83R299 SLB-D
By: Whitmire, et al. S.B. No. 203
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Port of Houston Authority; creating an offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 97, Acts of the 40th Legislature, 1st
Called Session, 1927, is transferred to Subtitle A, Title 5,
Special District Local Laws Code, redesignated as Chapter 5007,
Special District Local Laws Code, and amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5007. PORT OF HOUSTON AUTHORITY
OF HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 5007.001 [1]. CREATION OF DISTRICT; VALIDATION;
TERRITORY. (a) That the Harris County Houston Ship Channel
Navigation District of Harris County, Texas, in Harris County, as
hereinafter described by metes and bounds, is hereby created and
established under authority of Article 3, Section 52, of the
Constitution of the State of Texas, for the purpose of the
development of deep water navigation and the improvement of rivers,
bays, creeks, streams, and canals within or adjacent to such
District, and to construct and maintain canals or waterways to
permit [of] navigation or in aid thereof and for the purpose of and
authority to acquire, purchase, undertake, construct [contruct],
maintain, operate, develop, and regulate wharves, docks,
warehouses, grain elevators, bunkering facilities, belt railroads,
floating plants, lighterage, lands, towing facilities, and all
other facilities or aids incident to or necessary to the operation
or development of ports or waterways within said District and
extending to the Gulf of Mexico, as provided in Chapter 9 of the
Revised Statutes of 1925; and all orders of the Commissioners'
Court of Harris County, Texas, and of the Navigation Commissioners,
heretofore made in respect to the creation of such District and the
authorization and issuance of the bonds of said District and
particularly an issue of One Million Five Hundred Thousand
($1,500,000.00) Dollars of bonds voted at an election under date of
December 4, 1926, be and the same are hereby in all things ratified,
confirmed, and validated.
(b) The said Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation
District of Harris County, Texas, herenow created and established
after consideration of the benefits to the property therein
located, is described by metes and bounds as follows, to-wit:-
Beginning at the entrance to Clear Creek into Galveston Bay;
thence running up said creek with the line of Galveston and Brazoria
Counties to a point on S. G. Haynie's survey 372 varas S. 62 degrees
32 minutes E. from its west line; thence N. 62 degrees 32 minutes W.
12 miles 318 varas to the head of Brays Bayou; thence N. 56 degrees
30 minutes W. 15 miles 1455 1/2 varas to the old crossing of Buffalo
Bayou; thence with the line of Waller County in a straight line to
the head of creek; thence down the same with its meanders to the San
Jacinto River; thence N. 50 degrees east to the western line of
Liberty County; thence with said line to the head of Cedar Bayou;
thence down said bayou to its mouth; thence following the boundary
line of Harris County to the mouth of Clear Creek, the place of
beginning.
Sec. 5007.002 [3]. VALIDATION OF ISSUANCE OF CERTAIN BONDS.
(a) The petition, orders of the Commissioners' Court, notices of
election, the election and orders declaring the result thereof and
authorizing the issuance of the following bonds: (a) An issue of
$1,250,000.00, dated June 1, 1911, bearing 4 1/2% interest,
maturing equally each 10 years for forty years; (b) an issue of
$250,000.00, dated March 4, 1914, bearing 5% interest, maturing
forty years with an option to redeem same at any time after ten
years; (c) an issue of $1,500,000.00, dated August 1, 1919, bearing
5% interest and maturing serially in 30 years; (d) an issue of
$500,000.00, dated September 15, 1924 bearing 4 1/2% interest and
maturing serially in thirty years; are herenow in all respects
confirmed, approved, ratified, and validated, and held to be the
legal and binding obligations [obilgations] of said Harris County
Houston Ship Channel Navigation District.
(b) [Sec. 4.] The petition of the Navigation and Canal
Commissioners of October 7, 1926, to the Commissioners' Court
asking for an election for One Million Five Hundred Thousand
($1,500,000.00) Dollars of bonds; the order of the Commissioners'
Court of October 11, 1926, ordering an election for said bonds for
December 4, 1926; the notices of election, the publication and
posting of such notices, the form of ballot, the election itself,
the canvass by the Court of the votes cast at said election, and the
order of the Commissioners' Court dated December 13, 1926,
authorizing the issuance of One Million Five Hundred Thousand
($1,500,000.00) Dollars of the bonds of said District, which bonds
are dated February 1, 1927, due $50,000.00 each year for thirty
years, bearing interest at the rate of 5%, payable semi-annually,
said bonds being in the denomination of $1,000.00 each and setting
out the form of said bonds, places of payment, rights of redemption
and other details of said issue; the order providing for a tax on
all of the taxable property in said District sufficient to pay the
interest on said bonds and provide a sinking fund for payment of
said bonds at maturity; and all orders of the Commissioners' Court
supplementary to and amendatory thereof, are in all respects
ratified, confirmed, approved and validated.
(c) [Sec. 5.] The amount of bonds fixed in the order of said
Court calling said election for the purposes set forth in said order
is hereby found to be proper and necessary for the purposes set out
therein and of benefit to all of the property and tax payers in said
District, and is hereby approved and authorized, and the said
Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation District of Harris
County, Texas, is hereby fully authorized and empowered to issue
and sell said bonds and use the proceeds of said bonds for the
purposes set forth in the order of said Court calling said election,
and said bonds as and when issued and sold at any time or from time
to time shall be and are hereby declared to be the legal, valid, and
binding obligations of said Harris County Houston Ship Channel
Navigation District of Harris County, Texas. The Commissioners'
Court of Harris County, on behalf of said District, is hereby fully
authorized and empowered to levy upon and against all of the taxable
property in said Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation
District of Harris County, Texas, liable therefor, in the manner
and at the time provided for by the General Laws, sufficient taxes
to pay the interest on said bonds and provide sinking funds for the
payment of said bonds at maturity.
(d) [Sec. 6.] The Attorney General of the State of Texas, on
[an] presentation to him for approval of any or all of said bonds
duly executed as provided by law, in the form set forth in the order
referred to, is authorized to approve and certify the same as valid
and binding obligations of the said Harris County Houston Ship
Channel Navigation District of Harris County, Texas.
Sec. 5007.003 [7]. AUTHORITY TO ISSUE BONDS. Harris County
Houston Ship Channel Navigation District of Harris County, Texas,
is authorized and empowered to issue in direct conformity with the
Constitution and the laws of this State as and when necessary such
bonds as may be voted from time to time by the requisite two-thirds
majority of the resident property tax paying voters voting at any
election when called and conducted in direct conformity with the
Constitution and laws of Texas and to issue and sell the same
subject to such provisions of the Constitution and laws of this
State as may be in effect at the time, and subject to the approval of
the Attorney General.
Sec. 5007.004 [7a]. VALIDATION OF ACTS RELATING TO CERTAIN
BONDS. (a) All proceedings, certificates, and acts of the
Navigation and Canal Commissioners of the Harris County Houston
Ship Channel Navigation District of Harris County, Texas,
requesting the submission to an election in said District on
December 19, 1944, of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00) of bonds
of said District for the purposes set out in the proposition
including the purchase of facilities and properties constructed or
owned by any municipality within said District containing one
hundred thousand population or more according to the last preceding
Federal Census, and the further construction and improvement of
port facilities and properties; the orders of the Commissioners
Court of Harris County, Texas, calling the election and canvassing
the returns and declaring the election carried by more than a
two-thirds majority of the voters qualified as required by the
Constitution and laws of the State of Texas voting at said election;
the notice of election; the ballots; and all other proceedings had
in connection therewith are hereby declared not to be invalid by
reason of the following errors and omissions: (1) failure to
include in the proceedings, in the election order and notice, and in
the proposition submitted (a) the agreement between the District
and the said municipality for the purchase of existing facilities
and properties of the said municipality by the District; (b) the
assumption by the District of outstanding bonds of the municipality
issued to construct or purchase certain of its facilities and
properties and the amount thereof; and (c) the amount of the tax to
be levied by the Commissioners Court to service the outstanding
bonds of the municipality assumed by the District and (2) the
failure to properly word in exact accordance with existing law the
ballot submitting the purchase of the said municipal facilities and
properties to a vote, but said bonds so voted shall be held to be in
substantial compliance with the Constitution and statutes of the
State of Texas, and the Navigation and Canal Commissioners of the
Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation District of Harris
County, Texas, are authorized to request of the Commissioners Court
of Harris County, Texas, and the Commissioners Court is authorized
to enter the necessary orders and resolutions directing the
issuance of such bonds so voted at said election as may be needed
from time to time for the purposes set out in the proceedings and
said bonds shall not be invalid insofar as they are affected by the
errors and omissions or failures above enumerated, but such bonds
insofar as they are affected by such errors and omissions or
failures are hereby legalized, confirmed, ratified, approved, and
validated as though correct in the first instance.
(b) The Attorney General of Texas is directed to examine the
record of the issuance of said bonds as and when submitted to him
for the purpose, and if he finds that otherwise they have been
issued conformably to the Constitution and laws of the State of
Texas, he shall approve said bonds notwithstanding the errors and
omissions or failures hereinabove listed, and said bonds shall not
be invalid by reason of the said errors and omissions or failures
listed in this chapter [Act].
