85R6211 SLB-F
By: Perez H.B. No. 1395
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the powers and duties of navigation districts, port
authorities, and boards of trustees of municipal port facilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 551.0415, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 551.0415. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OR GOVERNING BODY OF
MUNICIPALITY, [OR] COUNTY, OR NAVIGATION DISTRICT: REPORTS ABOUT
ITEMS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST REGARDING WHICH NO ACTION WILL BE
TAKEN.
SECTION 2. Section 551.0415(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Notwithstanding Sections 551.041 and 551.042, a quorum
of the governing body of a municipality, [or] county, navigation
district, or board of trustees established under Chapter 54,
Transportation Code, may receive from staff of the political
subdivision and a member of the governing body may make a report
about items of community interest during a meeting of the governing
body without having given notice of the subject of the report as
required by this subchapter if no action is taken and, except as
provided by Section 551.042, possible action is not discussed
regarding the information provided in the report.
SECTION 3. Section 60.034, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 60.034. OIL, GAS, AND MINERAL LEASES. Except for lands
or flats purchased from this state under Article 8225, Revised
Statutes, a district [The commission] may lease for oil, gas, and
minerals rights-of-way, spoil grounds, spoil basins, or any other
land owned by the [a navigation] district if it does not interfere
with use of or obstruct any natural or artificial waterway of the
district used for navigation purposes.
SECTION 4. The heading to Section 60.035, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 60.035. NOTICE OF CERTAIN OIL, GAS, AND MINERAL LEASES
[LEASE].
SECTION 5. Section 60.035(a), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Before a district may enter into a lease [may be
executed by the commission] under Section 60.034 [of this code],
the district [commission] shall have a notice requesting bids on
the lease published in a newspaper of general circulation in the
district. The notice shall be published at least once a week for
two consecutive weeks before the final date for the receipt of bids.
Chapter 71, Natural Resources Code, does not apply to a lease made
under this section if the lease is made in accordance with this
section and Sections 60.036 and 60.037 of this code.
SECTION 6. Section 60.038, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 60.038. DISPOSITION [SALE OR LEASE] OF INTERESTS IN
REAL PROPERTY [LAND]. (a) A district may sell, exchange, or lease
real property or any interest in real property [all or any part of
land] owned by it, whether the real property was [land is] acquired
by gift or purchase, in settlement of any litigation, controversy,
or claim in behalf of the district, or in any other manner, except
that lands or flats heretofore purchased from the State of Texas
under Article 8225, Revised [Civil] Statutes [of Texas, 1925], or
granted by the State of Texas in any general or special act, may be
sold only to the State of Texas or exchanged with the State of Texas
for other lands or exchanged for adjacent littoral land as
authorized by Section 61.117 of this code. Except for lands or
flats purchased from this state under Article 8225, Revised
Statutes, the district may impose restrictions on the development,
use, and transfer of any real property or interest in real property
in connection with its sale or exchange under this section.
(b) Before a district may sell or exchange real property
[land], the commission shall determine by resolution that the land
is no longer needed for use by the district in connection with the
development of a navigation project.
(c) A sale [Sale] or exchange [lease] of real property
[land] shall be made as provided by Sections 60.040-60.042
[60.039-60.042 of this code].
SECTION 7. Section 60.039, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 60.039. CERTAIN SURFACE LEASES [LEASE]. (a) A
district [The commission] may lease, as lessor, the surface of
real property [land] for not more than 50 years by the entry of an
order on the minutes of the commission and the execution of a lease
in the manner provided by the original order. The lease may not be
extended beyond the 50-year period by renewal, extension, or
otherwise.
(b) The commission or the executive director of the
district, or a person authorized by the commission or the executive
director, may enter into a lease, as lessor, for the surface of real
property for not more than one year without [a monthly tenancy or a
tenancy from month to month. The lease term may only exceed one
year if]:
(1) entering [the commission enters] an order on the
minutes; or [and]
(2) executing [the execution of] the lease [is] in the
manner provided by the original order for the lease.
