[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 821 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 821
To amend the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 to modify
provisions relating to the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley
Authority, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 3, 2001
Mr. Frist (for himself and Mr. Thompson) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 to modify
provisions relating to the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley
Authority, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CHANGE IN COMPOSITION, OPERATION, AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY.
(a) In General.--The Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 (16
U.S.C. 831 et seq.) is amended by striking section 2 and inserting the
following:
``SEC. 2. MEMBERSHIP, OPERATION, AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
``(a) Membership.--
``(1) Appointment.--The Board of Directors of the
Corporation (referred to in this Act as the `Board') shall be
composed of 9 members appointed by the President by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall be legal
residents of the service area.
``(2) Chairman.--The members of the Board shall select 1 of
the members to act as chairman of the Board.
``(b) Qualifications.--
``(1) In general.--To be eligible to be appointed as a
member of the Board, an individual--
``(A) shall be a citizen of the United States;
``(B) shall have widely recognized experience or
applicable expertise in the management of or
decisionmaking for a large corporate structure;
``(C) shall not be an employee of the Corporation;
``(D) shall have no substantial direct financial
interest in--
``(i) any public-utility corporation
engaged in the business of distributing and
selling power to the public; or
``(ii) any business that may be adversely
affected by the success of the Corporation as a
producer of electric power; and
``(E) shall profess a belief in the feasibility and
wisdom of this Act.
``(2) Party affiliation.--Not more than 5 of the 9 members
of the Board may be affiliated with a single political party.
``(c) Recommendations.--In appointing members of the Board, the
President shall--
``(1) consider recommendations from such public officials
as--
``(A) the Governors of States in the service area;
``(B) individual citizens;
``(C) business, industrial, labor, electric power
distribution, environmental, civic, and service
organizations; and
``(D) the congressional delegations of the States
in the service area; and
``(2) seek qualified members from among persons who reflect
the diversity and needs of the service area of the Corporation.
``(d) Terms.--
``(1) In general.--A member of the Board shall serve a term
of 5 years, except that in first making appointments after the
date of enactment of this paragraph, the President shall
appoint--
``(A) 2 members to a term of 2 years;
``(B) 1 member to a term of 3 years; and
``(C) 2 members to a term of 4 years.
``(2) Vacancies.--A member appointed to fill a vacancy in
the Board occurring before the expiration of the term for which
the predecessor of the member was appointed shall be appointed
for the remainder of that term.
``(3) Reappointment.--
``(A) In general.--A member of the Board that was
appointed for a full term may be reappointed for 1
additional term.
``(B) Appointment to fill vacancy.--For the purpose
of subparagraph (A), a member appointed to serve the
remainder of the term of a vacating member for a period
of more than 2 years shall be considered to have been
appointed for a full term.
``(e) Quorum.--
``(1) In general.--Six members of the Board shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
``(2) Minimum number of members.--A vacancy in the Board
shall not impair the power of the Board to act, so long as
there are 6 members in office.
``(f) Compensation.--
``(1) In general.--A member of the Board shall be entitled
to receive--
``(A)(i) a stipend of $30,000 per year; plus
``(ii) compensation, not to exceed $10,000 for any
year, at a rate that does not exceed the daily
equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed
under level V of the Executive Schedule under section
5316 of title 5, United States Code, for each day the
member is engaged in the actual performance of duties
as a member of the Board at meetings or hearings; and
``(B) travel expenses, including per diem in lieu
of subsistence, in the same manner as persons employed
intermittently in Government service under section 5703
of title 5, United States Code.
``(2) Adjustments in stipends.--The amount of the stipend
under paragraph (1)(A)(i) shall be adjusted by the same
percentage, at the same time and manner, and subject to the
same limitations as are applicable to adjustments under section
5318 of title 5, United States Code.
