Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1871 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	86R13171 SLB-D
2	2	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1871
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the administration of the Port of Corpus Christi of
8	8	Nueces County, Texas.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 397, Acts of the 68th Legislature,
11	11	Regular Session, 1983, is amended by adding Sections 7, 8, 9, 10,
12	12	11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 7. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
14	14	(1) "Authority" means the Port of Corpus Christi
15	15	Authority of Nueces County, Texas.
16	16	(2) "Port commission" means the port commission of the
17	17	authority.
18	18	(3) "Port commissioner" means a member of the port
19	19	commission.
20	20	Sec. 8. CONFLICT OF INTEREST. (a) In this section, "Texas
21	21	trade association" means a cooperative and voluntarily joined
22	22	statewide association of business or professional competitors in
23	23	this state designed to assist its members and its industry or
24	24	profession in dealing with mutual business or professional problems
25	25	and in promoting their common interest.
26	26	(b) A person may not be a port commissioner and may not be an
27	27	authority employee employed in a "bona fide executive,
28	28	administrative, or professional capacity," as that phrase is used
29	29	for purposes of establishing an exemption to the overtime
30	30	provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29
31	31	U.S.C. Section 201 et seq.), if:
32	32	(1) the person is an officer, employee, or paid
33	33	consultant of a Texas trade association in a field relating to
34	34	maritime commerce, the members of which are regulated by the
35	35	authority; or
36	36	(2) the person's spouse is an officer, manager, or paid
37	37	consultant of a Texas trade association in a field relating to
38	38	maritime commerce, the members of which are regulated by the
39	39	authority.
40	40	(c) A person may not be a port commissioner or act as the
41	41	general counsel to the port commission or the authority if the
42	42	person is required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305,
43	43	Government Code, because of the person's activities for
44	44	compensation on behalf of a profession related to the operation of
45	45	the authority.
46	46	(d) A person may not be a port commissioner if the person or
47	47	an individual related to the person in the first degree of
48	48	consanguinity or affinity, as determined under Chapter 573,
49	49	Government Code:
50	50	(1) is employed by or participates in the management
51	51	of a business entity or other organization regulated by or
52	52	receiving money from the authority; or
53	53	(2) uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible
54	54	goods, services, or money from the authority other than
55	55	compensation or reimbursement authorized by law for port commission
56	56	membership, attendance, or expenses.
57	57	Sec. 9. PORT COMMISSION POLICIES. (a) The port commission
58	58	shall adopt detailed policies that document its governance
59	59	practices and make those policies available on the authority's
60	60	website.
61	61	(b) The port commission shall develop and implement
62	62	policies that clearly separate the policymaking responsibilities
63	63	of the port commission and the management responsibilities of the
64	64	executive director and the other employees of the authority.
65	65	(c) The port commission shall distribute a copy of all
66	66	policies adopted under this section to each port commissioner and
67	67	authority employee not later than the third business day after the
68	68	date the person begins employment or a term as port commissioner.
69	69	Sec. 10. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. (a) The port commission shall
70	70	appoint an executive director of the authority. The port
71	71	commission shall prescribe the duties and compensation of the
72	72	executive director. The port commission may delegate to the
73	73	executive director full authority to manage and operate the affairs
74	74	of the authority subject only to orders of the port commission.
75	75	(b) The port commission shall delegate to the executive
76	76	director the authority to employ all persons necessary for the
77	77	proper handling of the business and operation of the authority and
78	78	to determine the compensation to be paid to all employees, other
79	79	than the executive director.
80	80	(c) The executive director shall execute a bond for $10,000
81	81	conditioned on the faithful performance of the executive director's
82	82	duties and other conditions as required by the authority. The bond
83	83	must be recorded in a record kept for that purpose in the
84	84	authority's office.
85	85	(d) The port commission by general or special rule,
86	86	regulation, order, resolution, or other direction may authorize the
87	87	executive director or another person authorized to act instead of
88	88	the executive director to perform any act on behalf of the port
89	89	commission.
