H.B. No. 4695
AN ACT
relating to the administration of the Port of Port Arthur
Navigation District of Jefferson County, including the authority to
impose taxes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 11, Chapter 197, Acts of the 58th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1963, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 11. Each commissioner shall receive for performing
duties as a commissioner compensation and benefits set by the Board
of Port Commissioners plus actual traveling expenses. The Board of
Port Commissioners shall set the compensation and benefits of the
secretary, general manager, attorneys, engineers, and all other
employees, and said board shall set and determine the term and time
of employment of all officers and employees of the district;
provided that all officers and employees of the district, except
the commissioners themselves, shall hold their offices subject to
the will of the Board of Port Commissioners.
SECTION 2. Section 23, Chapter 197, Acts of the 58th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1963, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 23. The [Commissioners Court of Jefferson County,
Texas, shall, upon requisition of the] Board of Port Commissioners
shall impose[, levy] taxes necessary to pay the interest on the
bonded debt and to create a sinking fund to retire the principal
thereof, as well as a maintenance tax for said district within the
limitations prescribed by this Act. In all matters pertaining to
the imposition [levying and assessing] of taxes[, the equalization
thereof, and the collection of same,] and the duties of all officers
in connection therewith, the laws of the State of Texas for the
imposition [assessing, levying and collecting] of [state and
county] taxes shall apply, and such duties shall be done and
performed by the officers charged with imposing [the collection of
state and county] taxes. Said taxes shall be deposited with the
depository or depositories of said district at the times and in the
manner provided by law for depositing county taxes in the county
depository, and such officers shall furnish such bonds and receive
such compensation for their services as is now being paid for like
services, and said district shall have a lien upon all property
against which taxes may be levied and assessed, enforceable under
the same law and in the same manner as a lien securing state and
county taxes. Limitation shall not run against the district as a
bar to the collection of any taxes or other public charges of the
district.
SECTION 3. (a) The following actions of the Port of Port
Arthur Navigation District are validated and confirmed in all
respects as if the actions had been done as authorized by law:
(1) all acts and proceedings of the district taken
before the effective date of this Act; and
(2) the issuance of any bonds or the imposition of
taxes, including maintenance and operations taxes, in furtherance
of any bonds issued by the district.
(b) A governmental act or proceeding of the district
occurring after an act or proceeding validated by this Act may not
be held invalid on the ground that the prior act or proceeding, in
the absence of this Act, was invalid.
(c) This section does not apply to any matter that on the
effective date of this Act:
(1) is involved in litigation if the litigation
ultimately results in the matter being held invalid by a final
judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction; or
(2) has been held invalid by a final judgment of a
court of competent jurisdiction.
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, 2019.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 4695 was passed by the House on May 7,
2019, by the following vote: Yeas 117, Nays 30, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 4695 was passed by the Senate on May
21, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 2.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor