By: Merritt H.B. No. 3333
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation and operation of the Texas-Louisiana
border region economic development steering committee; authorizing
an assessment.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the orderly economic
development of the area of this state near the Texas-Louisiana
border is of concern to the entire state.
SECTION 2. Chapter 2056, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 2056.012 to read as follows:
Sec. 2056.012. TEXAS-LOUISIANA BORDER REGION ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT STEERING COMMITTEE. (a) In this section:
(1) "Committee" means the Texas-Louisiana border
region economic development steering committee.
(2) "Electric utility" means an investor-owned
electric utility, a municipally owned electric utility, or an
electric cooperative.
(3) "Texas-Louisiana border region" has the meaning
assigned by Section 2056.002.
(b) The committee consists of:
(1) the county judges of the five most populous
counties in the Texas-Louisiana border region;
(2) the county judge of any other county in the
Texas-Louisiana border region, if the commissioners court elects to
join the committee; and
(3) any representatives from economic development
councils serving the Texas-Louisiana border region, as selected by
the committee.
(c) The committee shall develop a strategic plan for the
economic development of the Texas-Louisiana border region, in the
same manner as a state agency is required by this chapter to make a
strategic plan for its operations, and may take action to implement
the strategic plan.
(d) The members of the committee shall elect one member as
presiding officer. The presiding officer may select another member
to preside in the absence of the presiding officer. The presiding
officer shall call at least one meeting of the committee each year
and may call other meetings as the presiding officer determines are
appropriate. A member of the committee is not entitled to
compensation for serving as a member but is entitled to
reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred while serving as a
member. The committee shall adopt rules for its proceedings and
appoint an executive committee. The committee may employ and
compensate persons to carry out the powers and duties of the
committee. Chapter 171, Local Government Code, applies to a member
of the committee in the same manner as that chapter applies to a
local public official.
(e) The committee is a public body and a political
subdivision of the state exercising public and essential
governmental functions and has all the powers necessary or
convenient to carry out the purposes of this section. The
committee, in the exercise of powers under this section, is
performing only governmental functions and is a governmental unit
within the meaning of Chapter 101, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code.
(f) The committee is subject to Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset
Act). Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter,
the committee is abolished and this section expires September 1,
2021.
(g) Service on the committee by a county judge is an
additional duty of the county judge's office.
(h) The committee may sue and be sued in all courts, may
institute and prosecute suits without giving security for costs,
and may appeal from a judgment without giving a supersedeas or cost
bond. An action at law or in equity against the committee may be
brought in any county in the Texas-Louisiana border region.
(i) The committee may acquire by grant, purchase, gift,
devise, lease, or otherwise and may hold, use, sell, lease, or
dispose of real and personal property, licenses, patents, rights,
and interests necessary, convenient, or useful for the full
exercise of its powers.
(j) The committee may enter into a joint ownership agreement
with any person.
(k) The committee may make contracts, leases, and
agreements with, and accept grants and loans from, the United
States, this state, agencies and political subdivisions of this
state or another state of the United States, and other persons and
entities and may perform any act necessary for the full exercise of
the powers vested in it.
(l) Notwithstanding Chapter 551, the committee may hold an
open or closed meeting by telephone conference call. The meeting is
subject to the notice requirements applicable to other meetings.
The notice of the meeting must specify as the location of the
meeting the location where meetings of the committee are usually
held. Each part of the meeting that is required to be open to the
public shall be audible to the public at the location specified in
the notice and shall be audio recorded. The audio recording shall be
made available to the public.
(m) The committee may solicit and accept gifts and grants
from any public or private source for purposes of this section.
(n) The committee may require an electric utility that
provides retail electric service in the Texas-Louisiana border
region to pay to the committee an assessment to be used to pay the
costs of the committee.
(o) The committee shall determine the amount of the
assessment for each electric utility so that the electric utility
pays a proportion of the total costs equal to the proportion of the
electric energy the electric utility delivers to retail customers
in the Texas-Louisiana border region as compared to the total
amount of electric energy all electric utilities deliver in the
Texas-Louisiana border region. Such assessment shall be considered
a reasonable and necessary cost of an investor-owned electric
utility. Upon approval by the Public Utility Commission of Texas of
an appropriate allocation of the assessment to customers, an
investor-owned electric utility may timely recover the cost of the
assessment from its customers through a charge added to customer
bills.
(p) An electric utility subject to this section shall
provide, as requested by the committee, any information the
committee determines is necessary to comply with this section.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.