Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 161a - Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Section 7a - Advisory Board

Section 7A. There shall be an advisory board to the authority consisting of a representative of each city or town paying an assessment to the authority. Each such representative shall be, in the case of a Plan D or Plan E city, the city manager, in the case of every other city, the mayor, or the chairman of the board of selectmen of every town. Each city manager, mayor, or chairman may appoint a designee, who shall be a rider as defined herein, to act for him on the advisory board by filing the name of said designee with the authority.
The total voting strength of cities and towns on the advisory board shall be no less one than vote for each city or town together with additional votes calculated by multiplying one and one-half times the total number of cities and towns paying assessments to the authority by a fraction of which the numerator shall be the total amount of all assessment made by the state treasurer to such city or town under this chapter and the denominator shall be the total amount of all assessment made by the state treasurer to all such cities and towns. The determination of votes shall be based upon the most recent annual assessment. The total vote of each city and town shall be determined by the authority and delivered in writing to the executive director of the advisory board 30 days after the state treasurer has sent the warrants for payments to the cities and towns. Until the determination of voting strength by the authority in the year 2001, each city and town shall receive the same proportion as the previous year and each additional city and town will receive one vote.
Whenever the approval of the advisory board or of the 14 cities and towns or of the 51 cities and towns or of the other served communities is required for any appointment or action by the governor or the authority, such approval shall be deemed to have been granted unless, within 30 days of the submission thereof, the advisory board of the 14 cities and towns or the 51 cities and towns or the other served communities has its disapproval to the governor or to the authority in writing.
Any notice or submission hereunder to the advisory board or to the 14 cities and towns or to the 51 cities and towns or to the other served communities shall be given in such manner as the governor or authority deems reasonable.
Except as otherwise provided by vote of the advisory board or of the 14 cities and towns or of the 51 cities and towns or of the other served communities, respectively, a meeting may be called by the representative or representatives of cities and towns having 5 per cent or more of the votes of the advisory board or of 14 cities and towns or of 51 cities and towns or of the other served communities, as the case may be. The first meeting of the 14 cities and towns and of the 51 cities and towns and of the other served communities, which shall be immediately followed by the first meetings of the 14 cities and towns and of the 51 cities and towns and of the served communities shall be held as soon as practicable upon the call of the governor. The advisory board shall act by a majority vote, except that it may delegate its power of approval to an executive committee formed and elected pursuant to duly adopted by-laws of the board and constituting among its members as least one-half of the total vote of the board, and may at any time, revoke such delegation provided that not such executive committee shall be empowered to approve the governor's appointments to the board of directors.
The advisory board may incur expenses, as authorized by majority vote of such board, for staff, stenographic, clerical and other purposes. Such expenses as do not annually exceed 0.25 per cent of the assessment upon member communities shall be paid by the authority.

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