(c) All of the bonds of said District authorized at the said
election of December 19, 1944, including the bonds representing the
purchase price of municipal facilities and properties less the
amount of outstanding bonds of the municipality issued for the
construction or purchase of such municipal facilities and
properties may be issued and sold in the manner provided by law when
and if approved by the Attorney General of the State of Texas, but
the proceeds of such sale shall be applied only to the purposes set
out in the proposition submitted at said election and so much of the
proceeds of the sale as represents the amount due for the purchase
of municipal facilities and properties under the terms of the
agreement shall be paid the municipality as of the effective date of
the transfer of the said municipal facilities and properties as set
out in the agreement when made in the manner provided by law. The
provisions of Article 8238, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas as
amended, Acts, First Called Session, 1927, page 149, shall apply to
the purchase of and payment for municipal facilities and properties
except as herein provided.
[Sec. 9. SUNSET REVIEW. (a) The Port of Houston Authority
of Harris County, Texas, is subject to review under Chapter 325,
Government Code (Texas Sunset Act), as if it were a state agency but
may not be abolished under that chapter. The review shall be
conducted as if the authority were scheduled to be abolished
September 1, 2013.
[(b) The reviews must assess the authority's governance,
management, and operating structure, and the authority's
compliance with legislative requirements.
[(c) The authority shall pay the cost incurred by the Sunset
Advisory Commission in performing a review of the authority under
this section. The Sunset Advisory Commission shall determine the
cost, and the authority shall pay the amount promptly on receipt of
a statement from the Sunset Advisory Commission detailing the cost.
[(d) This section expires September 1, 2013.
[Sec. 9. SUNSET REVIEW. (a) The Port of Houston Authority
is subject to review under Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas
Sunset Act), as if it were a state agency but may not be abolished
under that chapter. The review shall be conducted as if the
authority were scheduled to be abolished September 1, 2013.
[(b) The reviews must assess the authority's governance,
management, and operating structure, and the authority's
compliance with legislative requirements.
[(c) The authority shall pay the cost incurred by the Sunset
Advisory Commission in performing a review of the authority under
this section. The Sunset Advisory Commission shall determine the
cost, and the authority shall pay the amount promptly on receipt of
a statement from the Sunset Advisory Commission detailing the cost.
[(d) This section expires September 1, 2013.]
Sec. 5007.005 [1]. GRANT OF TITLE TO CERTAIN ISLANDS AND
OTHER LAND; RELATED POWERS AND DUTIES; RIPARIAN LANDOWNERS;
RESERVATION OF CERTAIN STATE RIGHTS AND POWERS. (a) That all
right, title and interest of the State of Texas, to all lands
hereinafter in this section described, to wit:
All islands and lands owned by the State of Texas, many of
which are subject to overflow, known as Barnes Island, Alexander
Island, Goat Island, Diamond Island and Hog Island in San Jacinto
River above Lynchburg [Lunchburg], and certain accretions formed by
dredged material excavated from the channel and forming land
attached to or near said Alexander Island, Hog Island between Goose
Creek and Morgan Point, Atkinson Island, and all the submerged
lands lying and being situated under the waters of Buffalo Bayou,
San Jacinto River, White Oak Bayou, Bray's Bayou, Simms Bayou,
Vinces Bayou, Hunting Bayou, Greens Bayou, Carpenters Bayou, Old
River, Lost River, Goose Creek and Cedar Bayou, and all other
streams within Harris County Navigation District tributary to the
Houston Ship Channel, so far up said streams as the State may own
same, together with all lands lying and being situated under the
waters of Old River, Burnett's Bay, Crystal Lake, Scott's Bay,
Peggy's Lake, Black Duck Bay, Tabbs Bay and San Jacinto Bay, and all
other tidal flats or overflow land adjacent to or appurtenant to the
above mentioned streams within the limits above mentioned except
Mitchell's Bay and any area between said bay and the Houston Ship
Channel, as now or hereafter located, is hereby granted to the
Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation District, or its
successors, for public purposes and for the development of commerce
only, in accordance with the following provisions and stipulations
herein contained; provided that inasmuch as it is the purpose of
this chapter [Act] to grant said lands to the public agency which is
developing the Port of Houston, upon the creation by legislation of
other public agency which shall supersede the said navigation
district as the public agency developing the Port of Houston, the
title to said lands shall be transferred from the navigation
district to such public agency, either municipal or State, so
provided, such public agency being referred to herein as the
successors [sucessors] of the navigation district.
(b) [Sec. 2.] The navigation district, or its successors,
is hereby granted the right, power and authority to authorize,
establish, construct, purchase, own, maintain, equip, regulate,
operate and lease wharves, piers, docks, dry docks, marine ways and
all other structures and appliances for facilitating or
accommodating [accomodating] commerce or navigation, and to dredge
out channels, slips and turning basins, and to fill in space between
the main land and islands and to fill areas for wharves, piers,
docks, dry docks, marine ways and for all other structures and
appliances for facilitating and accommodating [accomodating]
commerce and navigation, having first secured a permit from the
Government of the United States of America therefor, and to
construct, or cause or authorize to be constructed on said wharves,
piers, docks, dry docks, marine ways and other structures and
appliances for facilitating and accommodating [accomodating]
commerce and navigation, or on lands so filled in, any and all
elevators, warehouses, bunkers, railway terminals and sidetracks,
or any other facilities or aids whatsoever to navigation or
commerce. Said lands shall be used by the navigation district, or
its successors, solely for the establishment, improvement and
conduct of an harbor and for the construction, maintenance and
operation thereon of any facilities or aids whatsoever to the same,
and said navigation district, or its successors, shall not at any
time, grant, convey, give or alien said lands or any part thereof,
to any individual, firm or corporation for any purpose whatsoever;
provided, that said navigation district, or its successors, may
grant franchises thereon for limited periods of time for wharves,
and other public uses and purposes, and may lease said lands or any
part thereof for limited periods for purposes consistent with this
chapter [Act], but no wharves, piers or structures of any kind shall
be constructed on said lands by anyone save the navigation
district, except under a franchise granted by said navigation
district and in a manner first prescribed by and approved of by said
navigation district or its successors.
(c) [Sec. 3.] For the purpose of carrying out the
provisions of this chapter [Act], the navigation district, or its
successors, is hereby granted the right, power and authority to
abate and remove any and all encroachments or structures of any kind
now or hereafter existing on said property, save such as may have
been constructed under permit from the United States War
Department, or other proper Federal authority, and shall have the
right to bring such suit or suits as may be necessary to carry out
the provisions of this chapter [Act] to the same extent and as fully
and completely as the right to bring such a suit or suits existed in
the State prior to the passage hereof.
(d) [Sec. 4.] The purposes and provisions of this chapter
[Act], and the grants, rights and privileges, thereunder to the
Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation District, shall not
affect, curtail or abridge the rights or privileges of riparian
owners of lands abutting upon the islands and lands subject to
overflow, and lands lying under the streams, bays and lakes herein
described or referred to, as the same existed under the Common Law
or the Constitution or Statutes of Texas at the time this chapter,
or laws antecedent to this chapter, [Act] shall become in force and
effect, or to deprive riparian land owners of access to such
streams, channels or waters.
(e) [Sec. 5.] The State of Texas, may at any time, place the
operation of [said] facilities under Subsection (b) under the
supervision of the Railroad Commission of Texas, to insure
reasonable wharfage and storage charges.
(f) [Sec. 6.] The right is hereby expressly reserved by the
State of Texas to erect on the lands herein conveyed such wharves,
piers and buildings for State purposes as may hereafter be
authorized by law.
(g) [Sec. 7.] All mines and mineral rights, including oil
and gas in and under said lands, together with the right to enter
there on for the purpose of development, and the granting of permits
to excavate sand, shell or marl and to collect the tax on same, are
hereby expressly reserved to the State of Texas; provided necessary
or proper access to the lands hereby ceded, together with all
improvements heretofore made, or to be made, under any mineral
leases issued by the State in connection with mineral rights herein
reserved are made a condition of this grant, and are covenants
running with the ceded lands; provided further, that leases
hereafter made by the State, or operations thereunder in connection
with reserved mineral rights shall not interfere with the
improvements made, or to be made in the development of the ship
channel by the said navigation district, or franchise holders
thereunder.
Sec. 5007.006 [8]. RIGHTS OF WAY; EASEMENTS. Nothing in
this chapter [Act] shall prohibit the Navigation District or its
successors from granting to the United States of America such
rights-of-way or easements as may be required by it for the
construction of channels, basins, dumping grounds, or other allied
purposes in connection with any work voluntarily undertaken by the
Federal Government, or at the request of the navigation district or
its successors.
Sec. 5007.007 [1]. REVENUE OBLIGATIONS; CERTAIN POWERS;
FEES AND CHARGES; GRAIN ELEVATORS; TAXATION EXEMPTION; REFUNDING
BONDS; CERTAIN BOND PROVISIONS. (a) The Harris County Houston Ship
Channel Navigation District of Harris County, Texas, in addition to
all other powers conferred by law, is hereby given authority and
shall hereafter have power in the manner hereinafter provided to
acquire, purchase, construct, enlarge, extend, repair, maintain,
operate, or develop channels and turning basins, wharves, docks,
warehouses, grain elevators, bunkering facilities, railroads,
floating plants, and facilities, lightering facilities and towing
facilities, bulk handling facilities, and everything appurtenant
thereto, together with all other facilities or aids incident to or
useful in the operation or development of the District's ports and
waterways or in aid of navigation and commerce thereon.