``(g) Duties.--
``(1) In general.--The Board shall--
``(A) establish the broad goals, objectives, and
policies of the Corporation that are appropriate to
carry out this Act;
``(B) develop long-range plans to guide the
Corporation in achieving the goals, objectives, and
policies of the Corporation and provide assistance to
the chief executive officer to achieve those goals,
objectives, and policies, including preparing the
Corporation for fundamental changes in the electric
utilities industry;
``(C) ensure that those goals, objectives, and
policies are achieved;
``(D) approve an annual budget for the Corporation;
``(E) establish a compensation plan for employees
of the Corporation in accordance with subsection (i);
``(F) approve the salaries, benefits, and
incentives for managers and technical personnel that
report directly to the chief executive officer;
``(G) ensure that all activities of the Corporation
are carried out in compliance with applicable law;
``(H) create an audit committee, composed solely of
Board members independent of the management of the
Corporation, which shall--
``(i) recommend to the Board an external
auditor;
``(ii) receive and review reports from the
external auditor; and
``(iii) make such recommendations to the
Board as the audit committee considers
necessary;
``(I) create such other committees of Board members
as the Board considers to be appropriate;
``(J) conduct public hearings on issues that could
have a substantial effect on--
``(i) the electric ratepayers in the
service area; or
``(ii) the economic, environmental, social,
or physical well-being of the people of the
service area; and
``(K) establish the electricity rate schedule.
``(2) Meetings.--The Board shall meet at least 4 times each
year.
``(h) Chief Executive Officer.--
``(1) Appointment.--The Board shall appoint a person to
serve as chief executive officer of the Corporation.
``(2) Qualifications.--To serve as chief executive officer
of the Corporation, a person--
``(A) shall be a citizen of the United States;
``(B) shall have management experience in large,
complex organizations;
``(C) shall not be a current member of the Board or
have served as a member of the Board within 2 years
before being appointed chief executive officer; and
``(D) shall have no substantial direct financial
interest in--
``(i) any public-utility corporation
engaged in the business of distributing and
selling power to the public; or
``(ii) any business that may be adversely
affected by the success of the Corporation as a
producer of electric power; and
``(3) Tenure.--The chief executive officer shall serve at
the pleasure of the Board.
``(i) Compensation Plan.--
``(1) In general.--The Board shall approve a compensation
plan that specifies salaries, benefits, and incentives for the
chief executive officer and employees of the Corporation.
``(2) Annual survey.--The compensation plan shall be based
on an annual survey of the prevailing salaries, benefits, and
incentives for similar work in private industry, including
engineering and electric utility companies, publicly owned
electric utilities, and Federal, State, and local governments.
``(3) Considerations.--The compensation plan shall provide
that education, experience, level of responsibility, geographic
differences, and retention and recruitment needs will be taken
into account in determining salaries of employees.
``(4) Submission to congress.--No salary shall be
established under a compensation plan until after the
compensation plan and the survey on which it is based have been
submitted to Congress and made available to the public for a
period of 30 days.
``(5) Positions at or below level iv.--The chief executive
officer shall determine the salary and benefits of employees
whose annual salary is not greater than the annual rate payable for
positions at level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of
title 5, United States Code.
``(6) Positions above level iv.--On the recommendation of
the chief executive officer, the Board shall approve the
salaries of employees whose annual salaries would be in excess
of the annual rate payable for positions at level IV of the
Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States
Code.''.
(b) Current Board Members.--A member of the board of directors of
the Tennessee Valley Authority who was appointed before the effective
date of the amendment made by subsection (a)--
(1) shall continue to serve as a member until the date of
expiration of the member's current term; and
(2) may not be reappointed.
SEC. 2. CHANGE IN MANNER OF APPOINTMENT OF STAFF.
Section 3 of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 (16 U.S.C.
831b) is amended--
(1) by striking the first undesignated paragraph and
inserting the following:
``(a) Appointment by the Chief Executive Officer.--The chief
executive officer shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the
Board, and without regard to the provisions of the civil service laws
applicable to officers and employees of the United States, such
managers, assistant managers, officers, employees, attorneys, and
agents as are necessary for the transaction of the business of the
Corporation.''; and
(2) by striking ``All contracts'' and inserting the
following:
``(b) Wage Rates.--All contracts''.
SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
(a) The Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 (16 U.S.C. 831 et
seq.) is amended--
(1) by striking ``board of directors'' each place it
appears and inserting ``Board of Directors''; and
(2) by striking ``board'' each place it appears and
inserting ``Board''.
(b) Section 9 of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 (16
U.S.C. 831h) is amended--
(1) by striking ``The Comptroller General of the United
States shall audit'' and inserting the following:
``(c) Audits.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall
audit''; and
(2) by striking ``The Corporation shall determine'' and
inserting the following:
``(d) Administrative Accounts and Business Documents.--The
Corporation shall determine''.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act take effect, and 7 additional
members of the Board of the Tennessee Valley Authority shall be
appointed so as to commence their terms on, May 18, 2002.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S4254-4255)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S4255-4256)
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources discharged by Unanimous Consent.
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources discharged by Unanimous Consent.
Referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works by unanimous consent.
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