ecoRI News — Expired Terms and Illegal Appointments Cast Doubt Over Rhode Island's Powerful Coastal Council

The Coastal Resources Management Council board is currently two members short. Jerry Sahagian, left, Michael Hudner, middle right, and Donald Gomez, right, have all been on the board for a decade or more. Lisette Gomes resigned from the board more than two years ago but she is still listed as a board member. (ecoRI News)

Feb 19, 2021
By FRANK CARINI/ecoRI News staff

All seven appointed members to the currently shorthanded Coastal Resources Management Council board have expired terms. There’s also the question of whether some of the appointments are against the law.

The terms of six board members expired in January of last year, while Joy Montanaro’s term expired Jan. 31, 2016, according to the secretary of state’s website.

Three years ago the General Assembly passed legislation that gave the governor sole authority to make appointments to the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) board. These structural changes to the unpaid board that oversees waterfront development and coastal regulations made it the last state entity to abide by Rhode Island’s separation-of-powers rule, something the state Supreme Court had ruled on in 2008, when it noted that the Legislature should be barred from making appointments to the CRMC board.

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