(b) The Board of Navigation and Canal Commissioners of said
District may covenant to and shall prescribe fees and charges to be
collected for the use of those improvements and facilities of the
District (the net revenues of which improvements and facilities are
pledged, as hereinafter provided), which fees and charges shall be
reasonable and equitable and fully sufficient to produce revenues
adequate to pay, and said Board of Navigation and Canal
Commissioners shall cause to be paid:
(1) All expenses necessary to the operation,
replacement and maintenance of said improvements and facilities.
Such operating and maintenance expenses payable from current
revenues shall include the cost of the acquisitions of properties
and materials necessary to repair, replace and maintain said
improvements and facilities in good condition and operate them
efficiently, wages and salaries paid to the employees of the
District in that connection, and such other expenses as may be
necessary to the efficient operation of said improvements and
facilities.
(2) The annual or semiannual interest upon any
obligations issued hereunder and payable out of the revenues of
said improvements and facilities.
(3) The amount required to be paid annually into the
sinking fund for the payment of any obligations issued hereunder
and payable out of the revenues of said improvements and
facilities.
(4) The amount or amounts required to be paid in
reserve funds or other funds as may be provided for in the
proceedings authorizing such obligations, to secure the payment of
the obligations issued pursuant to the provisions hereof.
(b-1) Revenues which may be received in excess of those
required for the purposes listed in the above Subsection (b)
[subparagraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4),] may be used by the Board of
Navigation and Canal Commissioners to pay the cost of any other
District improvements or for any other lawful purpose.
(c) The Board of Navigation and Canal Commissioners of said
District may borrow money from any department or agency of the
United States, or from any other source, and in evidence thereof
issue the notes, warrants, certificates of indebtedness,
negotiable bonds, or other forms of obligation of such District
(heretofore and hereafter referred to as "obligations") payable
solely out of the revenues to be derived from said improvements and
facilities for any or all of the purposes set forth in Subsection
(a) [Section 1(a) of this Act].
(d) Such obligations shall not constitute an indebtedness
or pledge of the credit of such District, and the holders thereof
shall never have the right to demand payment thereof out of any
funds raised or to be raised by taxation, and such obligations shall
contain a recital to that effect. All obligations issued hereunder
shall be in registered or coupon form, and if in coupon form may be
registerable as to principal only, or as to both principal and
interest, shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed six per cent
(6%) per annum, payable annually or semiannually, and shall be in
such denominations and shall mature serially or at one time not more
than forty (40) years from their date in such manner as may be
provided by the Board of Navigation and Canal Commissioners.
Principal of and interest on such obligations shall be made payable
at any place or places within or without the State of Texas, and in
the discretion of the Board of Navigation and Canal Commissioners
such obligations may be made callable and/or refundable at the
option of said Board prior to maturity at such premium or premiums
as the Board shall determine. Such obligations shall be signed by
the manual or facsimile signatures of the Chairman and executive
director [Secretary] of the Board of Navigation and Canal
Commissioners as may be provided in the proceedings authorizing
said obligations, and the interest coupons attached thereto may
also be executed by the facsimile signatures of such officers. Such
obligations shall be sold in such manner and at such times as the
Board of Navigation and Canal Commissioners shall determine to be
expedient and necessary to the interests of the District, provided,
that in no event shall such obligations be sold for a price which
will result in an interest yield therefrom of more than six percent
(6%) computed to maturity according to standard bond tables in
general use by banks and insurance companies. Any premium or
premiums provided for the call or refunding of any bonds issued
pursuant to this Section [1] shall not be included in the
computation of the maximum interest yield on such bonds. In the
event of the officers whose signatures are on such obligations or
coupons shall cease to be such officers before the delivery of such
obligations to the purchaser, such signature or signatures,
nevertheless, shall be valid and sufficient for all purposes. All
obligations issued hereunder shall constitute negotiable
instruments within the meaning of the Negotiable Instruments Law of
the State of Texas.
(e) Any obligations issued hereunder may be issued payable
from and secured by the pledge of all the revenues derived from the
operation of the improvements and facilities of the District,
exclusive of any revenues derived from taxation or assessments, or
may be payable from and secured by the pledge of only such revenues
as may be derived from the operation of the improvements and
facilities acquired with the proceeds of the sale of such
obligations, or may be payable from and secured by the pledge of a
specified part of the revenues derived from the operation of the
improvements and facilities of the District, all as may be provided
in the proceedings authorizing the issuance of such obligations.
(f) In the resolution or order adopted by the Board of
Navigation and Canal Commissioners authorizing the issuance of any
obligations hereunder, said Board may provide for the flow of
funds, the establishment and maintenance of the interest and
sinking fund, reserve, and other funds, and may provide for such
additional covenants with respect to the obligations and the
pledged revenues and the operation, maintenance, and upkeep of
those improvements and facilities (the income of which is pledged),
including provision for the leasing of all or part of said
improvements and facilities and the use or pledge of moneys derived
from leases thereon, as it may deem appropriate. Said resolution or
order may also prohibit the further issuance of obligations payable
from the pledged net revenues, or may reserve the right to issue
additional bonds to be secured by a pledge of and payable from said
net revenues on a parity with, or subordinate to, the lien and
pledge in support of the obligations being issued, subject to such
conditions as are set forth in said resolution or order. Such
resolution may contain a provision appropriating out of the bond
proceeds an amount sufficient to pay the interest which will accrue
on such obligations during the period of construction of the
improvements and facilities covered by such obligations. Such
resolution or order may contain other provisions and covenants, as
in the opinion of said Board may be necessary or desirable to insure
marketability of the obligations, provided that such provisions and
covenants are not prohibited by the Constitution of Texas or by this
chapter [Act]; and the Board may adopt and cause to be executed any
other proceedings or instruments necessary and/or convenient in the
issuance of said obligations.
(g) Said District may adopt plans for the construction or
refinancing of a grain elevator or elevators, to be paid for by the
issuance and sale of obligations payable from and secured by a
pledge of revenues to be derived from the operation of said grain
elevator and further secured by a trust indenture, or by a deed of
trust on the physical properties of such improvement; and during
the time any such improvement is encumbered by the pledge of such
revenues and the lien upon its physical properties, in the
proceedings authorizing the bonds or the indenture, may vest its
management and control in a Board of Trustees, to be named in such
resolution or indenture, consisting of not less than five (5) nor
more than nine (9) members. The compensation of the members of such
Board of Trustees shall be fixed by such resolution or indenture,
but shall never exceed one percent (1%) of the gross receipts of
such improvement in any one (1) year. The terms of office of the
members of such Board of Trustees, their powers and duties,
including the power to fix fees and charges for the use of such
improvements, and the manner of exercising same, the manner of the
selection of their successors, and all matters pertaining to their
duties and the organization of such Board of Trustees shall be
specified in such resolution or indenture. Any such Board of
Trustees may adopt bylaws regulating the procedure of the Board and
fixing the duties of its officers, but the bylaws shall not contain
any provision in conflict with the covenants and provisions
contained in the resolution authorizing the bonds or the indenture.
In all matters wherein the resolution or indenture are silent as to
the powers, duties, obligations and procedure of the Board, the
laws and rules governing the governing body of such District shall
control the Board of Trustees in so far as applicable. The Board
may be created by the resolution or indenture, and in that event
shall have all or any of the powers and authority which could be
exercised by the governing body of the District in so far as the
management and operation of any such improvement is concerned. By
the terms of any such resolution or indenture the governing board of
any such District may make provision for later supplementing such
resolution or indenture so as to vest the management and control of
such grain elevator in a Board of Trustees having the powers, rights
and duties herein conferred or imposed.
(h) Any resolution or order authorizing the issuance of
obligations hereunder may provide that the revenues from which such
obligations are to be paid and which are pledged to the payment of
such obligations shall from month to month as the same shall accrue
and be received, be set apart and placed in the interest and sinking
fund, reserve fund, and other funds established in said resolution
or order, and disbursed in the manner hereinabove provided.
(i) Any holder of obligations issued hereunder or of coupons
originally attached thereto, may either at law or in equity, by
suit, action, mandamus or other proceeding, enforce and compel
performance of all duties required by this chapter [Act] to be
performed by the Board of Navigation and Canal Commissioners,
including the making and collection of reasonable and sufficient
fees or charges for the use of the improvements and facilities of
the District, the segregation of the income and revenues of such
improvements and facilities, and the application of such income and
revenues pursuant to the provisions of this chapter [Act].
