(1) (a) The general assembly finds, determines, and declares that:

(I) It is beneficial to the citizens of Colorado for sessions of the general assembly to be televised via cable television and webcast and that audio of these sessions be broadcast via the internet;

(II) Televising and broadcasting the proceedings of the general assembly will make Colorado state government more open and accessible to the citizens of this state; and

(III) It is desirable for a governmental entity to be created to coordinate programming and televising sessions of the general assembly as well as programming and televising for other state purposes and making audio recordings of these sessions available.

(b) The general assembly further finds, determines, and declares that the authority and powers conferred under this article, as well as the expenditures of public money made pursuant to this article, will serve a valid public purpose and that the enactment of this article is expressly declared to be in the public interest.

(2) There is hereby created the Colorado channel authority, referred to in this article as the "authority", which shall be a body corporate and a political subdivision of the state. The authority shall not be an agency of state government, nor shall it be subject to administrative direction by any department, commission, board, bureau, or agency of the state, except to the extent provided by this article.

(3) (a) The powers of the authority shall be vested in a board of directors, also referred to in this article as the "board".

(b) The board consists of the following nine members:

(I) Three members appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate, at least one of whom is a registered voter in this state who is unaffiliated, as that term is defined in section 1-1-104, C.R.S., and at least one of whom has experience in the business operations of broadcast journalism;

(II) One member appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court;

(III) One member, serving in the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;

(IV) One member, serving in the house of representatives, appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives;

(V) One member, serving in the senate, appointed by the president of the senate;

(VI) One member, serving in the senate, appointed by the minority leader of the senate; and

(VII) One member appointed by the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives who has experience in the operation of a business or fundraising for nonprofit organizations, or both.

(c)

(I) Of the members initially appointed to the board, the members appointed by the governor each serve for terms of two years; the member appointed by the chief justice serves for a term of two years; the members of the house of representatives and the senate appointed by the minority leaders of the house of representatives and the senate each serve for a term of three years so long as they also serve as members of the house of the general assembly from which they are appointed; the members of the house of representatives and the senate appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate each serve for a term of four years so long as they also serve as members of the house of the general assembly from which they are appointed; and the member appointed by the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives serves for a term of two years.

(II) Thereafter, members of the board appointed under subparagraph (III), (IV), (V), or (VI) of paragraph (b) of this subsection (3) serve for terms of four years so long as they also serve as members of the house of the general assembly from which they are appointed, and other members of the board serve for terms of four years.

(III) (A) A vacancy in the members of the board appointed under subparagraph (III), (IV), (V), or (VI) of paragraph (b) of this subsection (3) shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment, but for the remainder of the unexpired term only; except that these members must at all times consist of a member from each major political party in each house of the general assembly and be appointed by the appropriate appointing authority under subparagraph (III), (IV), (V), or (VI) of paragraph (b) of this subsection (3), as appropriate, to ensure that a member from each major political party in each house is a member of the board.

(B) A vacancy in the membership of other members of the board occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment, but for the remainder of the unexpired term only.

(IV) An appointed member shall be eligible for reappointment. Members of the board may be removed by the appointing authorities for cause, after a public hearing, and may be suspended by the appointing authority pending the completion of the hearing.

(4) The members of the board shall elect a chair and a vice-chair. The members of the board shall also elect a secretary and a treasurer, who need not be members of the board, and the same person may be elected to serve as both secretary and treasurer. The powers of the board may be vested in the officers from time to time. Five members shall constitute a quorum. No vacancy in the membership of the board shall impair the right of a quorum of the members to exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of the board.

(5) Except as otherwise provided in section 2-2-326, C.R.S., if the board determines that the authority has sufficient financial resources, each member of the board not otherwise in full-time employment of the state or a state official shall receive a per diem of one hundred dollars for each day actually and necessarily spent in the discharge of official duties, and all members shall receive reimbursement for travel and other necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of official duties.