84R22446 SLB-F
By: Bonnen of Brazoria H.B. No. 4168
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 4168:
By: Burns C.S.H.B. No. 4168
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the composition of the board of directors and the powers
of the Gulf Coast Water Authority.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 712, Acts of the 59th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1965, is amended by adding Section 3A to read as
follows:
Sec. 3A. In connection with the acquisition of water, or the
treatment, storage, or transportation of water, the district may
enter into retail service agreements within the Electric
Reliability Council of Texas for the purchase of electricity for
the district's own use and may sell electricity in a sale or resale
only by way of a registered power marketer or power generation
company in accordance with applicable public utility commission
rules and requirements of the Electric Reliability Council of
Texas. An agreement entered into under this section may provide for
a term of years and include provisions that the Board of Directors
determines are in the best interest of the district, including
provisions for the posting of collateral or payment of an early
termination amount in the event of early termination.
SECTION 2. Sections 5 and 5(a), Chapter 712, Acts of the
59th Legislature, Regular Session, 1965, are amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 5. The management and control of the District is hereby
vested in a Board of nine directors. [The seven directors appointed
by the Commissioners Court of Galveston County shall represent the
geographic and ethnic diversity of the county.] Vacancies on the
Board of Directors, whether by death, resignation or termination of
the term of office, shall be filled by appointment by the
commissioners court that appointed the director. All terms of
office shall be for a period of two (2) years. Terms shall be
staggered. [Three (3) of the members appointed by the Commissioners
Court of Galveston County shall be registered professional
engineers under the laws of Texas.]
Sec. 5(a). The directors of the district shall be appointed
as follows:
(1) four directors appointed by the Galveston County
Commissioners Court, one of whom represents municipal interests,
two of whom represent industrial interests, and one of whom
represents the county at large;
(2) two directors appointed by the Fort Bend County
Commissioners Court, one of whom represents municipal interests,
and one of whom represents the county at large; and
(3) three directors appointed by the Brazoria County
Commissioners Court, one of whom represents agricultural
interests, one of whom represents municipal interests, and one of
whom represents industrial interests. [One (1) director of the
District shall be appointed by the Commissioners Court of Galveston
County upon the recommendation of the City Council of the City of
Galveston. Six of the remaining directors shall be appointed by the
Commissioners Court of Galveston County with two directors
appointed at-large and the remaining four of those directors
appointed on the written recommendation of advisory committees
appointed by the Board of Directors of the Gulf Coast Water
Authority. Two of those directors shall be recommended by the
Mainland Municipal Advisory Committee and two of those directors
shall be recommended by the Industrial Advisory Committee. The
Commissioners Court of Galveston County is entitled to accept or
reject the recommendations made to the court by the advisory
committees. If a recommendation made by an advisory committee is
rejected, the advisory committee shall submit additional
recommendations to the court.
[The Industrial Advisory Committee is composed of one
representative of each industrial customer of the Gulf Coast Water
Authority. The Mainland Municipal Advisory Committee is composed
of one representative of each municipal or water district customer
of the Gulf Coast Water Authority that contracts for not less than 2
million gallons of water a day. The names of the representatives of
each of the committees shall be submitted to the Board of Directors
of the Gulf Coast Water Authority by the respective industrial and
municipal or water district customers. The directors of the Gulf
Coast Water Authority shall submit the names of the advisory
committee members to the Commissioners Court of Galveston County,
which shall record the names in the minutes of the court.
[One director shall be appointed by the Commissioners Court
of Fort Bend County to represent District customers in that county.
The director must be recommended by one or more of those customers
and reside in that county.
[One director shall be appointed by the Commissioners Court
of Brazoria County to represent District customers in that county.
The director must be recommended by one or more of those customers
and reside in that county.]
SECTION 3. (a) The terms of the members of the board of
directors of the Gulf Coast Water Authority serving on the
effective date of this Act expire September 1, 2015.
(b) Not later than September 1, 2015, the entities described
by Section 5(a), Chapter 712, Acts of the 59th Legislature, Regular
Session, 1965, as amended by this Act, shall make the appointments
required by that section.
(c) The members of the board appointed under Subsection (b)
of this section shall draw lots to determine which four board
members shall serve a one-year term and which five members shall
serve a two-year term.
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 immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2015.