(j) As additional security for the payment of any
obligations issued hereunder, the Board of Navigation and Canal
Commissioners may in its discretion have executed in favor of the
holders of such obligations an indenture or deed of trust
mortgaging and encumbering all or any part of the physical
properties comprising the improvements and facilities the net
revenues of which are pledged to the payment of such obligations,
including the lands upon which said improvements and facilities are
located, and may provide in such mortgage or encumbrance for a grant
to any purchaser or purchasers at foreclosure sale thereunder of a
franchise to operate such improvements, facilities and properties
for a term of not over fifty (50) years from the date of such
purchase, subject to all laws regulating same then in force. Any
such indenture or deed of trust may contain such terms and
provisions as the Board of Navigation and Canal Commissioners shall
deem proper and shall be enforceable in the manner provided by the
laws of Texas for the enforcement of other mortgages and
encumbrances. Under any such sale ordered pursuant to the
provisions of such mortgage or encumbrance, the purchaser or
purchasers at such sale, and his or their successors or assigns,
shall be vested with a permit or franchise conforming to the
provisions stipulated in the indenture or deed of trust to maintain
and operate the improvements, facilities and properties purchased
at such sale with like powers and privileges as may theretofore have
been enjoyed by the District in the operation of said improvements,
facilities and properties. The purchaser or purchasers of such
improvements, facilities and properties at any such sale, and his
or their successors and assigns, may operate said improvements,
facilities and properties as provided in the last above sentence or
may at their option remove all or any part or parts of said
improvements, facilities and properties for diversion to other
purposes. The provisions of Articles 8240, 8241, 8243, Revised
Civil Statutes, 1925, and Chapter 134, Acts 1935, 44th Legislature,
Regular Session, as amended, and any other Statutes relating to the
authorization or execution of mortgages and encumbrances or the
granting of franchises or leases shall not be applicable to the
authorization or execution of any mortgage or encumbrance entered
into pursuant to the provisions of this chapter [Act], nor to the
granting of any franchise hereunder. Any obligations issued
pursuant to the provisions of this chapter [Act] and additionally
secured by an indenture or deed of trust as provided by this
subsection [Section 1(j)], whether such obligations are notes or
certificates of indebtedness or otherwise, and the record relating
to their issuance, may, at the option of the Board of Navigation and
Canal Commissioners, be submitted to the Attorney General of Texas
for his examination and approval, as in the case of bonds, and after
the Attorney General has approved the same, such obligations shall
be registered by the Comptroller of Public Accounts of Texas; and
after such obligations have been approved by the Attorney General
and registered by the Comptroller, they shall thereafter be
incontestable for any cause except for forgery or fraud.
(k) The proceeds of the sale of any obligations issued
hereunder may be deposited in such bank or banks as may be agreed
upon between the purchaser at such sale and the Board of Navigation
and Canal Commissioners, and may be deposited and paid out pursuant
to such terms and conditions as may be so agreed upon, it being
expressly provided that the Statutes of Texas pertaining to the
deposit of Navigation District funds in the depository of such
District shall not be applicable to the deposit of the proceeds of
such sale.
(l) The Board of Navigation and Canal Commissioners is
authorized to enter into an agreement or agreements with the
purchaser or purchasers of any obligations issued hereunder under
the terms of which such Board shall agree to keep all of the
improvements and facilities, the revenues of which are pledged to
the payment of such obligations, insured with insurers of good
standing against loss or damage by fire, water or flood, and also
from any other hazards customarily insured against by private
companies operating similar properties, and to carry with insurers
of good standing such insurance covering the use and occupancy of
such property as is customarily carried by such private companies.
The cost of such insurance shall be budgeted as maintenance and
operation expense and such insurance shall be carried for the
benefit of the holders of such obligations.
(m) Said District, in addition to the other powers
hereinabove set out, shall have general power and authority to make
and enter into all contracts, leases and agreements necessary or
convenient to the carrying out of any of the powers granted in this
chapter [Act], which contracts, leases or agreements may be entered
into with any person, real or artificial, any corporation,
municipal, public or private, and the government or governmental
agency, including those of the United States and the State of Texas.
Any and all contracts, leases or agreements entered into pursuant
hereto shall be approved by resolution or order of the Board of
Navigation and Canal Commissioners of such District, and shall be
executed by the Chairman and attested by the executive director
[Secretary] thereof.
(n) Any obligations issued pursuant to the provisions of
this chapter [Act] shall be exempt from taxation by the State of
Texas or by any municipal corporation, county, or other political
subdivision or taxing district of the State.
(o) The Board of Navigation and Canal Commissioners shall
have the power to issue obligations of the District for the purpose
of refunding any outstanding obligations payable out of the
revenues of the District and accrued interest thereon. Such
refunding obligations may be issued to refund more than one series
of issues of outstanding obligations and combine the pledges for
the outstanding obligations for the security of the refunding
obligations, and such refunding obligations may be secured by other
and additional revenues, provided that such refunding will not
impair the contract rights of the holders of any of the outstanding
obligations which are not to be refunded.
(o-1) Such refunding obligations shall be authorized, shall
be executed, and shall mature as is provided herein for original
obligations, and shall bear interest at the same or lower rate than
that of the obligations refunded unless it is shown mathematically
that a saving will result in the total amount of interest to be
paid. Refunding bonds issued hereunder shall be approved by the
Attorney General of Texas as in the case of other bonds issued
hereunder, and shall be registered by the Comptroller of Public
Accounts upon surrender and cancellation of the bonds to be
refunded, but in lieu thereof, the resolution or order authorizing
their issuance may provide that they shall be sold and the proceeds
thereof deposited in the place or places where the original bonds
are payable, in which case the refunding bonds may be issued in an
amount sufficient to pay the interest on the original bonds to their
option or maturity date, and the Comptroller shall register them
without the surrender and cancellation of the original bonds. The
Board of Navigation and Canal Commissioners may combine refunding
bonds and new bonds in one issue, in which event the provisions of
this subsection and Subsection [Section] (o) shall apply to those
bonds of the combined issue which are designated in the resolution
or order as the refunding bonds.
(p) After any bonds have been authorized by the District
hereunder, such bonds and the record relating to their issuance
shall be submitted to the Attorney General of Texas for his
examination as to the validity thereof, and after the Attorney
General has approved the same, such bonds shall be registered by the
Comptroller of Public Accounts of Texas. After such bonds have been
approved by the Attorney General and registered by the Comptroller,
they shall thereafter be incontestable for any cause except for
forgery or fraud.
(q) All bonds issued hereunder shall be and are hereby
declared to be, and to have all the qualifications of, negotiable
instruments under the Negotiable Instruments Law of the State of
Texas, and all such bonds shall be and are hereby declared to be
legal and authorized investments for banks, savings banks, trust
companies, building and loan associations, insurance companies,
fiduciaries, trustees, guardians, for State funds and retirement
system funds (without limiting the generalization of the foregoing,
including the Permanent School Fund of Texas, and funds of
retirement systems created under the Constitution and laws of the
State of Texas), and for the sinking funds of cities, towns,
villages, counties, school districts, or other governmental
agencies, political corporations or subdivisions of the State of
Texas. Such bonds shall be eligible to secure the deposit of any
and all public funds of the State of Texas, and any and all public
funds of cities, towns, villages, counties, school districts, or
other governmental agencies, political corporations or
subdivisions of the State of Texas; and such bonds shall be lawful
and sufficient security for said deposits to the extent of their
face value when accompanied by all unmatured coupons appurtenant
thereto.
(r) This Section [1], without reference to other Statutes of
the State of Texas, shall constitute full authority for the
authorization and issuance of obligations hereunder and for the
accomplishment of all things herein authorized to be done, and no
proceedings relating to the authorization or issuance of such
obligations or the doing of such things shall be necessary except
such as are herein required, and neither the Bond and Warrant Law of
1931 or any other provisions of the Laws of the State of Texas,
pertinent to the authorization or issuance of obligations, the
operation and maintenance of ports, canals and waterways, the
granting of franchise, permits, or leases, the right to elections
or referendum petitions, shall in anywise impede or restrict the
carrying out of the acts authorized to be done hereunder or acts
done pursuant hereto.
Sec. 5007.008 [2]. CONVERSION OF DISTRICT AND TAX SUPPORTED
OBLIGATIONS; CERTAIN POWERS AND DUTIES; ELECTIONS; REFUNDING
BONDS; MAINTENANCE TAX; ASSESSMENT OF TAXES. (a) Effective and
operative January 1, 1958, the Port of Houston Authority of Harris
County, Texas, is hereby converted to a navigation district
operating under the provisions of Section 59 of Article XVI,
Constitution of Texas, and after said date said Authority will
operate under Section 59 of Article XVI and this chapter [Section 2
of this Act]; provided, that neither said Constitutional Provision
nor this chapter [Section 2] shall apply to said Authority until
said effective date.
(a-1) Said Authority will thereafter be empowered and
authorized to exercise, in addition to all powers conferred by this
chapter [Act], all powers conferred upon said Authority by the law
or laws under which it was organized, and, in addition, shall have
all of the powers and jurisdiction conferred upon Districts
originally organized under Article XVI, Section 59, of the
Constitution of the State of Texas, and particularly Subchapters B,
H, and K, Chapter 60, Water Code, and Sections 60.034 through
60.042, 61.075, 61.076, 61.082, 61.112, 61.115 through 61.117,
61.151 through 61.168, 61.172 through 61.174, and 61.176, Water
Code, as amended, and Articles 8248, 8249, 8250, 8251, 8252, 8253,
8254, 8255, 8256, 8257, and 8258, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas,
1925, as amended, as well as Chapter 90, Acts, 1945, Forty-ninth
Legislature, Regular Session, Page 130, as amended; Chapter 6,
Acts, 1941, Forty-seventh Legislature, Page 8, as amended; Chapter
176, Acts, 1955, Fifty-fourth Legislature, Page 554; Chapter 217,
Acts, 1949, Fifty-first Legislature, Page 407; provided, that if
there is any conflict or inconsistency between said laws or any of
them, and this chapter [Act], then to the extent of conflict or
inconsistency, the provisions of this chapter [Act] shall govern.
If the Authority makes a contract under which another entity
performs for the Authority any work in which the Authority may
engage under [Subsection (a) of] Section 5007.007(a) [1 of this
Act], the Authority may require that a minimum of 25 percent of the
work be performed by the contractor and, notwithstanding any other
law to the contrary, may establish financial criteria for the
surety companies that provide payment and performance bonds.
