Spaceport authority created; membership.

A. The "spaceport authority" is created. The authority is a state agency and is administratively attached to the economic development department. B. The authority shall consist of seven voting and two nonvoting members, six of whom shall be appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate; provided that one of the appointed members shall be a resident of Sierra county. No more than three appointed members shall belong to the same political party. The seventh member shall be the secretary of economic development or the secretary's designee. The lieutenant governor shall serve as a nonvoting ex-officio member. The executive director of the authority shall serve as a nonvoting member. The chair may appoint a nonvoting advisory committee to provide advice and recommendations on authority matters. C. The members appointed by the governor shall be residents of the state and shall serve for terms of four years, except for the initial appointees who shall be appointed so that the terms are staggered after initial appointment. Initial appointees shall serve terms as follows: two members for two years, two members for three years and two members for four years. D. Appointed voting members of the authority shall be reimbursed for per diem and mileage in accordance with the provisions of the Per Diem and Mileage Act [10-8-1 to 10-8-8 NMSA 1978] that apply to nonsalaried public officers, unless a different provision of that act applies to a specific member, in which case that member shall be paid under the applicable provision. Members and advisors shall receive no other compensation, perquisite or allowance for serving as a member of or advisor to the authority. E. The secretary of economic development or the secretary's designee shall serve as the chair of the authority. Authority members shall elect any other officers from the membership that the authority determines appropriate. F. The chair, four other authority voting members appointed by the chair and the executive director of the authority shall constitute the spaceport authority executive committee. The committee shall have powers and duties as delegated to it by the authority. G. If a vacancy occurs among the appointed voting members of the authority, the governor shall appoint a replacement to serve out the term of the former member. If an appointed member's term expires, the member shall continue to serve until the member is reappointed or another person is appointed and confirmed by the senate to replace the member. H. The authority shall meet at the call of the chair and shall meet in regular session at least once every three months. I. The authority shall maintain written minutes of all meetings of the authority and maintain other appropriate records, including financial transaction records in compliance with law and adequate to provide an accurate record for audit purposes pursuant to the Audit Act [12-6-1 to 12-6-14 NMSA 1978].