By: Eltife S.B. No. 1902
(In the Senate - Filed April 12, 2011; April 13, 2011, read
first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources;
April 20, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; April 20, 2011,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1902 By: Eltife
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Riverbend Water Resources District.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 9601.001, Special District Local Laws
Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (6) to read as follows:
(6) "Temporary administrator" means a person
appointed under Subchapter B-1.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 9601, Special District
Local Laws Code, is amended by adding Section 9601.008 to read as
follows:
Sec. 9601.008. MEMBER IMMUNITY. A member has immunity from
suit and immunity from liability in any action or proceeding
brought by another member arising out of or relating to the changes
in law made by the Act enacting this section.
SECTION 3. Section 9601.051, Special District Local Laws
Code, is amended by amending Subsections (b) and (f) and adding
Subsections (b-1), (b-2), and (g) to read as follows:
(b) The board consists of five directors, appointed as
follows:
(1) two directors appointed by the City of Texarkana;
(2) one director appointed by the City of New Boston;
(3) one director appointed by the Red River
Redevelopment Authority or its successor; and
(4) one director appointed by the members not named in
Subdivisions (1) through (3), including any members added under
Section 9601.005(b).
(b-1) The governing body of each member required to [shall]
appoint a director under Subsection (b)(1), (2), or (3) shall
appoint the required number of directors to represent the member on
the board. The members not named in Subsections (b)(1) through (3)
shall appoint a single director in the manner provided by
Subsection (b-2) to represent those members on the board. A [and
shall promptly fill a] vacancy in a [that] board position shall be
promptly filled in accordance with the [member's] policies,
resolutions, and procedures of the applicable member or members.
(b-2) The members not named in Subsections (b)(1) through
(3) may each nominate a person qualified to serve as a director.
The governing body of each of those members shall cast one vote for
a candidate chosen from the list of nominees. The nominee receiving
a majority of the votes cast by the governing bodies of those
members becomes the director representing those members on the
board.
(f) A director may not serve more than two consecutive
terms. A former director may not serve again before the fourth
anniversary of the last day of the director's previous term.
(g) The initial directors shall draw lots to achieve
staggered terms, with three of the directors serving three-year
terms and two of the directors serving four-year terms.
SECTION 4. Section 9601.052, Special District Local Laws
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 9601.052. QUALIFICATIONS FOR OFFICE. (a) To be
eligible to be appointed or to serve as a director, a person must be
a resident, qualified voter of the district.
(b) A person is not eligible to be appointed or to serve as a
director while the person:
(1) is serving as an elected official of a political
subdivision or other governmental body; or
(2) is an employee of a member.
SECTION 5. Section 9601.057, Special District Local Laws
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 9601.057. RECALL. (a) A director appointed under
Section 9601.051(b)(1), (2), or (3) may be recalled at any time by a
two-thirds vote of the governing body of the member that appointed
the director.
(b) A director appointed under Section 9601.051(b)(4) may
be recalled by a two-thirds vote of the members that appoint a
director under that section.
SECTION 6. Chapter 9601, Special District Local Laws Code,
is amended by adding Subchapter B-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER B-1. TEMPORARY ADMINISTRATOR
Sec. 9601.071. DEFINITION. In this subchapter,
"commission" means the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Sec. 9601.072. APPOINTMENT. On the effective date of the
Act enacting this subchapter, Clyde M. Siebman is appointed as
temporary administrator for the district, and the term of each
person who is serving as a director expires on that date.
Sec. 9601.073. TERM. (a) The temporary administrator
shall serve until the 180th day after the date that a board
conforming to the structure described by Section 9601.051(b), as
amended by the Act enacting this subchapter, is appointed and the
directors have qualified.
(b) The commission may extend the term of the temporary
administrator if the commission determines, after consultation
with each state senator and representative who represents a
district that includes territory in the district, that an extension
is necessary to manage the transition between boards.