[The Port Commission of said Authority shall be a seven (7)
commissioner board. Two (2) Port Commissioners shall be appointed
by a majority of the city council of the City of Houston, and two (2)
Port Commissioners shall be appointed by a majority of the Harris
County Commissioners Court. One (1) Port Commissioner shall be
appointed by a majority of the governing bodies of municipalities
located adjacent to the Houston Ship Channel that have a population
of 100,000 or more but less than 1,000,000 according to the most
recent federal census. One (1) Port Commissioner shall be
appointed by a majority of the Harris County Mayors' and Councils'
Association. The Port Commissioner appointed by the Harris County
Mayors' and Councils' Association must be a resident of a
municipality in Harris County that is located adjacent to the
Houston Ship Channel and has a population of less than 100,000
according to the most recent federal census. The chairman of the
commission shall be appointed by the city council of the City of
Houston and the Harris County Commissioners Court. The city
council and the commissioners court shall each have five votes in
the selection of the chairman of the commission. A majority of each
governing body shall determine how the votes for that body will be
cast. Except as specifically provided by this section, the Port
Commissioners shall continue to be selected and shall hold office
as provided by Sections 61.159 through 61.160, Water Code. Any act
or thing authorized to be done by said Port Commission by provisions
of this Act or by provision of any of the aforementioned laws and
legislative acts may be done and performed by the General Manager of
said Authority (or other person authorized to act in his place and
stead) when so authorized by general or special rule, regulation,
order, resolution or other direction of the Port Commission. The
Navigation Board of said Authority is hereby defined and shall be
composed of the County Judge and County Commissioners of Harris
County, Texas, the Mayor and Council members of the City of Houston,
Texas, and the members of the Harris County Mayors' and Councils'
Association.]
(b) If the Navigation and Canal Commissioners of said
District shall from time to time determine to make further
construction or improvements by the issuance of tax bonds or that
additional tax bond funds are required with which to maintain the
existing improvements, they shall certify to the Commissioners
Court of Harris County the necessity for an additional bond issue or
issues stating the amount required, the purposes of the same, the
maximum rate of interest of said bonds, and the time for which they
are to run. A certified copy of an order or resolution adopted by
the Board of Navigation and Canal Commissioners, setting forth such
information, shall constitute sufficient certification in this
regard. The Commissioners Court at a regular or special meeting,
shall order an election to vote on the proposition of the issuance
of bonds and the levy of taxes as hereinafter provided. Said order
shall specify the maximum amount of bonds to be issued, their
maximum maturity date, and the maximum rate of interest. The
ballots for such election shall contain words substantially as
follows: "For the issuance of bonds and levy of tax in payment
thereof"; "Against the issuance of bonds and levy of tax in payment
thereof"; and said ballot shall conform to the requirements of the
provisions of the Constitution of Texas, Chapter 9 of Title 128,
Revised Civil Statutes, 1925, and all other Statutes of Texas
applicable thereto. Any and all limitations, statutory or
otherwise, restricting the amount of bonds that may be issued by the
District are hereby removed.
(c) When any election is held under this chapter [Act],
notice thereof shall be given for not less than thirty (30) days
prior thereto, stating the time, places of holding the same, the
proposition or propositions to be voted upon, and the purposes
thereof, and shall contain a substantial copy of the election
order. Such notices shall be posted by the County Clerk in five (5)
public places in said County, one (1) of which shall be at the
Courthouse door, and four (4) of which shall be posted within the
limits of said Navigation District. No other notice of election
shall be necessary. This District, being presently a county-wide
district, and so long as it remains such, the regular voting or
election precincts established by the Commissioners Court for
county-wide elections shall be the voting or election precincts for
all such bond elections.
(d) Only duly qualified resident electors of said District
who own taxable property within said District and who have duly
rendered the same for taxation shall be entitled to vote at said
elections. Every person who offers to vote in any such election who
is not known by the election officials to possess said
qualifications shall take the following oath before the Presiding
Judge of the polling place where he offers to vote, and the
Presiding Judge is authorized to administer the same: "I do
solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a duly qualified resident
elector of Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation District
of Harris County, Texas, and that I own taxable property in said
District which has been duly rendered for taxation, and that I have
not voted before at this election."
(e) The Commissioners Court shall canvass the returns of
said election, and if a majority of those voting at the election
vote in favor of the issuance of the bonds and the levy of the tax in
payment thereof, then the Commissioners Court shall authorize the
issuance of such bonds and levy taxes to pay the interest on and
principal of such bonds, as hereinafter provided. In canvassing
such returns and declaring the result of any such election, a simple
resolution or order of said Commissioners Court shall be
satisfactory.
(f) Bonds so authorized at an election may be issued in one
or more installments, and when the Board of Navigation and Canal
Commissioners shall have determined the amount of bonds to be
issued in a particular series or issue, said Board shall adopt a
resolution or order setting forth the amount of bonds then to be
issued, and a certified copy of such resolution or order shall be
furnished the Commissioners Court. Thereupon, said Commissioners
Court, at a regular or special meeting, shall adopt an order
authorizing and directing the issuance of bonds for such District
in the amount so certified.
(g) All tax bonds of the District shall be issued in the name
of the District, shall be signed by the County Judge and attested by
the County Clerk, and shall have the seal of the Commissioners Court
impressed thereon; provided, that the order authorizing the
issuance of such bonds may provide for the bonds to be signed by the
facsimile signatures of said County Judge and County Clerk, either
or both, and for the seal on the bonds to be a printed facsimile seal
of the Commissioners Court; and provided further that the interest
coupons attached to said bonds may also be executed by the facsimile
signatures of said officers. The County Treasurer shall register
such bonds and shall keep a record thereof, and evidence of such
registration may be shown on the bonds by the manual or facsimile
signature of said County Treasurer. Such bonds shall be issued in
such denominations, shall be payable at such time or times not
exceeding forty (40) years from their date or dates, and shall bear
interest at a rate or rates not to exceed six percent (6%) per
annum, all as may be determined by said Commissioners Court.
(h) The Board of Navigation and Canal Commissioners shall
sell such bonds for the best price possible and in no event for less
than their face value and accrued interest thereon. Such bonds may
be sold either prior to, simultaneous with, or after the adoption of
the order by the Commissioners Court authorizing the issuance of
such bonds; and if such bonds are sold either prior to or
simultaneous with the adoption of said order by the Commissioners
Court, then such order shall contain a provision confirming the
sale of such bonds. All moneys received from the sale of such bonds
shall be deposited with the County Treasurer to the credit of the
District, and shall be expended only for the bond purpose and
incidental expenses in connection therewith. No additional bond
shall be required of the County Treasurer or of any officer or
official of the District for the handling of the bond proceeds.
(i) All such bonds, and the record of proceedings pertaining
thereto, shall be submitted to the Attorney General of Texas for his
examination as to the validity thereof, and after the Attorney
General has approved the same, such bonds shall be registered by the
Comptroller of Public Accounts of Texas. When such bonds have been
approved by the Attorney General, registered by the Comptroller,
and delivered to the purchasers, they shall thereafter be
incontestable for any cause except for forgery or fraud.
(j) When bonds have been issued, the Commissioners Court
shall levy and cause to be assessed and collected taxes annually
sufficient to pay the interest on such bonds, to provide a sinking
fund to redeem said bonds as they mature, and to pay the cost of
collection of such taxes.
(k) The Commissioners Court shall have the power to issue
bonds to refund outstanding bonds of the District and accrued
interest thereon, and the provisions of this Section [2] relating
to the issuance of voted bonds shall apply to the issuance of
refunding bonds, except that no election therefor shall be
necessary. Refunding bonds shall bear interest at the same or lower
rate than the bonds to be refunded unless it is shown mathematically
that a saving will result in the total amount of interest to be
paid. Such bonds shall be approved by the Attorney General as in
the case of original bonds, and shall be registered by the
Comptroller upon surrender and cancellation of the bonds to be
refunded, but in lieu thereof, the order authorizing their issuance
may provide that they shall be sold and the proceeds thereof
deposited in the place or places where the bonds to be refunded are
payable, in which case the refunding bonds may be issued in an
amount sufficient to pay the principal of the bonds to be refunded
and the interest on such bonds to their option or maturity date, and
the Comptroller shall register them without the surrender and
cancellation of the bonds to be refunded. All refunding bonds,
after they have been approved by the Attorney General and
registered by the Comptroller, shall be incontestable for any cause
except for forgery or fraud.
(l) The Commissioners Court may, upon the request of the
Board of Navigation and Canal Commissioners, invest the sinking
fund created for the benefit of any bonds issued hereunder, in such
county, municipal, district, or other bonds required by law to be
approved by the Attorney General of Texas.
(m) The Commissioners Court shall be authorized to levy and
cause to be assessed and collected for the maintenance, operation
and upkeep of said District and the facilities, properties, and
improvements of said District, whether heretofore or hereafter
constructed or acquired and whether constructed or acquired under
the provisions of this chapter [Act] or otherwise, an annual tax not
to exceed ten cents (10¢) on each One Hundred Dollars ($100)
valuation of taxable property within such District; provided that
the levying of such tax shall be first submitted to the qualified
taxpaying voters of said District called and held as herein
provided for bond elections and the proposition shall be adopted by
a majority vote of those voting at the election.
(m-1) The Commissioners Court shall at the time of levy of
taxes for County purposes each year levy and cause to be assessed
and collected said maintenance tax within such voted limit of ten
cents (10¢) as has been determined by the Board of Navigation and
Canal Commissioners.