SECTION 8. Section 60.040, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 60.040. PUBLICATION OF NOTICE FOR SALES AND LEASES IN
EXCESS OF 50 YEARS. Before making a sale of real property or lease
of real property [land] for more than 50 years, the district
[commission] shall publish a notice in the manner provided in
Section 60.035. Before publication of the notice, a district may
enter into negotiations with one or more potential buyers or
lessees without affecting the validity of the sale or lease.
SECTION 9. Section 60.041, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 60.041. SECURITY FOR BIDS ON REAL PROPERTY [LAND] TO BE
SOLD OR LEASED FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS. Each bid submitted on real
property [land] to be sold or leased for more than 50 years under
Section 60.040 shall be accompanied by a certified check, cashier's
check, or bidder's bond with a responsible corporate surety
authorized to do business in Texas. The check or bond shall be in
an amount equal to five percent of the bid price for the real
property [land] or 100 percent of [for] the first rental payment
under the lease and shall guarantee that the bidder will perform the
terms of the bid if it is accepted by the district [commission].
SECTION 10. Section 60.042(a), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) After notice is published under Section 60.040 [of this
code], the district [commission] may sell or lease in accordance
with Section 60.040 all or any part of the real property [land] to
the highest and best bidder for an amount which is not less than the
reasonable market value in the locality at the time and place of the
sale or lease.
SECTION 11. Section 60.071, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 60.071. GENERAL RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY. The commission
of a district which owns, operates, and maintains wharves, docks,
piers, sheds, warehouses, and other similar terminal facilities
which are not located inside the boundaries of any incorporated
city, town, or village may pass, amend, and repeal any ordinance,
rule, or police regulation which is not contrary to the
constitution or laws of this state and which is necessary to protect
the property and to promote the health, safety, and general welfare
of persons using the property or living or working near the
property.
SECTION 12. Section 60.124, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 60.124. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. A district may
accept a gift, grant, donation, or bequest of money, services,
equipment, goods, or other tangible or intangible property from any
source for any district purpose.
SECTION 13. Sections 60.404(b) and (d), Water Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) A notice of proposed purchase must be published once a
week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper with general
circulation in each county in which the district [or port
authority] is located. [The first notice must be published not
later than the 14th day before the date the bids are to be opened.]
If there is no newspaper of general circulation in a county in which
the district [or port authority] is located, the notice shall be
published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county
nearest the county seat of the county in which the district is
located or the county in which the greatest amount of the district's
territory is located [for that county must be given by posting the
notice in a prominent place in the courthouse of that county for not
less than 14 days before the date the bids are to be opened].
(d) The specifications must:
(1) describe in detail the item to be acquired;
(2) require that bids be sealed;
(3) require the attachment to the bid of a certified
check, cashier's check, or bidders bond, if security is required in
connection with the bid; and
(4) indicate whether a small business development
program, local preference program, or other contracting program
adopted by the [port commission of the port authority or] district
applies to the purchase and, if so, where a copy of the program
requirements may be obtained.
SECTION 14. Section 60.405, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 60.405. PROPOSAL PROCEDURES. (a) Items other than
construction services valued at more than the amount authorized by
Section 60.403(a) for routine purchases or contracts [Insurance or
high technology items] may be purchased under the procedure
provided by this section.
(b) Quotations shall be solicited by the district or its
broker through a request for proposals from as many sources as are
reasonably available. The request for proposals must specify the
relative importance of price and all other factors of evaluation.
(c) Public notice of the request for proposal must be made
in the same manner as provided by Section 60.404 [of this code].
(d) The award of the contract shall be made by the port
commission in open session to the responsible offerer whose
proposal is determined to provide the best value to the district [be
the lowest evaluated offer resulting from negotiation] giving
consideration to evaluation factors set forth in the request for
proposals.
(e) If so provided in the request for proposals, information
in proposals may not be disclosed to the public [competing
offerers] until the contract is awarded. After a contract is
awarded, proposals shall be open for public inspection, except that
information contained in a proposal identified as a trade secret or
as confidential shall be kept confidential.
(f) A district [port commission] may adopt rules relating to
negotiations to be conducted with responsible offerers submitting
proposals. Offerers must be accorded fair and equal treatment with
respect to any opportunity for negotiation and revision of
proposals. Revisions to proposal and contract terms may be
permitted after submission of a proposal and before award of the
contract.
