This is the phrase that will bite Ms. Berry in the butt... If her interpretation of the statute is accepted, the current staggering of the the terms will NOT continue. Every time a mid-term vacancy occurred, the staggering would change, until it would be possible for all commission members to be appointed in the same year... The only way for the current staggering of terms to continue is for the term to end as scheduled, regardless of who finishes the unexpired term.
And as you keep pointing out, "shall" means "must"...
This is the phrase that will bite Ms. Berry in the butt... If her interpretation of the statute is accepted, the current staggering of the the terms will NOT continue. Every time a mid-term vacancy occurred, the staggering would change, until it would be possible for all commission members to be appointed in the same year... The only way for the current staggering of terms to continue is for the term to end as scheduled, regardless of who finishes the unexpired term.
And as you keep pointing out, "shall" means "must"...
Go back and take it slower. This actually helps Berry's case. It means the omission of the words in the current legislation was deliberate.
What you are reading is a version of the House bill before it was passed in 1994 on 8/19/94. This staggered language was omitted later on 10/3/94.