(n) The Board of Navigation and Canal Commissioners of said
District shall provide all necessary additional books for the use
of the Assessor and Collector of taxes and the Clerk of the
Commissioners Court of Harris County, Texas. The Tax Assessor of
said Harris County shall be charged with the assessment of all
property for taxation within said District and when ordered to do so
by the Commissioners Court of Harris County shall assess all
property within said Navigation District and list the same for
taxation in the books or rolls furnished him for said purposes, and
return said books or rolls at the same time when he returns the
other books or rolls of the State and County Taxes for correction
and approval to the Commissioners Court of said County, and if said
Court shall find said books or rolls correct they shall approve the
same, and in all matters pertaining to the assessment of property
for taxation in said District, the Tax Assessor and Board of
Equalization of said County shall be authorized to act and shall be
governed by the laws of Texas for assessing and equalizing property
for State and County Taxes, except as herein provided. All taxes
authorized to be levied by this chapter [Act] shall be a lien upon
the property upon which said taxes are assessed, and said taxes may
be paid and shall mature and be paid at the time provided by the laws
of this State for the payment of State and County Taxes; and all the
penalties provided by the laws of this State for the nonpayment of
State and County Taxes shall apply to all taxes authorized to be
levied by this chapter [Act]. The Tax Collector of Harris County
shall be charged with the assessment rolls of said Navigation
District, and is required to make collection of all taxes levied and
assessed against the property in said County and promptly pay over
the same to the Treasurer of the District. The Tax
Assessor-Collector shall receive for such services such
compensation as the Navigation and Canal Commissioners of said
District and said Commissioners Court shall agree upon; and such
compensation shall be paid to the Officers' Salary Fund of the
County. The bond of such Assessor-Collector shall stand as
security for the proper performance of his duties as Tax
Assessor-Collector of such District; or, if in the judgment of the
Navigation and Canal Commissioners of such District it be
necessary, an additional bond payable to such District may be
required, and in all matters pertaining to the collection of taxes
levied under the provisions of this chapter [Act], the Tax
Collector shall be authorized to act and shall be governed by the
laws of the State of Texas for the collection of State and County
Taxes, except as herein provided; and suits may be brought for the
collection of said taxes and the enforcement of the tax liens
created by this chapter [Act]. It shall be the duty of the Tax
Collector to make a certified list of all delinquent property upon
which the navigation tax has not been paid, and return the same to
the County Commissioners Court, which shall proceed to have the
same collected by the sale of such delinquent property in the same
manner, both by suit and otherwise, as now or may be provided for
the sale of property for the collection of State and County Taxes;
and, at the sale of any property for any delinquent tax, the
Navigation and Canal Commissioners may become the purchasers of the
same for the benefit of the Navigation District. Should said Tax
Assessor and Collector fail or refuse to comply with the order of
said Commissioners Court requiring him to assess and list for
taxation all the property in such Navigation District, or fail or
refuse to give such additional bond or security as herein provided,
he shall be suspended from further discharge of his duties by the
Commissioners Court of said County, and he shall be removed from
office in the mode prescribed by law for the removal of county
officers.
(o) The County Treasurer of Harris County shall be treasurer
of said Navigation District, and it shall be his duty to open an
account of all moneys received by him belonging to such District and
all amounts paid out by him. He shall deposit the funds of said
District in such depository or depositories as may be designated by
the Navigation and Canal Commissioners in the manner provided by
law for the selection of a county depository, and such depository so
selected shall be the depository of said district for a period of
two (2) years and until its successor is selected and qualified.
Should the Navigation and Canal Commissioners fail or refuse to
select a depository such depository shall be selected in like
manner by the Commissioners Court. The depository of said district
on April 29, 1957, [at the effective date of this Act] shall
continue to be the depository of the district until its successor is
selected and qualified as herein provided. He shall pay out no
money except upon the conditions provided for in this chapter
[Act], and he shall carefully preserve on file all orders for the
payment of money; and, as often as required by the said
Commissioners Court, he shall render a correct account to them of
all matters pertaining to the financial condition of the district.
The County Treasurer shall execute a good and sufficient bond,
payable to the Navigation and Canal Commissioners of such district
and to their successors in office for the benefit of said district
in an amount to be fixed by the Navigation and Canal Commissioners,
such bond to be conditioned for the faithful performance of his
duties as treasurer of such district and to be approved by said
Navigation and Canal Commissioners; provided whenever any bonds are
issued by such navigation district the County Treasurer before
receiving the proceeds of sale thereof shall execute additional
good and sufficient bond payable to the Navigation and Canal
Commissioners of said district in an amount to be fixed by the
Navigation and Canal Commissioners, which bond shall likewise be
conditioned and approved as aforesaid, but such additional bond
shall not be required after such Treasurer shall have properly
disbursed the proceeds of such bond issue; and the County Treasurer
shall be allowed such compensation for his services as treasurer of
such navigation district as may be determined by said Navigation
and Canal Commissioners, and such compensation shall be paid to the
Officers' Salary Fund of the County.
(p) The Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation
District of Harris County, Texas, shall acquire, purchase, lease,
maintain, repair and operate facilities and equipment for
preventing, detecting, controlling and fighting fires on or
adjacent to the waterways, channels and turning basins within its
jurisdiction and for the protection of life and property from
damage by fire and explosion. The District shall promulgate and
enforce ordinances, rules and regulations for the promotion of the
safety of life and property on or adjacent to the waterways,
channels and turning basins within its jurisdiction from damages by
fire and explosion thereon in the manner provided by Chapter 486,
Acts of the 57th Legislature, Regular Session, 1961, as amended.
The powers and functions herein authorized may be exercised both
within and without the corporate limits of any city, town or village
situated within the boundaries of the District. This chapter [Act]
shall be cumulative of all other laws on the subject but in the
event of conflict between this chapter [Act] and any law of this
state or any charter provision or ordinance of any such city, town
or village relating to the subject matter of this chapter [Act], the
provisions of this chapter [Act] shall control.
(q) The Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation
District of Harris County, Texas, is authorized to acquire,
purchase, construct, enlarge, extend, repair, maintain, operate,
or develop traffic control facilities and everything appurtenant
thereto, together with all other facilities or aids incident to or
useful in the operation or development of the District's ports and
waterways or in aid of navigation and commerce thereon. The traffic
control facilities shall be financed out of available revenue and
shall not utilize bond revenue funds.
Sec. 5007.009 [3]. REFUNDING OF BONDS HERETOFORE VOTED.
The Commissioners Court shall have the power to issue bonds of the
District to refund bonds of the District which have heretofore been
voted and which are outstanding at the time of the adoption of the
refunding bond order, and no election therefor shall be necessary.
Such refunding bonds shall mature serially or otherwise in not to
exceed forty (40) years from their date, and shall bear interest at
the same or lower rate than the bonds to be refunded unless it is
shown mathematically that a saving will result in the total amount
of interest to be paid. Such refunding bonds shall be approved by
the Attorney General of Texas, and shall be registered by the
Comptroller of Public Accounts of Texas upon surrender and
cancellation of the bonds to be refunded, but in lieu thereof, the
order authorizing their issuance may provide that they shall be
sold and the proceeds thereof deposited in the place or places where
the bonds to be refunded are payable, in which case the refunding
bonds may be issued in an amount sufficient to pay the principal of
the bonds to be refunded and the interest on such bonds to their
option or maturity date, and the Comptroller shall register them
without the surrender and cancellation of the bonds to be refunded.
All such refunding bonds, after they have been approved by the
Attorney General and registered by the Comptroller, shall be
incontestable for any cause except for forgery or fraud.
Sec. 5007.010 [4]. CONSTRUCTION OF CHAPTER [ACT]. This
chapter [Act] shall be cumulative of other laws, and shall be
liberally construed to effectuate the purposes set forth herein.
It is hereby found and declared that all property in the District,
both real and personal, is benefited by the District and by the
improvements and facilities constructed or acquired under this
chapter [Act]. It is expressly provided that nothing in this
chapter [Act] shall be construed to amend, repeal, or affect the
laws relating to pilots, pilotage, their appointment, or their
remuneration.
Sec. 5007.011 [5]. VALIDATION PROVISIONS. Harris County
Houston Ship Channel Navigation District of Harris County, Texas,
is hereby in all things validated, and all acts and governmental
proceedings of the Board of Navigation and Canal Commissioners and
other officials of the District and all acts and governmental
proceedings of the Commissioners Court of Harris County relating to
said District are hereby in all things validated, and the
boundaries of such District are hereby in all things validated, and
all bonds heretofore voted and issued and all elections heretofore
held for the issuance of bonds are hereby in all things validated.
Without in any way limiting the generalization of the foregoing, it
is expressly provided that the election held in said District on the
31st day of January, 1957, at which election Seven Million Dollars
($7,000,000) bonds of said District were authorized, and all
proceedings relating thereto, are hereby in all things validated.
It is provided, however, that this Section shall have no
application to litigation pending on April 29, 1957 [upon the
effective date of this Act].
Sec. 5007.012 [5A]. NAME AND TITLE CHANGES. (a) The name
of the Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation District of
Harris County, Texas, is changed to the Port of Houston Authority of
Harris County, Texas.
(b) The name of the Board of Navigation and the Canal
Commissioners of the authority is changed to the port commission,
and the title of each member is port commissioner.
(c) The title of general manager of the authority is changed
to executive director.
SUBCHAPTER B. ADMINISTRATION AND PLANNING
Sec. 5007.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Authority" means the Port of Houston Authority of
Harris County, Texas.
(2) "Executive director" means the executive director
of the authority.
