| 1 | 1 | | 85R9532 SLB-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Seliger S.B. No. 821 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the qualifications for membership on the Texas Water |
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| 8 | 8 | | Development Board. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 6.052, Water Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections (a-1) and |
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| 12 | 12 | | (a-2) to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (a) The board is composed of three members who are appointed |
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| 14 | 14 | | by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. |
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| 15 | 15 | | (a-1) One member appointed under Subsection (a) must: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (1) be actively engaged in the business of farming or |
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| 17 | 17 | | animal husbandry or another business related to agriculture; and |
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| 18 | 18 | | (2) wholly or partly own or lease land used in |
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| 19 | 19 | | connection with a business described by Subdivision (1). |
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| 20 | 20 | | (a-2) The remaining members appointed under Subsection (a) |
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| 21 | 21 | | must have experience in at least one of the following fields, with |
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| 22 | 22 | | one of those members having experience in a field that the other |
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| 23 | 23 | | member does not have: |
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| 24 | 24 | | (1) [of] engineering; |
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| 25 | 25 | | (2) [, one member must have experience in the field of] |
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| 26 | 26 | | public or private finance; or |
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| 27 | 27 | | (3) [, and one member must have experience in the field |
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| 28 | 28 | | of] law or business. |
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| 29 | 29 | | (b) The governor shall make the appointments in such a |
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| 30 | 30 | | manner that the members: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (1) reflect the diverse geographic regions and |
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| 32 | 32 | | population groups of this state, provided that one member resides |
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| 33 | 33 | | in a rural area and is a registered voter of a county with a |
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| 34 | 34 | | population of less than 355,000; and |
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| 35 | 35 | | (2) do not have any conflicts of interest prohibited |
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| 36 | 36 | | by state or federal law. |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 2. Section 6.054, Water Code, is amended by adding |
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| 38 | 38 | | Subsection (e) to read as follows: |
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| 39 | 39 | | (e) Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(2), a board member who |
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| 40 | 40 | | resided in a county with a population of less than 355,000 at the |
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| 41 | 41 | | time the member was appointed may not be removed on the ground that |
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| 42 | 42 | | the population of the county no longer meets that requirement. |
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| 43 | 43 | | SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act relating to |
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| 44 | 44 | | the qualifications for membership on the Texas Water Development |
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| 45 | 45 | | Board do not affect the eligibility of a member of the board serving |
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| 46 | 46 | | immediately before the effective date of this Act to continue to |
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| 47 | 47 | | serve on the board for the term to which the member was appointed. |
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| 48 | 48 | | Not later than February 1, 2023, the governor shall appoint members |
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| 49 | 49 | | of the board as necessary to ensure that the composition of the |
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| 50 | 50 | | board complies with Section 6.052, Water Code, as amended by this |
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| 51 | 51 | | Act. |
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| 52 | 52 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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