SECTION 15. The heading to Section 60.407, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 60.407. OPENING SEALED PROPOSALS AND BIDS.
SECTION 16. Section 60.407(a), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) An official of the district [or port authority] shall
open the bids and competitive sealed proposals on the date
specified in the notice. If an error is discovered in the original
specifications or the nature of the item to be purchased requires an
extension, the date may be extended.
SECTION 17. Section 60.409(b), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) If a district [or port authority] uses unit pricing in
its notice, the information furnished proposers or bidders shall
specify the approximate quantities estimated on the best available
information, or other quantities reasonably specified to permit
comparison of proposals or bids, and the total contract amount may
be based on estimated maximum quantities, but the compensation
paid the bidder must be based on the actual quantities purchased.
SECTION 18. Section 60.458, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 60.458. PURCHASE CONTRACT AWARD CRITERIA. Except as
provided by this subchapter, in determining to whom to award a
contract, the district may consider:
(1) the purchase price;
(2) the reputation of the vendor and of the vendor's
goods or services;
(3) the quality of the vendor's goods or services;
(4) the extent to which the goods or services meet the
district's needs;
(5) the vendor's past relationship with the district;
(6) the impact on the ability of the district to comply
with laws and rules relating to historically underutilized
businesses[,] and on the district's small business development
program, local preference program, or other [another] contracting
program adopted by the [approved by the] district, if any;
(7) the total long-term cost to the district to
acquire the vendor's goods or services; and
(8) any other relevant factor specifically listed in
the request for bids or proposals.
SECTION 19. Section 60.463, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (d) and (e) and adding Subsection (d-1) to
read as follows:
(d) The district shall select a contractor through
competitive sealed proposals in either a one-step or two-step
process. The district shall prepare a request for competitive
sealed proposals, in the case of a one-step process, or a request
for qualifications, in the case of a two-step process, that
includes construction documents, selection criteria, project
scope, schedule, the time and place for receipt of proposals or
qualifications, as applicable, a statement as to whether the
selection process is a one-step or two-step process, and other
information that contractors may require to respond to the request.
The district shall state in the request for proposals or
qualifications, as applicable, the selection criteria that will be
used in selecting the successful offeror. If a one-step process is
used, the district may request, as part of the offeror's proposal,
proposed prices.
(d-1) If a two-step process is used, the district may not
request prices in step one. In step two, the district may request
that five or fewer offerors, selected solely on the basis of
qualifications, provide additional information, including proposed
prices.
(e) At each step, the [The] district shall receive, publicly
open, and read aloud the names of the offerors [and, if any lump-sum
prices are required to be stated, all such lump-sum prices stated in
each proposal]. At the appropriate step, the district shall read
aloud the prices, if any, stated in each proposal as the proposal is
opened. Not later than the 45th day after the date of opening the
proposals, the district shall evaluate and rank each proposal
submitted in relation to the published selection criteria.
SECTION 20. Section 61.164(b), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) No franchise shall be granted for longer than 50 [30]
years nor shall a franchise be granted except on the affirmative
vote of a majority of the commissioners at three separate meetings
of the commission which meetings may not be closer together than one
week.
SECTION 21. Section 62.153, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 62.153. DUTIES OF DISTRICT TREASURER. The district
treasurer shall:
(1) open an account for all funds received by him for
the district and all district funds which he pays out;
(2) pay out money on vouchers signed by the chairman of
the commission, any two members of the commission, or the
commissioners court, or any two of any number of persons delegated
by the commission with authority to sign vouchers, provided that
the commission may, in such delegation, limit the authority of such
persons and may require that each furnish a fidelity bond in such
amount as the commission shall specify and subject to commission
approval;
(3) carefully preserve all orders for the payment of
money; [and]
(4) render a correct account to the commissioners
court of all matters relating to the financial condition of the
district as often as required by the commissioners court; and
(5) not be required to sign a check drawn on a
depository selected under Section 62.156, unless the district
treasurer is the designated officer of the district, as defined by
Section 60.271(g).
SECTION 22. Section 63.178(b), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A franchise may be granted for a period of not more than
50 [30] years.
SECTION 23. 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, 2017.