(3) "Port commission" means the navigation and canal
commission of the authority.
(4) "Port commissioner" means a member of the port
commission.
Sec. 5007.202. CONFLICT OF LAWS. To the extent of a
conflict between this subchapter and any other law, including
Subchapter A, this subchapter prevails.
Sec. 5007.203. PROVISIONS NOT APPLICABLE TO AUTHORITY.
Chapter 90, Acts of the 49th Legislature, Regular Session, 1945,
does not apply to the authority.
Sec. 5007.204. SUNSET REVIEW. (a) The authority is subject
to review under Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset Act), as
if it were a state agency but may not be abolished under that
chapter. The review shall be conducted as if the authority were
scheduled to be abolished September 1, 2017.
(b) The review must assess the authority's governance,
management, and operating structure, and the authority's
compliance with legislative requirements.
(c) The authority shall pay the cost incurred by the Sunset
Advisory Commission in performing a review of the authority under
this section. The Sunset Advisory Commission shall determine the
cost, and the authority shall pay the amount promptly on receipt of
a statement from the Sunset Advisory Commission detailing the cost.
(d) This section expires September 1, 2017.
Sec. 5007.205. GOVERNING BODY; APPOINTMENT; TERMS. (a) The
authority is governed by a port commission of seven port
commissioners appointed by the governor with the advice and consent
of the senate as follows:
(1) five port commissioners from a list of not more
than 20 names submitted to the governor by the Houston-Galveston
Area Council or its successor; and
(2) two port commissioners who are residents of this
state who do not reside in the area served by the Houston-Galveston
Area Council, including Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort
Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Walker,
Waller, or Wharton County.
(b) The governor shall designate the chair of the port
commission from the members appointed.
(c) The port commissioners serve staggered four-year terms
that expire on February 1 of odd-numbered years.
(d) A port commissioner may not serve more than three terms.
(e) The port commission has the rights, powers, and duties
of a navigation board for the purposes of Chapters 61 and 62, Water
Code, and shall act as the navigation board of the authority.
Sec. 5007.206. CONFLICT OF INTEREST. (a) In this section,
"Texas trade association" means a cooperative and voluntarily
joined statewide association of business or professional
competitors in this state designed to assist its members and its
industry or profession in dealing with mutual business or
professional problems and in promoting their common interest.
(b) A person may not be a port commissioner and may not be an
authority employee employed in a "bona fide executive,
administrative, or professional capacity," as that phrase is used
for purposes of establishing an exemption to the overtime
provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29
U.S.C. Section 201 et seq.), if:
(1) the person is an officer, employee, or paid
consultant of a Texas trade association in a field relating to
maritime commerce; or
(2) the person's spouse is an officer, manager, or paid
consultant of a Texas trade association in a field relating to
maritime commerce.
(c) A person may not be a port commissioner or act as the
general counsel to the port commission or the authority if the
person is required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305,
Government Code, because of the person's activities for
compensation on behalf of a profession related to the operation of
the authority.
(d) A person may not be a port commissioner if the person or
the person's spouse:
(1) is employed by or participates in the management
of a business entity or other organization regulated by or
receiving money from the authority; or
(2) uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible
goods, services, or money from the authority other than
compensation or reimbursement authorized by law for port commission
membership, attendance, or expenses.
Sec. 5007.207. FILING OF FINANCIAL STATEMENT BY PORT
COMMISSIONERS. (a) A port commissioner shall file the financial
statement required of state officers under Subchapter B, Chapter
572, Government Code, with:
(1) the authority; and
(2) the Texas Ethics Commission.
(b) Subchapter B, Chapter 572, Government Code:
(1) applies to a port commissioner subject to this
section as if the port commissioner were a state officer; and
(2) governs the contents, timeliness of filing, and
public inspection of, and civil and criminal penalties relating to,
a statement filed under this section.
Sec. 5007.208. PORT COMMISSIONER TRAINING. (a) A person
who is appointed to and qualifies for office as a port commissioner
may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a port commissioner in
attendance at a meeting of the port commission until the person
completes a training program that complies with this section.
(b) The training program must provide the person with
information regarding:
(1) the legislation that created the authority;
(2) the programs, functions, policies, rules, and
budget of the authority;
(3) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
authority;
(4) the requirements of laws relating to open
meetings, public information, administrative procedure, financial
disclosure, and conflicts of interest; and
(5) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the port
commission or the Texas Ethics Commission.
(c) A person appointed to the port commission is entitled to
reimbursement for the travel expenses incurred in attending the
training program regardless of whether the attendance at the
program occurs before or after the person qualifies for office.
Sec. 5007.209. REMOVAL FROM OFFICE. (a) It is a ground for
removal from the port commission that a port commissioner:
(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
qualifications required by Section 5007.205;
(2) does not maintain during service on the port
commission the qualifications required by Section 5007.205;
(3) is ineligible for membership under Section
5007.206;
(4) cannot, because of illness or disability,
discharge the port commissioner's duties for a substantial part of
the port commissioner's term;
(5) commits malfeasance in office; or
(6) is absent from more than half of the regularly
scheduled port commission meetings that the port commissioner is
eligible to attend during a calendar year without an excuse
approved by a majority vote of the port commission.
(b) The validity of an action of the port commission is not
affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a
port commissioner exists.
(c) If the executive director has knowledge that a potential
ground for removal exists, the executive director shall notify the
chair of the port commission of the potential ground. The chair
shall then notify the governor and the attorney general that a
potential ground for removal exists. If the potential ground for
removal involves the chair, the executive director shall notify the
next highest ranking officer of the port commission, who shall then
notify the governor and the attorney general that a potential
ground for removal exists.
Sec. 5007.210. PORT COMMISSION POLICIES. (a) The port
commission shall adopt detailed policies that document its
governance practices and make those policies available on the
authority's website.
(b) The port commission shall develop and implement
policies that clearly separate the policymaking responsibilities
of the port commission and the management responsibilities of the
executive director and the other employees of the authority.
(c) The port commission shall distribute a copy of all
policies adopted under this subchapter to each port commissioner
and authority employee not later than the third business day after
the date the person begins employment or a term as port
commissioner.
Sec. 5007.211. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. (a) The port commission
shall appoint an executive director of the authority for a term not
to exceed two years. The port commission shall prescribe the duties
and compensation of the executive director. The port commission may
delegate to the executive director full authority to manage and
operate the affairs of the authority subject only to orders of the
port commission.
(b) The port commission shall delegate to the executive
director the authority to employ all persons necessary for the
proper handling of the business and operation of the authority and
to determine the compensation to be paid to all employees, other
than the executive director.
(c) The executive director shall execute a bond for $10,000
conditioned on the faithful performance of the executive director's
duties and other conditions as required by the authority. The bond
must be recorded in a record kept for that purpose in the
authority's office.
Sec. 5007.212. STANDARDS OF CONDUCT; ETHICS POLICY. (a) A
port commissioner or an authority employee should not:
(1) accept or solicit any gift, favor, or service that
might reasonably tend to influence the port commissioner or
employee in the discharge of official duties or that the port
commissioner or employee knows or should know is being offered with
the intent to influence the port commissioner's or employee's
official conduct;
(2) accept other employment or engage in a business or
professional activity that the port commissioner or employee might
reasonably expect would require or induce the port commissioner or
employee to disclose confidential information acquired by reason of
the official position;
(3) accept other employment or compensation that could
reasonably be expected to impair the port commissioner's or
employee's independence of judgment in the performance of the port
commissioner's or employee's official duties;
(4) make personal investments that could reasonably be
expected to create a substantial conflict between the port
commissioner's or employee's private interest and the public
interest; or
(5) intentionally or knowingly solicit, accept, or
agree to accept any benefit for having exercised the port
commissioner's or employee's official powers or performed the port
commissioner's or employee's official duties in favor of another.
(b) The port commission shall adopt a written ethics policy
for the port commissioners and authority employees consistent with
the standards prescribed by Subsection (a).
Sec. 5007.213. ETHICS AFFIRMATION AND HOTLINE. (a) A port
commissioner or an authority employee shall annually affirm the
port commissioner's or employee's adherence to the ethics policy
adopted under Section 5007.212.
(b) The port commission shall establish and operate a
telephone hotline that enables a person to call the hotline number,
anonymously or not anonymously, to report alleged fraud, waste, or
abuse or an alleged violation of the ethics policy adopted under
Section 5007.212.
Sec. 5007.214. COMPLAINTS. (a) The authority shall
maintain a system to promptly and efficiently act on complaints
filed with the authority. The authority shall maintain information
about parties to the complaint, the subject matter of the
complaint, a summary of the results of the review or investigation
of the complaint, and its disposition.
(b) The authority shall make information available to the
public, including on the authority's website, describing its
procedures for complaint investigation and resolution.
(c) The authority shall periodically notify the complaint
parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition.
(d) The authority shall develop a standard form and a
procedure for submitting complaints to the authority and shall make
that form and procedure available on the authority's website. The
authority shall also make available on its website clear
information about what a person making a complaint should expect
after the complaint is filed, including timelines for response and
resolution.
(e) The authority shall compile detailed statistics and
analyze trends on complaint information, including:
(1) the nature of the complaints;
(2) the disposition of the complaints; and
(3) the length of time to resolve complaints.
(f) Authority staff shall report the information compiled
under Subsection (e) to senior management as designated by the
executive director and the port commission on a regular basis.