Sec. 9601.074. POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The temporary
administrator shall have the same powers and duties as the board,
except that the temporary administrator may not issue bonds.
(b) The temporary administrator shall:
(1) complete an inventory of:
(A) the contracts to which the district is a
party, including an evaluation of the benefit to the district of
each contract; and
(B) district assets and liabilities;
(2) retrieve district assets that are in the
possession or under the control of persons not authorized by the
temporary administrator, including keys, passwords, books,
records, and personal, real, and intangible property;
(3) work to secure and protect the assets of the
district;
(4) obtain a financial audit of the district;
(5) determine the current operational, functional,
and financial condition of the district;
(6) recruit a qualified executive director and other
management personnel;
(7) provide oversight and supervision of the board;
(8) provide for a program to educate the incoming
board and management personnel on laws applicable to the district,
sound management strategies, negotiation skills, conflict of
interest policies and law, financial integrity, and contracting
issues;
(9) develop and implement strategies to carry out the
purposes of the district and to provide a safe, secure, and
plentiful supply of water for use within the northeast area of this
state;
(10) review and accept new member petitions from
political subdivisions; and
(11) at least every three months, report to the
commission on the progress of the duties described by this section.
(c) In the period after the appointment of a new board and
before the end of the temporary administrator's term, the temporary
administrator shall work cooperatively with the board in performing
the duties under Subsection (b).
Sec. 9601.075. PERSONNEL. The temporary administrator may
employ persons to assist the temporary administrator in carrying
out the duties assigned by this subchapter.
Sec. 9601.076. COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT. (a) The
temporary administrator and any person hired under Section 9601.075
is entitled to reasonable compensation, based on the education,
training, and experience of the person, and reimbursement of the
reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in carrying out the
duties assigned by this subchapter.
(b) The district shall pay the cost of compensation and
reimbursement.
(c) The amount of compensation and reimbursement shall be
determined by agreement of the temporary administrator and the
board, except that before the appointment and qualification of the
board as provided by Section 9601.051, as amended by the Act
enacting this subchapter, the amount of compensation and
reimbursement shall be determined by agreement of the temporary
administrator and the executive director of the commission. In the
event an agreement cannot be reached, the commission shall
determine the compensation and reimbursement, after obtaining the
approval of each state senator and representative who represents a
district that includes territory in the district.
Sec. 9601.077. REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT. The commission
may, after obtaining the consent of each state senator and
representative who represents a district that includes territory in
the district, remove the temporary administrator and:
(1) appoint a new temporary administrator; or
(2) return control of the district to the board.
Sec. 9601.078. IMMUNITY FROM SUIT. For acts or omissions
undertaken in the course and scope of carrying out the duties
assigned by this subchapter, the temporary administrator is
entitled to the same immunity from suit and liability that applies
to a state district judge acting in a judicial capacity.
Sec. 9601.079. EXPIRATION OF SECTIONS. Sections 9601.071
through 9601.077 and this section expire September 1, 2013.
SECTION 7. Subsection (a), Section 9601.104, Special
District Local Laws Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A person, entity, public agency, [or a] county,
municipality, or other political subdivision of this state or
another state may enter into a contract or agreement with the
district, on terms agreed to by the parties, for:
(1) the purchase or sale of water;
(2) waste collection, transportation, processing, or
disposal; or
(3) any purpose relating to the district's powers or
functions.
SECTION 8. Subsection (d), Section 9601.051, and Section
9601.059, Special District Local Laws Code, are repealed.
SECTION 9. Not sooner than the 150th day and not later than
the 180th day after the effective date of this Act, the City of
Texarkana, the City of New Boston, the Red River Redevelopment
Authority or its successor, and the members described by Section
9601.051, Special District Local Laws Code, as amended by this Act,
shall appoint members, as appropriate, to the board of directors of
the Riverbend Water Resources District.
SECTION 10. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
Government Code.
(b) The governor has submitted the notice and Act to the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor,
lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives
within the required time.
(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
and accomplished.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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