                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

(FOR CONTINGENT EXPIRATION DATE, SEE ACTS 2009, C. 742, CL. 3) HAMPTON ROADS
AREA REFUSE COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL SYSTEM AUTHORITY (§ 15.2-5102.1)

Any authority, or any subsidiary thereof, organized pursuant to § 15.2-5102 to
operate a refuse collection and disposal system that has among its members the
Cities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk, and Franklin
and the Counties of Isle of Wight and Southampton shall, notwithstanding any
other law to the contrary, comply with the following requirements:

1. Each locality that is a member of the authority shall nominate individuals to
fill one position on the Board of Directors (the Board) by submitting a list of
three potential directors, each of whom shall possess general business knowledge
and shall not be an elected official, to the Governor. The Governor shall then
select and appoint one director from each of the lists of nominees prepared by
the member localities. In addition, each member locality shall be authorized to
directly appoint, upon a majority vote of the governing body of the member
locality, one ex officio member of the Board who shall be an employee of the
member locality. The members of the Board shall be appointed for terms of four
years each. Vacancies occurring other than by expiration of a term shall be
filled for the unexpired term. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as
the original appointments. No member shall serve for more than two consecutive
four-year terms, except that (i) any member appointed to the unexpired term of
another shall be eligible to serve two consecutive four-year terms and (ii) a
member directly appointed by the governing body of a member locality shall not
be subject to a term limit.

2. The authority shall develop and maintain a financial plan that shall cover a
period of at least five years forward from the year in which it is submitted and
approved by the Board. The plan shall include at a minimum a five-year
projection of revenues and expenses, a five-year capital improvement and
equipment replacement schedule, and the proposed funding for the plan. The plan
shall be reviewed annually to determine whether amendments are needed. Any such
amendments shall be submitted to the board of directors for approval.

3. The authority&#8217;s core purpose shall be defined as &#8220;management of
the safe and environmentally sound disposal of regional waste.&#8221; The
authority shall devote its time and effort to activities associated with its
core purpose. A vote of a majority of the Board shall be required prior to
undertaking any activities not associated with the authority&#8217;s core
purpose.

4. The authority shall develop and maintain a strategic operating plan
identifying all elements of its core business units and core purpose, how each
business and administrative unit will support the overall strategic plan, and
how the authority will achieve its stated mission and core purpose. The
strategic operating plan shall be subject to review and approval of the Board on
an annual basis.

5. The authority shall consider outsourcing any or all functions that may result
in reduced costs to the authority and issuing requests for proposals that
potentially reduce the costs of any of its programs. In addition, the authority
shall, in accordance with the authority&#8217;s procurement policies, consider
any proposals the authority receives under the Public-Private Education
Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002 (&#xA7; 56-575.1 et seq.) that
potentially reduce the costs of any of the authority&#8217;s programs.

6. The authority shall evaluate its landfill capacity annually, taking into
consideration and projecting future changes in the quantity of waste disposed of
in its landfill, or landfills reasonably situated or contractually obligated to
accept its waste.

7. The authority shall keep records of its costs, revenue, debts, and capital
expenses by fiscal year for each program and records of costs for each
individual capital project. The authority shall not dispose of or destroy such
records except pursuant to the Virginia Public Records Act (&#xA7; 42.1-76 et
seq.).

8. If the authority incurs long-term debt or issues new debt, the authority
shall maintain a detailed financing plan that shall include a plan for the
retirement of all debt and a plan for the funding of all planned capital
projects. The plan for the funding of all planned capital projects shall specify
the amount of debt the authority will issue in furtherance of the projects and
the debt repayment plan for any new debt created by the capital projects,
including the revenue source that will be used to repay the debt. The detailed
financing plan shall be updated by the authority with the advice and assistance
of an external certified public accountant or other qualified financial
consultant and approved annually by the Board.

9. Prior to issuance of new debt, the authority shall, with the advice and
assistance of an external certified public accountant or other qualified
financial consultant, perform a due diligence investigation of the
appropriateness of issuing the debt, including an analysis of the costs of
repaying the debt. Such analysis shall be reviewed by the Board and approved by
a vote of a minimum of 75 percent of the Board. The issuance of new debt shall
require a vote of a minimum of 75 percent of the Board of Directors of the
authority. The authority shall not issue long-term bond indebtedness to fund
operational expenses. The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to the
issuance of new debt issued for the purpose of refunding or refinancing debt
incurred by the authority prior to September 30, 2009.

10. In the interest of open and transparent government, the authority shall
adhere strictly to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act (&#xA7;
2.2-3700 et seq.).

11. The executive director of the authority shall not be permitted to execute or
commit the authority to any contract, memorandum of agreement, or memorandum of
understanding without an informed vote of approval by the Board. This
subdivision shall not apply in the case of (i) contracts involving matters with
a value of less than $100,000 that are consistent with the Board-approved annual
budget and, if applicable, the authority&#8217;s approved procurement policy and
(ii) sole source and emergency procurements made pursuant to subsections E and F
of &#xA7; 2.2-4303.

HISTORY: 2009, c. 742; 2018, c. 547; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 325.