82R24572 SGA-F
By: Gallegos S.B. No. 1920
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the powers of the Coastal Water Authority; affecting
the authority to issue bonds.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 3A, Chapter 601, Acts of the 60th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1967, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 3A. The Authority may develop and generate electric
energy by any means, including [for use by the Authority or the City
of Houston by] wind turbines and [or] hydroelectric facilities.
Any energy generated by the Authority must first be made available
to the Authority and to the City of Houston.
SECTION 2. Section 3B(c), Chapter 601, Acts of the 60th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1967, is amended to read as follows:
(c) A corporation created under this section is governed in
the same manner as a local government corporation created by a
municipality or county, except that the board of the Authority
shall appoint the board of the corporation and Section 431.101(g),
Transportation Code, does not apply to a corporation created under
this section. The board of the corporation serves at the will of
the board of the Authority.
SECTION 3. Chapter 601, Acts of the 60th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1967, is amended by adding Section 3E to read as
follows:
Sec. 3E. The Authority may participate in a wetland
mitigation program under Chapter 221, Natural Resources Code.
SECTION 4. Section 4, Chapter 601, Acts of the 60th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1967, is amended by amending
Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b) The Authority shall have and is hereby authorized,
subject to the provisions contained herein, to exercise the powers,
rights, privileges, and functions of establishing, acquiring, and
extending a park or park system and the Authority shall be
authorized to improve and equip its park or park system in any
manner considered by its board to be appropriate including the
construction, purchase, lease, and other acquisition of such park
facilities as shall be desirable in the full and adequate
development of the park or park system and once established and
improved the Authority shall be authorized from time to time to
improve, repair, extend, operate, and maintain such park or park
system and the park facilities and other improvements situated
thereon and relating thereto. 'Park facilities,' as used herein,
means any and all improvements to, or equipment to be placed in, a
park, which in the judgment of the board is or will be appropriate,
necessary, or useful in the establishment and operation of a park or
park system and which will be used or useful by the public in its
enjoyment and use thereof, including without limitation, roads,
paths, ornaments, public utilities and all types and all lines,
systems, and facilities incident thereto, buildings of every type
(including but not limited to those related to or useful in the
accommodation, lodging, housing, and feeding of the members of the
public who may frequent the park) and amusement equipment and
facilities of all types. 'Park,' as used herein, means any area of
land or interest therein which is now owned or may hereafter be
acquired by the Authority and which is adjacent to the main or
lateral canals of the Authority and which in the judgment of the
board is or will be appropriate, necessary or useful as and which is
or will be dedicated, used, and devoted by the board to use by the
public as a playground or place of rest, resort, recreation,
exercise, sport, pleasure, amusement, or enjoyment, or any area of
land or interest in an area of land to be used as open space or
wetlands or for reforestation or other uses that reduce, offset, or
capture greenhouse gases or other emissions, or provide mitigation
of other environmental impacts, provided that the use of the area of
land or interest in the area of land is in connection with or useful
for an existing or planned Authority project or facility or other
authorized use [in connection with the beneficial use of the main or
lateral canals to which it is adjacent]. 'Park system,' as used
herein, means more than one park whether or not contiguous.
The Authority shall be authorized to acquire property of any
kind, or any interest therein, necessary or convenient to the
exercise of the powers, rights, privileges, and functions conferred
pursuant to this Section 4(b); provided, however, that the
authority shall not acquire such parks and/or park system by the
exercise of eminent domain.
Each park and park system acquired or established under the
provisions hereof shall be under and subject to the control and
management of the board, and the board shall have the continuous
general power to manage and operate the affairs of the same as it
may consider appropriate, including without limitation the power to
employ such personnel for management or policing purposes, or
otherwise, to enter into such contracts and agreements extending
over such periods of time, to provide for the sale, rental, or use
of such products in the park or park system as shall be considered
necessary to the full, complete, proper, and efficient development,
administration, and operation of the park or park system.
The Authority shall have the express general power and
authority to make, grant, accept, and enter into all leases, and all
concession, rental, operating, or other contracts and agreements
covering or relating to any part or all of the land comprising any
park, park system, or park facilities, which the board shall deem
necessary or convenient to carry out any of the purposes and powers
granted hereby, upon such terms and conditions and for such length
or period of time as may be prescribed herein. Any such contract,
lease, or agreement may be entered into with any person, real or
artificial, any corporation, municipal or private, any
governmental agency or bureau, including the United States
government and the State of Texas, agencies and political
subdivisions thereof, and the board may make contracts, leases, and
agreements with any such persons, corporation, or entities for the
acquisition, financing, construction, or operation of any park,
park system, or park facilities or other improvements in or
connected with or incident to any park or park system.
Any and all such contracts, leases, and agreements, to be
effective, shall be authorized by order or resolution of the board,
shall be executed by its president and attested by its secretary, or
it may be executed by such other person or persons as the board may
direct, and the same shall be binding upon the Authority without
reference to any other statute or statutes.
The board shall be expressly authorized to adopt and enforce
such rules and regulations relating to the use, operation,
management, administration, and policing of its park or park system
and related waters controlled by it as it may consider appropriate,
including, without limitation, the zoning or dividing of each park
or park system into such zones or divisions as it may consider
appropriate and in the interest of such park or park system as a
whole, and it may restrict and prescribe the activities that may be
conducted in each such zone or division.
The board shall be authorized to fix, impose, and collect
such fees, tolls, rents, rates, and charges for entry to, or use of,
the park or park system and park facilities controlled by it as it
may deem necessary, with other sources of funds available to it, to
support the acquisition, maintenance, upkeep, repair, improvement,
and operation of such park or park system.
The board is hereby authorized to accept grants, gratuities,
advances, and loans in any form from any source approved by the
board including the United States Government or any agency thereof,
the State of Texas or any agency thereof, any private or public
corporation, and any other person, for the purpose of promoting,
establishing, and accomplishing the objectives and purposes and
powers herein set forth, and to make and enter into such
concessions, agreements, and covenants as the board considers
appropriate in connection therewith.
(b-1) The Authority may exercise any of its existing powers,
including its parks powers, to carry out a project or activity that
reduces, offsets, or captures and sequesters greenhouse gases or
other emissions as provided by law. The Authority may contract with
a private or public entity to sell or trade credits, offsets, tax
credits, or other similar marketable instruments authorized by law
and available to the Authority attributable to any such project or
activity. The Authority may pledge any stream of revenue from any
such transaction to the issuance of bonds or notes to fund any
authorized purpose of the Authority. The Authority may contract
with any other governmental entity to issue bonds or notes secured
by a stream of revenue from the entity attributable to any such
project or activity. The proceeds of the bonds may be used to fund
any authorized purpose of the Authority or any joint project with
the participating governmental entity.
SECTION 5. (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, one of the required recipients, 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, the
lieutenant governor, and the 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 6. 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.