Sec. 5007.215. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT POLICY. The port
commission shall develop and implement a policy that provides a
structure for public involvement. The policy must include:
(1) a clear and detailed description of how the
authority will seek to actively engage stakeholders;
(2) specific actions the authority will take to meet
or exceed the requirements of laws related to open meetings; and
(3) strategies that include use of the authority's
website to make available clear, updated information on issues of
public concern.
Sec. 5007.216. WHISTLEBLOWER POLICY. The port commission
shall adopt a whistleblower policy consistent with Chapter 554,
Government Code.
Sec. 5007.217. EXPENSE POLICY. The port commission shall
adopt an expense policy that includes:
(1) spending guidelines for meals, lodging, and
entertainment, including a process for handling and documenting
exceptions to the guidelines if business needs require an
exception;
(2) clear expense report protocols, including:
(A) the use of cash advances;
(B) the separation of reports from port
commissioners and authority employees; and
(C) clear lines of accountability for the
submission of reports; and
(3) a prohibition on the use of authority funds for a
meal for a port commissioner or an authority employee that is not
part of approved travel for authority business or part of a
business-related function with outside parties.
Sec. 5007.218. PROMOTION AND DEVELOPMENT FUND. (a) In this
section, "promotion and development fund" means a fund created and
managed under Subchapter H, Chapter 60, Water Code.
(b) The port commission shall adopt clear, complete policy
and procedures to govern the use of the promotion and development
fund. The policy and procedures must include:
(1) provisions limiting acceptable uses of promotion
and development fund money to uses with a direct tie to the mission
of the authority;
(2) a consistent budget process;
(3) a process for requesting sponsorship funds by port
commissioners, authority employees, and outside groups;
(4) an approval process for each type of expenditure
from the promotion and development fund, including:
(A) the level of approval or notification
required for authority employees, applicable task forces, and the
port commission; and
(B) a requirement that each approved expenditure
must include a description of:
(i) the expected impact of the expenditure;
and
(ii) how the expenditure is consistent with
the strategic direction for promotion and development fund money as
adopted by the port commission;
(5) a procedure for handling exceptions to the policy,
including a requirement that an exception be subject to the same
reporting requirements as other approved expenditures from the
promotion and development fund;
(6) a provision for evaluating the policy's
effectiveness and having the port commission adopt updates to the
policy as needed at regularly scheduled public meetings; and
(7) requirements for regular tracking of all
expenditures from the promotion and development fund and reporting
of the expenditures to the port commission and to the public by
making the reports available on the authority's website.
(c) A report described by Subsection (b)(7) must include
detailed information about:
(1) travel by port commissioners;
(2) special uses of the authority's resources,
including the use of any public tour vessels and the associated
costs, sorted by authority division;
(3) sponsorship and similar spending; and
(4) total expenditures from the promotion and
development fund, including year-to-date summary information by
category of expenditure.
Sec. 5007.219. PLANNING DEFINITIONS. For the purposes of
Sections 5007.220, 5007.221, 5007.223, and 5007.224:
(1) "Long-range plan" means the plan developed under
Section 5007.220.
(2) "Mid-range plan" means the plan developed under
Section 5007.221.
(3) "One-year capital plan" means the plan developed
under Section 5007.223.
(4) "Staff" means one or more authority employees and
does not include a port commissioner.
Sec. 5007.220. LONG-RANGE PLANNING. (a) Appropriate staff
shall develop a long-range plan containing:
(1) a mission and values statement;
(2) an assessment of the authority's state as of the
date of the plan;
(3) an assessment of the projected operating
environment over the course of the long-range plan;
(4) a discussion of high-level goals, strategies, and
priorities;
(5) a scheme for ongoing evaluation of progress toward
stated goals, including performance measures; and
(6) other strategic planning elements, as considered
appropriate by the staff or port commission.
(b) The port commission shall establish a planning horizon
of at least 10 years for the long-range plan.
(c) The staff shall identify and collaborate with
stakeholders to obtain input on the long-range plan.
(d) The port commission may amend and shall adopt the plan
and any updates to the plan in an open meeting.
(e) The staff shall provide annual progress updates
according to performance measures developed under Subsection
(a)(5). The staff shall present a report on the annual progress to
the port commission.
(f) The staff shall complete a comprehensive reevaluation
and update of the long-range plan at least every five years, or more
frequently if the port commission finds that conditions warrant a
more frequent update.
Sec. 5007.221. MID-RANGE PLANNING. (a) Appropriate staff
shall develop a mid-range plan consistent with the long-range plan.
The mid-range plan must include:
(1) a five-year financial forecast addressing the
financial needs and financing options of the authority for the
five-year period, with information about the relative cost of the
options;
(2) a five-year capital plan, including a preliminary
analysis and prioritization of projects; and
(3) other detailed action plans as the port commission
or staff finds necessary to achieve the goals of the mid-range plan
or long-range plan.
(b) The staff shall present the mid-range plan in an open
meeting of the port commission. The port commission is not required
to adopt a mid-range plan.
Sec. 5007.222. BUDGET. The port commission shall annually
adopt a budget for the authority in an open meeting.
Sec. 5007.223. ONE-YEAR CAPITAL PLAN. (a) Appropriate
staff shall develop a one-year capital plan, including associated
financing, that is integrated with the budget of the authority.
(b) The port commission shall adopt the one-year capital
plan in an open meeting.
(c) The port commission shall establish and document a
detailed process for the analysis and approval of a project
proposed for inclusion in the one-year capital plan. A project may
be included in the one-year capital plan only if it is approved in
accordance with that process.
Sec. 5007.224. PUBLIC ACCESS TO BUDGET AND PLANNING
INFORMATION. (a) The port commission shall post on the authority's
website and otherwise make available to the public the authority's
most recently adopted budget and any plan adopted by the port
commission at an open meeting, including the long-range plan,
mid-range plan, one-year capital plan, and updates to that budget
or those plans.
(b) The port commission may redact sensitive business
information from the plans made publicly available under this
section.
Sec. 5007.225. INTERNAL AUDIT. (a) The port commission
shall establish an internal audit procedure consistent with the
purposes, duties, and standards for state agency internal audit
procedures under Chapter 2102, Government Code.
(b) The port commission shall create an internal audit task
force consisting of port commissioners.
(c) The port commission shall employ a chief audit
executive, who shall report to the internal audit task force. The
chief audit executive shall coordinate all audit activity,
including:
(1) compliance reviews;
(2) reviews of internal controls;
(3) audits by the county auditor of Harris County;
(4) contracted audits;
(5) performance reviews; and
(6) investigations of alleged fraud, waste, abuse, or
ethics violations reported under Section 5007.213(b).
(d) The chief audit executive shall monitor the authority's
compliance with statutory requirements governing use of the
promotion and development fund, as defined by Section 5007.218(a).
(e) The port commission shall create, approve, and make
available on the authority's website a risk-based annual audit
plan.
(f) The port commission shall make internal audits
available on request to:
(1) the county auditor of Harris County;
(2) the Houston-Galveston Area Council; and
(3) the governor.
Sec. 5007.226. HARRIS COUNTY AUDITOR. (a) The county
auditor of Harris County may conduct a financial audit of the
authority as part of an annual, county-wide risk assessment and
audit plan.
(b) The county auditor of Harris County may not conduct an
operational audit of the authority or any audit that exceeds the
scope of the audit described in Subsection (a).
(c) The authority shall reimburse the county auditor of
Harris County for an audit conducted under Subsection (a),
according to standard rates agreed to by the authority and the
county before an audit is scheduled or performed. The rates shall
be updated periodically.
(d) Sections 60.204(c) and 61.174(b) and (c), Water Code, do
not apply to the authority.
SECTION 2. (a) The terms of the port commissioners of the
Port of Houston Authority of Harris County, Texas, serving on the
effective date of this Act expire on September 1, 2013.
(b) Not later than September 2, 2013, the governor shall
make the appointments required by Section 5007.205, Special
District Local Laws Code, as added by this Act.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 5007.205(c), Special District
Local Laws Code, as added by this Act, the terms of the initial port
commissioners appointed by the governor under that section shall
expire as follows:
(1) three port commissioners appointed under Section
5007.205(a)(1) and one port commissioner appointed under Section
5007.205(a)(2) shall serve terms expiring February 1, 2015; and
(2) two port commissioners appointed under Section
5007.205(a)(1) and one port commissioner appointed under Section
5007.205(a)(2) shall serve terms expiring February 1, 2017.
(d) A person serving on the port commission of the Port of
Houston Authority of Harris County, Texas, on November 13, 2012, is
not eligible for appointment to the port commission after September
1, 2013.
SECTION 3. (a) Not later than December 1, 2013, the port
commissioners of the Port of Houston Authority of Harris County,
Texas, shall adopt the policies, plans, and procedures necessary to
implement Subchapter B, Chapter 5007, Special District Local Laws
Code, as added by this Act.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 5007.210, Special District
Local Laws Code, as added by this Act, a policy adopted by the port
commission of the Port of Houston Authority of Harris County,
Texas, shall be distributed to:
(1) each port commissioner and authority employee who
holds the office of commissioner or is employed by the authority on
September 1, 2013, not later than December 1, 2013;
(2) each employee hired after September 1, 2013, not
later than the third business day after the date the person begins
employment with the authority or December 1, 2013, whichever is
later; and
(3) each port commissioner whose term of office begins
after September 1, 2013, not later than the third business day after
the date the person qualifies for office or December 1, 2013,
whichever is later.
SECTION 4. (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 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.