(a) (1) The commission consists of 7 members.
(2) (i) The County Executive of Montgomery County shall appoint 2 members, subject to the confirmation of the Montgomery County Council.
(ii) Of these two appointees, one shall be designated by the County Executive to serve as an alternate member of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors.
(3) (i) The County Executive of Prince George's County shall appoint 2 members, subject to the confirmation of the Prince George's County Council.
(ii) Of these two appointees, one shall be designated by the County Executive to serve as an alternate member of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors.
(4) (i) The governor shall appoint 2 members with the advice and consent of the senate of Maryland.
(ii) One member shall be a resident of Montgomery County and one member shall be a resident of Prince George's County.
(5) A Commissioner serving as a principal or an alternate member on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors:
(i) May not hold any elected office in federal, State, county, or municipal government at any time during the term of appointment to the Commission, except as provided in paragraph (7) or (8) of this subsection;
(ii) May not have been employed by the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority for at least 1 year prior to appointment to the Commission;
(iii) Shall have experience in at least one of the following areas:
1. Transit planning, transportation planning, or land use planning;
2. Transit management, transportation management, or other public sector management;
3. Engineering;
4. Finance;
5. Public safety;
6. Homeland security;
7. Human resources;
8. Law; or
9. Knowledge of the region’s transportation issues derived from working on regional transportation issues;
(iv) Except for the Secretary of Transportation, or the Secretary’s designee, shall be a regular passenger and customer of the bus, rail, or paratransit services of the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority; and
(v) Shall submit annual reports, to the Governor and county executives on or before January 31 of each year during the commissioner’s term of appointment, that apply to the previous calendar year and include:
1. The dates of the commissioner’s attendance at Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors meetings held since submission of the previous report, or the reasons for nonattendance at the meetings, if any;
2. The dates of the commissioner’s attendance at any other public meetings in the commissioner’s official capacity as a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board member; and
3. An affirmation of the commissioner’s use of the bus, rail, and paratransit services of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority since submission of the previous report.
(6) (i) The Secretary of Transportation shall be an ex-officio member of the Commission and is entitled to the same rights of membership as the appointed members.
(ii) The Secretary of Transportation may designate in writing an alternate representative, who shall have the same rights of membership as the Secretary.
(7) (i) At least 1 commissioner from Prince George's County appointed by the county executive shall be appointed from among the members of the Prince George's County Council.
(ii) The other commissioner may be selected from among the members of the Prince George's County Council or from qualified residents of Prince George's County.
(8) The county executives may designate themselves as 1 of the commissioners from their respective counties.
(9) Each commissioner serves at the pleasure of the respective appointing official.
(10) (i) Commissioners, other than the required member from the Prince George’s County Council, serve for a term of 4 years which begins on July 1.
(ii) Commissioners appointed by the Governor may not serve more than two consecutive terms.
(iii) The terms of the commissioners, other than the required member from the Prince George’s County Council, shall be staggered as required by the terms provided for commissioners on October 1, 2012.
(iv) The commissioner required from the Prince George’s County Council serves while a member of the county council, and at the pleasure of the County Executive and County Council of Prince George’s County.
(11) (i) Subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, members of the Commission shall serve until their successors have been appointed and qualified or until the member is reappointed by the appointing authority.
(ii) A member’s holdover period may not exceed 12 months.
(12) The county executives and the Governor shall inform the Commission of their appointments to and removals from the Commission by delivering to the Commission, a certified copy of the resolution or other action making the appointment or causing the removal.
(13) The county executives and the Governor shall submit to the Secretary of Transportation an annual letter that establishes the compensation for each commissioner serving as a principal or alternate member of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors by July 1 of each year, beginning July 1, 2013.
(14) (i) The following commissioners shall serve as the Commission’s appointees to be principal members of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors:
1. Subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Secretary’s designee, as an ex officio principal member; and
2. Subject to subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph, one of the commissioners appointed by the Governor under paragraph (4) of this subsection.
(ii) The Secretary of Transportation’s designee under subparagraph (i)1 of this paragraph:
1. Shall be an employee of the Department of Transportation;
2. Shall have experience with and possess qualifications related to transit; and
3. May attend meetings of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors on behalf of the Secretary only if a scheduling conflict arises.
(iii) The Commission’s appointee under subparagraph (i)2 of this paragraph may not be succeeded in office by a commissioner who is a resident of the same county.
(b) Each commissioner, before entering upon the discharge of the duties of his office, shall:
(1) Take the constitutional oath of office before the clerk of the circuit court in the county in which he resides and a record of each oath shall be filed in the office of the clerk before whom it was taken; and
(2) Give bond in the amount and as required by law for a county commissioner, which bonds shall be executed by a surety company authorized by the State of Maryland to execute such bonds. Upon approval of such bond by the commission, the premium for such bond, which shall not exceed one-half of one (1) percent per annum of the penalty of the bond so executed and approved, shall be paid by the commission from any funds available therefor. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 72-5; 1965, ch. 870, § 1; 1966, ch. 542, § 1; 1970, ch. 467, § 1; 1970, ch. 526, § 13; 1972, ch. 444, § 1; 1992 ch. 22, § 1; E.S. 1992, ch. 3, § 1; 2012, ch. 433, § 1; 2018, ch. 353, §1; 2022, ch. 740, §1.)
Editor’s note—2018, Chapter 353, §§ 2 and 3, state:
Sec. 2. … that a commissioner of the Washington Suburban Transit Commission appointed as a principal member of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors before the effective date of this Act may continue to serve as a principal member of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors until the expiration of the commissioner’s current term of appointment.
Sec. 3. … that:
(a) Each signatory of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Compact is encouraged to support reform of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s governance structure to improve efficiency, accountability, and effectiveness of the Authority’s performance, oversight, safety, accessibility, environmental quality, economic development, and quality of life in Maryland.
(b) Reforms of the Authority’s governance structure may include:
(1) reducing the size of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors;
(2) improving the independent investigation and oversight of the Authority;
(3) prohibiting elected officials from serving on the Board of Directors;
(4) removing a Compact signatory’s veto authority;
(5) requiring eligibility criteria for Board members, such as possessing qualifications in relevant fields;
(6) providing equitable compensation for each Board member;
(7) enhancing transparency; and
(8) improving stakeholder input, including input from users of the Authority’s services.
2012, Chapter 433, §§ 2 and 3, state:
Sec. 2. [T]he first annual reports required under Article 16, § 87-5(a)(5)(v) of the Public Local Laws of Maryland and Article 17 Part III, § 5(a)(5)(v) of the Public Local Laws of Maryland, both as enacted by Section 1 of this Act, shall be submitted on or January 31, 2013, and shall cover the period from October 1, 2012, through December 31, 2012.
Sec. 3. (a) the terms of all members of the Washington Suburban Transit Commission appointed and serving as of October 1, 2012, shall expire on June 30, 2013;
(b) the initial appointments of the members of the Washington Suburban Transit Commission shall be made on July 2, 2013, and the terms of the initial members, other than the required member from the Prince George’s County Council, shall expire as follows:
(1) one commissioner who serves as a principal member of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors, in 2017;
(2) one commissioner who is appointed by the County Executive of Montgomery County, but who does not serve as an alternate member of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors, in 2017;
(3) the commissioner who serves as an alternate member of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors representing Montgomery County, in 2016;
(4) one commissioner who serves as a principal member of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors, in 2015; and
(5) the commissioner, other than the required member, who serves as an alternate member of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors representing Prince George’s County, in 2014; and
(c) for purposes of term limits, a term that is less than 3 years may not be considered a full term.