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Yesterday, the Governance Work Group (GWG) released a draft of first-phase recommendations for improving the governance practices and structure of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) board.

The WMATA board, GWG recommends, should:

• Implement board member qualifications and a reporting process on certain activities (e.g., attendance at board and committee meetings) in order to "ensure some permanency to the recent improvements by the board," according to a prepared statement.

• Limit board terms to two consecutive four-year terms for members and two years for chairmen to "reflect the best practices of other transit boards."

• Establish a multi-year strategic plan, and a budget development and performance measurement process to focus the message the board sends to WMATA management.

The GWG will accept public comments on the draft for the next 30 days.

Meanwhile, the WMATA board yesterday voted to adopt a package of governance reforms designed to clarify the agency's code of ethics and provide its first-ever permanent bylaws, which detail the board's focus on policy, financial direction, oversight and the agency's relationship with customers and jurisdictional partners.