Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1502 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R3437 SLB-D
2	2	By: Nevárez H.B. No. 1502
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the Lower Colorado River Authority, following
8	8	recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 8503, Special District Local Laws Code,
11	11	is amended by adding Sections 8503.0065, 8503.0105, 8503.0106,
12	12	8503.0107, and 8503.0108 to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 8503.0065. DIRECTOR TRAINING. (a) A person who is
14	14	appointed to and qualifies for office as a director may not vote,
15	15	deliberate, or be counted as a director in attendance at a board
16	16	meeting until the person completes a training program that complies
17	17	with this section.
18	18	(b) The training program must provide the person with
19	19	information regarding:
20	20	(1) the law governing authority operations;
21	21	(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
22	22	authority;
23	23	(3) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
24	24	authority of the authority;
25	25	(4) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
26	26	authority;
27	27	(5) the requirements of:
28	28	(A) laws relating to open meetings, public
29	29	information, administrative procedure, and disclosure of conflicts
30	30	of interest; and
31	31	(B) other laws applicable to members of the
32	32	governing body of a river authority in performing their duties; and
33	33	(6) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
34	34	authority or the Texas Ethics Commission.
35	35	(c) A person appointed to the board is entitled to
36	36	reimbursement for the travel expenses incurred in attending the
37	37	training program regardless of whether the attendance at the
38	38	program occurs before or after the person qualifies for office.
39	39	(d) The general manager of the authority shall create a
40	40	training manual that includes the information required by
41	41	Subsection (b) of this section. The general manager shall
42	42	distribute a copy of the training manual annually to each director.
43	43	Each director shall sign and submit to the general manager a
44	44	statement acknowledging that the director has received the training
45	45	manual.
46	46	Sec. 8503.0105. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT POLICY. The board shall
47	47	develop and implement a policy that provides a structure for public
48	48	engagement in regard to water supply projects. The policy must
49	49	include a clear and detailed description of how the authority will
50	50	seek to actively engage stakeholders, including the possible use
51	51	of:
52	52	(1) advisory committees;
53	53	(2) community panels;
54	54	(3) town hall meetings; and
55	55	(4) other strategies on a recurring basis.
56	56	Sec. 8503.0106. COMPLAINTS. (a) The authority shall
57	57	maintain a system to promptly and efficiently act on complaints
58	58	filed with the authority. The authority shall maintain information
59	59	about parties to the complaint, the subject matter of the
60	60	complaint, a summary of the results of the review or investigation
61	61	of the complaint, and its disposition.
62	62	(b) The authority shall make information available to the
63	63	public, including on the authority's website, describing its
64	64	procedures for complaint investigation and resolution.
65	65	(c) The authority shall periodically notify the complaint
66	66	parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition.
67	67	(d) The authority shall develop a standard form and a
68	68	procedure for submitting complaints to the authority and shall make
69	69	that form and procedure available on the authority's website. The
70	70	authority shall also make available on its website clear
71	71	information about what a person making a complaint should expect
72	72	after the complaint is filed, including timelines for response and
73	73	resolution.
74	74	Sec. 8503.0107. PUBLIC TESTIMONY. (a) In this section,
75	75	"committee-of-the-whole" means a committee of the board in which
76	76	every director is a member of the committee.
77	77	(b) The board shall develop and implement policies that
78	78	provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear before
79	79	the board and to speak on any issue under the jurisdiction of the
80	80	authority.
81	81	(c) At each regular meeting of the board and each meeting as
82	82	a committee-of-the-whole, the board shall include public testimony
83	83	as a meeting agenda item and allow members of the public to comment
84	84	on every agenda item and other matters under the jurisdiction of the
85	85	authority. The board may not deliberate or decide a matter not
86	86	included in the meeting agenda except to discuss including the
87	87	matter on the agenda for a subsequent meeting.
88	88	Sec. 8503.0108. ALTERNATIVE RULEMAKING AND DISPUTE
89	89	RESOLUTION PROCEDURES. (a) The board shall develop a policy to
90	90	encourage the use of:
91	91	(1) negotiated rulemaking procedures under Chapter
92	92	2008, Government Code, for the adoption of authority rules; and
93	93	(2) appropriate alternative dispute resolution
94	94	procedures under Chapter 2009, Government Code, to assist in the
95	95	resolution of internal and external disputes under the authority's
96	96	jurisdiction.
97	97	(b) The authority's procedures relating to alternative
98	98	dispute resolution must conform, to the extent possible, to any
99	99	model guidelines issued by the State Office of Administrative
100	100	Hearings for the use of alternative dispute resolution by state
101	101	agencies.
102	102	(c) The authority shall:
103	103	(1) coordinate the implementation of the policy
104	104	adopted under Subsection (a) of this section;
105	105	(2) provide training as needed to implement the
106	106	procedures for negotiated rulemaking or alternative dispute
107	107	resolution; and
108	108	(3) collect data concerning the effectiveness of those
109	109	procedures.
110	110	SECTION 2. Notwithstanding Section 8503.0065, Special
111	111	District Local Laws Code, as added by this Act, a person serving on
112	112	the board of directors of the Lower Colorado River Authority may
113	113	vote, deliberate, and be counted as a director in attendance at a
114	114	meeting of the board until December 1, 2019.
115	115	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.