. Law 6-67, § 5, 32 DCR 6093; Jul. 25, 1987, D.C. Law 7-18, § 3(b), 34 DCR 3804; Aug. 1, 1997, D.C. Law 12-8, § 2(a), 44 DCR 3371; Mar. 5, 2013, D.C. Law 19-222, § 2, 59 DCR 13317.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 7-1254.

Effect of Amendments

The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-222 rewrote (a); redesignated (c) as (c)(1) and added (c)(2); substituted “Ten affirmative votes” for “Eight affirmative votes” in (d); and rewrote (g).

Emergency Legislation

For temporary amendment of (a) and (c), see § 2 of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-452, October 4, 2012, 59 DCR 11738).