Steamship Authority Governing Board

About the Board

Steamship Authority’s Enabling Act.~ Section 3
Steamship Authority Governing Board

There is hereby created a body corporate to be known as the Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority, which shall be deemed to be a public instrumentality for the purpose of this act, and by that name the authority may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, contract and be contracted with, and shall have an official seal and may alter the same at pleasure.

The authority shall consist of five persons to be appointed as follows: one resident of the county of Dukes County by the county commissioners thereof; 1 resident of the County of Nantucket by the county commissioners thereof; 1 resident of the Town of Barnstable by the town council thereof; 1 resident of the Town of Falmouth by the selectmen thereof; and 1 member who is a resident of the City of New Bedford by the mayor of the City of New Bedford with the approval of the city council thereof, each of whom shall serve for a term of three years and until his successor has been appointed and qualified. The successor of each member shall be appointed in a like manner for a like term and serve, except for any person appointed to fill a vacancy who shall serve only for the remainder of the unexpired term. Any member may be removed for cause by the member’s appointing authority.

Upon the effective date of this act, the member from the Town of Falmouth shall remain chairman of the authority until December 31, 2002. Beginning on January 1, 2003, the chairmanship of the authority shall rotate every year in the following order: first, the member from the County of Nantucket; second, the member from the Town of Barnstable; third, the member from the County of Dukes County; fourth, the member from the Town of Falmouth; and fifth, the member from the City of New Bedford.

The authority shall elect one of the members as vice-chairman and as secretary and shall also elect a treasurer who need not be a member of the authority. The votes of the members of the authority shall be weighted such that the County of Dukes County member’s vote shall count as 35% of the whole; the Nantucket member’s vote shall count as 35% of the whole; and the Barnstable, Falmouth and New Bedford members’ votes shall each count as 10% of the whole, to the end that the votes of the County of Dukes County and Nantucket members, if cast on the same side of any motion placed before the authority, shall pass or defeat that motion. A vote of greater than fifty percent (50%) of the weighted vote shall be necessary for any action taken by the authority. Members whose combined votes count as more than 50% of the whole shall constitute a quorum. No vacancy in the membership of the authority shall impair the right of a quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the authority. Before the issuance of any steamship bonds under this act, each member of the authority shall execute a surety bond to the commonwealth with a surety company authorized to transact business in the commonwealth as surety in the penal sum of $10,000, and the treasurer shall execute such a bond in the penal sum of $20,000, conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties of his office. Each surety bond shall be approved by the attorney general and filed in the office of the state secretary. The members of the authority shall serve without compensation. Each member shall be reimbursed for his actual expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of his duties. All expenses incurred in carrying out this act shall be paid solely from funds provided under the authority of this act, and no liability or obligation shall be incurred by the authority here-under beyond the extent to which monies shall have been provided under the authority of this act.

As amended by

• St. 1991, c. 33, §§ 102-103
• St. 2000, c. 235, § 24
• St. 2002, c. 243, §§ 2-4
• St. 2002, c. 429, §§ 3-4

Helpful Information

• SSA Enabling Act (PDF)
• Steamship Authority Home Page