§24302. Board of Directors

(a) Reform Board.-

(1) Establishment and duties.-The Reform Board described in paragraph (2) shall assume the responsibilities of the Board of Directors of Amtrak by March 31, 1998, or as soon thereafter as at least 4 members have been appointed and qualified. The Board appointed under prior law shall be abolished when the Reform Board assumes such responsibilities.

(2) Membership.-(A)(i) The Reform Board shall consist of 7 voting members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of 5 years.

(ii) Notwithstanding clause (i), if the Secretary of Transportation is appointed to the Reform Board, such appointment shall not be subject to the advice and consent of the Senate. If appointed, the Secretary may be represented at Board meetings by his designee.

(B) In selecting the individuals described in subparagraph (A) for nominations for appointments to the Reform Board, the President should consult with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the Senate.

(C) Appointments under subparagraph (A) shall be made from among individuals who-

(i) have technical qualifications, professional standing, and demonstrated expertise in the fields of transportation or corporate or financial management;

(ii) are not representatives of rail labor or rail management; and

(iii) in the case of 6 of the 7 individuals selected, are not employees of Amtrak or of the United States.

(D) The President of Amtrak shall serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the Reform Board.

(3) Confirmation procedure in senate.-

(A) This paragraph is enacted by the Congress-

(i) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate, and as such it is deemed a part of the rules of the Senate, but applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in the Senate in the case of a motion to discharge; and it supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent therewith; and

(ii) with full recognition of the constitutional right of the Senate to change the rules (so far as relating to the procedure of the Senate) at any time, in the same manner and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of the Senate.

(B) If, by the first day of June on which the Senate is in session after a nomination is submitted to the Senate under this section, the committee to which the nomination was referred has not reported the nomination, then it shall be discharged from further consideration of the nomination and the nomination shall be placed on the Executive Calendar.

(C) It shall be in order at any time thereafter to move to proceed to the consideration of the nomination without any intervening action or debate.

(D) After no more than 10 hours of debate on the nomination, which shall be evenly divided between, and controlled by, the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader, the Senate shall proceed without intervening action to vote on the nomination.

(b) Board of Directors.-Five years after the establishment of the Reform Board under subsection (a), a Board of Directors shall be selected-

(1) if Amtrak has, during the then current fiscal year, received Federal assistance, in accordance with the procedures set forth in subsection (a)(2); or

(2) if Amtrak has not, during the then current fiscal year, received Federal assistance, pursuant to bylaws adopted by the Reform Board (which shall provide for employee representation), and the Reform Board shall be dissolved.

(c) Authority to Recommend Plan.-The Reform Board shall have the authority to recommend to the Congress a plan to implement the recommendations of the 1997 Working Group on Inter-City Rail regarding the transfer of Amtrak's infrastructure assets and responsibilities to a new separately governed corporation.

( Pub. L. 103–272, §1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 906 ; Pub. L. 105–134, title IV, §411(a), Dec. 2, 1997, 111 Stat. 2588 .)

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised Section	Source (U.S. Code)	Source (Statutes at Large)
24302(a)(1)	45:543(a)(1) (words before (A)), (A) (1st sentence), (B)–(E) (words before comma).	Oct. 30, 1970, Pub. L. 91–518, §303(a), 84 Stat. 1330 ; restated Nov. 3, 1973, Pub. L. 93–146, §3(a), 87 Stat. 548 ; Feb. 5, 1976, Pub. L. 94–210, §706(f), 90 Stat. 124 ; Oct. 19, 1976, Pub. L. 94–555, §103, 90 Stat. 2615 ; May 30, 1980, Pub. L. 96–254, §206(a), 94 Stat. 412 ; Aug. 13, 1981, Pub. L. 97–35, §1174(a), 95 Stat. 689 ; June 22, 1988, Pub. L. 100–342, §18(b), 102 Stat. 636 .
24302(a)(2)	45:543(a)(2)(A) (1st sentence words before comma, last sentence).
24302(a)(3)	45:543(a)(2)(B).
24302(a)(4)	45:543(a)(1)(E) (words after comma).
24302(a)(5)	45:543(a)(4).
24302(a)(6)	45:543(a)(1)(A) (last sentence).
24302(b)	45:543(a)(7).
	45:543(c).	Oct. 30, 1970, Pub. L. 91–518, §303(b), (c), 84 Stat. 1331 .
24302(c)	45:543(a)(6).
24302(d)	45:543(a)(5).
24302(e)	45:543(a)(2)(A) (1st sentence words after comma), (3), (8).
24302(f)	45:543(b).

In subsection (a)(1), before clause (A), the words "is composed of the following 9 directors, each of whom must be a citizen" are substituted for "consisting of nine individuals who are citizens" for consistency in the revised title. The words "as follows" are omitted as surplus. In clause (A), the words "ex officio" are omitted as surplus. In clause (C)(ii), the words "chief executive officer of a State" are substituted for "Governor" for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code. In clause (D), the text of 45:543(a)(1)(D)(i) and the words "after January 1, 1983" are omitted as executed.

In subsection (a)(2), the words "by the President" and "registered as" are omitted as surplus.

In subsection (a)(3) and (4), the word "selected" is substituted for "appointed" for consistency.

In subsection (a)(6), the word "only" is added for clarity.

In subsection (b), the text of 45:543(a)(7) is omitted as obsolete because preferred stockholder representatives are always part of Amtrak's board of directors. The text of 45:543(c) (words after "all stockholders") is omitted as obsolete because Congress eliminated common stockholder representatives when it reconstituted the board.

In subsection (c), the words "direct or indirect" are omitted as surplus.

In subsection (d), the word "performing" is substituted for "engaged in the actual performance of" to eliminate unnecessary words. The word "board" is added for clarity. The words "and powers" are added for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the Code. The word "reasonable" is substituted for "which is reasonably required" to eliminate unnecessary words.

In subsection (e), the words "the membership of" and "in the case of" are omitted as surplus. The words "occurring before the end of the term for which the predecessor of that individual was appointed is appointed for the remainder of the term" are substituted for "shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of the member he is appointed to succeed" for clarity and consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the Code. The words "under subsection (a)(1)(C)" the 2d time they appear are substituted for "paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection" in 45:543(a)(8) to correct an erroneous cross-reference.

Amendments

1997-Pub. L. 105–134 amended section catchline and text generally. Prior to amendment, text related, in subsec. (a), to composition and terms of Amtrak board of directors, in subsec. (b), to cumulative voting by stockholders, in subsec. (c), to conflicts of interest of directors, in subsec. (d), to pay and expenses of directors, in subsec. (e), to vacancies on board, and in subsec. (f), to bylaws of board.