Md. Code, TR § 10-203 - Text of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact

• Cite as: Md. Code, TR § 10-203

Preamble

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Virginia (Chapter 627, 1958 Acts of Assembly), the State of Maryland (Chapter 613, Acts of General Assembly, 1959), and the Commissioners of the District of Columbia (Resolution of the Board of Commissioners, December 22, 1960) entered into and executed the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact on December 22, 1960; and

WHEREAS, the Congress of the United States has, by Joint Resolution approved October 9, 196 2 ( Public Law 87-767; 76 Stat. 764), given its consent to the State of Maryland, and the Commonwealth of Virginia to effectuate certain clarifying amendments to the Compact, and has authorized and directed the Commissioners of the District of Columbia to effectuate the amendments on behalf of the United States for the District of Columbia; and

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Virginia (Chapter 67, 1962 Acts of Assembly), the State of Maryland (Chapter 114, Acts of General Assembly, 1962), and the Commissioners of the District of Columbia (Resolution of the Board of Commissioners adopted on March 19, 1963) have adopted those clarifying amendments to the Compact;

NOW, THEREFORE, the states of Maryland and Virginia and the District of Columbia, hereafter referred to as the signatories, covenant and agree as follows:

TITLE I

General Compact Provisions

Article I

There is created the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit District, referred to as the Metropolitan District, which shall include: the District of Columbia; the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church of the State of Virginia; Arlington County and Fairfax County of the State of Virginia, the political subdivisions located within those counties, and that portion of Loudoun County, Virginia, occupied by the Washington Dulles International Airport; Montgomery County and Prince George's County of the State of Maryland, and the political subdivisions located within those counties; and all other cities now or hereafter existing in Maryland or Virginia within the geographic area bounded by the outer boundaries of the combined area of those counties, cities, and airports.

Article II

1. The signatories hereby create the "Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission", hereafter called the "Commission", which shall be an instrumentality of the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the State of Maryland, and shall have the powers and duties set forth in the Compact and those additional powers and duties conferred upon it by subsequent action of the signatories.

2. The Commission shall have jurisdiction coextensive with the Metropolitan District for the regulation of passenger transportation within the Metropolitan District on a coordinated basis, without regard to political boundaries within the Metropolitan District, as set forth in this Compact.

Article III

1.

(a) The Commission shall be composed of 3 members, one member appointed by the Governor of Virginia from the Department of Motor Vehicles of the Commonwealth of Virginia, one member appointed by the Governor of Maryland from the Maryland Public Service Commission, and one member appointed by the Mayor of the District of Columbia from a District of Columbia agency with oversight of matters relating to the Commission.

(b) A member appointed shall serve for a term coincident with the term of that member on the agency of the signatory, and a member may be removed or suspended from office as the law of the appointing signatory provides.

(c) Vacancies shall be filled for an unexpired term in the same manner as an original appointment.

(d) An amendment to Section 1(a) of this Article shall not affect any member in office on the amendment's effective date.

2. A person in the employment of or holding an official relation to a person or company subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission or having an interest of any nature in a person or company or affiliate or associate thereof, may not hold the office of commissioner or serve as an employee of the Commission or have any power or duty or receive any compensation in relation to the Commission.

3.

(a) The Commission shall select a chairman from among its members.

(b) The chairman shall be responsible for the Commission's work and shall have all powers to discharge that duty.

4. A signatory may pay the Commissioner from its jurisdiction the salary or expenses, if any, that it considers appropriate.

5.

(a) The Commission may employ engineering, technical, legal, clerical, and other personnel on a regular, part-time, or consulting basis to assist in the discharge of its functions.

(b) The Commission is not bound by any statute or regulation of a signatory in the employment or discharge of an officer or employee of the Commission, except that contained in this Compact.

6. The Commission shall establish its office at a location to be determined by the Commission within the Metropolitan District and shall publish rules and regulations governing the conduct of its operations.

Article IV

1.

(a) The signatories shall bear the expenses of the Commission in the manner set forth here.

(b) The Commission shall submit to the Governor of Virginia, the Governor of Maryland, and the Mayor of the District of Columbia, when requested, a budget of its requirements for the period required by the laws of the signatories for presentation to the legislature.

(c) The Commission shall allocate its expenses among the signatories in the proportion that the population of each signatory within the Metropolitan District bears to the total population of the Metropolitan District.

(d)

(i) The Commission shall base its allocation on the latest available population statistics of the Bureau of the Census; or

(ii) If current population data are not available, the Commission may, upon the request of a signatory, employ estimates of population prepared in a manner approved by the Commission and by the signatory making the request.

(e) The governors of the two states and the Mayor of the District of Columbia shall approve the allocation made by the Commission.

2.

(a) The signatories shall appropriate their proportion of the budget for the expenses of the Commission and shall pay that appropriation to the Commission.

(b) The budget of the Commission and the appropriations of the signatories may not include a sum for the payment of salaries or expenses of the commissioners.

(c) The provisions of § 2.1 -30 (1979) of the Code of Virginia do not apply to any official or employee of the Commonwealth of Virginia acting or performing services under this Act.

3.

(a) If the Commission requests and a signatory makes available personnel, services, or material which the Commission would otherwise have to employ or purchase, the Commission shall:

(i) Determine an amount; and

(ii) Reduce the expenses allocable to a signatory.

(b) If any services in kind are rendered, the Commission shall return to the signatory an amount equivalent to the savings to the Commission represented by the contribution in kind.

4.

(a) The Commission shall have the power to establish fees under regulations, including but not limited to filing fees and annual fees.

(b) The Commission shall return to the signatories fees established by it in proportion to the share of the Commission's expenses borne by each signatory in the fiscal year during which the fees were collected.

5.

(a) The Commission shall keep accurate books of account, showing in full its receipts and disbursements.

(b) The books of account shall be open for inspection by representatives of the respective signatories at any reasonable time.

Article V

1. An action by the Commission may not be effective unless a majority of the members concur.