A. The powers of each regional housing authority shall be vested in its board of commissioners as the board may be constituted, from time to time. The board of commissioners of the regional housing authority for each of the three regions shall be appointed by the governor and consist of at least seven members who shall be residents of the designated area of the regional housing authority; provided that no more than two members shall be residents of the same county. Appointments shall be for terms of four years and shall be made so that the terms of not more than four commissioners on each board of commissioners expire on July 1 of each year. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term. Commissioners shall serve until their successors have been appointed.
B. Members of the board of commissioners of a regional housing authority shall elect an executive committee consisting of a chair, vice chair, treasurer, secretary and one other member of the board to function and meet on a monthly basis as an executive committee. The executive committee shall have the authority to act on behalf of the board of commissioners of the regional housing authority as needed. The executive committee shall submit a report of actions to the full board of commissioners, which shall meet on a quarterly basis.
C. Members of the board of commissioners of a regional housing authority may receive per diem and mileage as provided in the Per Diem and Mileage Act [10-8-1 to 10-8-8 NMSA 1978] but shall receive no other compensation, perquisite or allowance. A majority of the appointed commissioners of a board of commissioners shall constitute a quorum of the board for the purpose of conducting its business and exercising its powers and for all other purposes. Action may be taken by a regional housing authority upon a vote of a majority of the commissioners present. Each board of commissioners shall organize itself at its annual meeting each year. A board of commissioners may employ an executive director, subject to approval by the New Mexico mortgage finance authority. With delegated authority from the board of commissioners, the executive director may hire or terminate, according to the procurement and personnel policies and procedures of the regional housing authority, any technical experts, officers, attorneys, agents or employees, permanent or temporary, as the regional housing authority may require.
D. The threshold requirements for commissioners of boards of regional housing authorities are that commissioners have expertise and experience in housing construction, real estate, architecture, law, banking, housing finance, business, property management, accounting, residential development, public housing programs, community development, social services or health care. The requirements set forth in this section shall not apply to commissioners serving pursuant to requirements of the federal department of housing and urban development.
E. Commissioners are expected to attend all meetings of the board of commissioners of the regional housing authority, and more than three unexcused absences may be grounds for dismissal from the board. All recommendations for appointments of commissioners shall be forwarded to and reviewed by the New Mexico mortgage finance authority prior to recommendation to the governor.
History: Laws 1994, ch. 132, § 6; 1995, ch. 191, § 5; 1998, ch. 63, § 4; 2007, ch. 50, § 3; 2009, ch. 48, § 5; 2019, ch. 85, § 1.
ANNOTATIONSThe 2019 amendment, effective June 14, 2019, revised the qualifications for membership on the board of commissioners of a regional housing authority; and in Subsection A, after "consist of", deleted "one person from each county within" and added "at least seven members who shall be residents of", after "designated area of the regional housing authority", deleted "which person shall be a resident" and added "provided that no more than two members shall be residents", and after the next occurrence of "of", deleted "that" and added "the same".
The 2009 amendment, effective March 31, 2009, in Subsection A, added "regional housing authority"; in the second sentence of Subsection A, changed "seven" to "three"; provided that one resident from each county in the designated area of the regional housing authority shall be appointed as a member of the board of commissioners; deleted the former provision, which provided that not more than three commissioners shall be appointed from any one county; and provided that appointments shall be for four years so that the term of not more than four commissioners shall expire on July 1 of each year; added Subsection B; in Subsection C, deleted the former provision that authorized the commissioners to select a chair and a vice chair of the board, employ and set salaries of agents and employees, and delegate duties to agents and employees, and which provided for the use of the technical staff of a regional planning and development district, provided that a majority of commissioners shall constitute a quorum; deleted former provisions that authorized the commissioners to employ technical experts and other persons and to determine qualifications, duties and compensation of employees and contractors, and to delegate powers or duties of the board, and added the last sentence; deleted former Subsection C that provided for annual audits by the state auditor; deleted former Subsection D that provided for review of annual audits by the department of finance and administration; deleted former Subsection E that provided for the submittal of quarterly reports to the department of finance and administration; and added Subsections D and E.
The 2007 amendment, effective March 28, 2007, provided that not more than three commissioners shall be appointed for any one county; authorized a board to employ an executive director, subject to approval of the New Mexico mortgage finance authority; provided for the suspension of a regional housing authority's powers; and required regional housing authorities to file quarterly reports.
The 1998 amendment, effective July 1, 1998, in Subsection B, substituted "an" for "a regional housing" at the end of the fifth sentence, and in Subsection C, deleted "of the economic development department" following "housing authority" in the last sentence.
The 1995 amendment, effective June 16, 1995, rewrote this section to such an extent that a detailed comparison is impracticable.