90	90	Sec. 11. STANDARDS OF CONDUCT; ETHICS POLICY. (a) A port
91	91	commissioner or an authority employee should not:
92	92	(1) accept or solicit any gift, favor, or service that
93	93	might reasonably tend to influence the port commissioner or
94	94	employee in the discharge of official duties or that the port
95	95	commissioner or employee knows or should know is being offered with
96	96	the intent to influence the port commissioner's or employee's
97	97	official conduct;
98	98	(2) accept other employment or engage in a business or
99	99	professional activity that the port commissioner or employee might
100	100	reasonably expect would require or induce the port commissioner or
101	101	employee to disclose confidential information acquired by reason of
102	102	the official position;
103	103	(3) accept other employment or compensation that could
104	104	reasonably be expected to impair the port commissioner's or
105	105	employee's independence of judgment in the performance of the port
106	106	commissioner's or employee's official duties;
107	107	(4) make personal investments that could reasonably be
108	108	expected to create a substantial conflict between the port
109	109	commissioner's or employee's private interest and the public
110	110	interest; or
111	111	(5) intentionally or knowingly solicit, accept, or
112	112	agree to accept any benefit for having exercised the port
113	113	commissioner's or employee's official powers or performed the port
114	114	commissioner's or employee's official duties in favor of another.
115	115	(b) The port commission shall adopt a written ethics policy
116	116	for the port commissioners and authority employees consistent with
117	117	the standards prescribed by Subsection (a) of this section.
118	118	Sec. 12. ETHICS AFFIRMATION AND HOTLINE. (a) A port
119	119	commissioner or an authority employee shall annually affirm the
120	120	port commissioner's or employee's adherence to the ethics policy
121	121	adopted under Section 11(b) of this Act.
122	122	(b) The port commission shall establish and operate a
123	123	telephone hotline that enables a person to call the hotline number,
124	124	anonymously or not anonymously, to report alleged fraud, waste, or
125	125	abuse or an alleged violation of the ethics policy adopted under
126	126	Section 11(b) of this Act.
127	127	Sec. 13. COMPLAINTS. (a) The authority shall maintain a
128	128	system to promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the
129	129	authority. The authority shall maintain information about parties
130	130	to the complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, a summary of
131	131	the results of the review or investigation of the complaint, and its
132	132	disposition.
133	133	(b) The authority shall make information available to the
134	134	public, including on the authority's website, describing its
135	135	procedures for complaint investigation and resolution.
136	136	(c) The authority periodically shall notify the complaint
137	137	parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition.
138	138	(d) The authority shall develop a standard form and a
139	139	procedure for submitting complaints to the authority and shall make
140	140	that form and procedure available on the authority's website. The
141	141	authority shall also make available on its website clear
142	142	information about what a person making a complaint should expect
143	143	after the complaint is filed, including timelines for response and
144	144	resolution.
145	145	(e) The authority shall compile detailed statistics and
146	146	analyze trends on complaint information, including:
147	147	(1) the nature of the complaints;
148	148	(2) the disposition of the complaints; and
149	149	(3) the length of time to resolve complaints.
150	150	(f) Authority staff shall report the information compiled
151	151	under Subsection (e) of this section to senior management as
152	152	designated by the executive director and the port commission on a
153	153	regular basis.
154	154	Sec. 14. WHISTLEBLOWER POLICY. The port commission shall
155	155	adopt a whistleblower policy consistent with Chapter 554,
156	156	Government Code.
157	157	Sec. 15. PROMOTION AND DEVELOPMENT FUND. (a) In this
158	158	section, "promotion and development fund" means a fund created and
159	159	managed under Subchapter H, Chapter 60, Water Code.
160	160	(b) The port commission shall adopt clear, complete policy
161	161	and procedures to govern the use of the promotion and development
162	162	fund. The policy and procedures must include:
163	163	(1) provisions limiting acceptable uses of promotion
164	164	and development fund money to uses with a direct tie to the mission
165	165	of the authority;
166	166	(2) a consistent budget process;
167	167	(3) a process for requesting sponsorship funds by port
168	168	commissioners, authority employees, and outside groups;
169	169	(4) an approval process for each type of expenditure
170	170	from the promotion and development fund, including:
171	171	(A) the level of approval or notification
172	172	required for authority employees, applicable task forces, and the
173	173	port commission; and
174	174	(B) a requirement that each approved expenditure
175	175	must include a description of:
176	176	(i) the expected impact of the expenditure;
177	177	and
178	178	(ii) how the expenditure is consistent with
179	179	the strategic direction for promotion and development fund money as
180	180	adopted by the port commission;
181	181	(5) a procedure for handling exceptions to the policy,
182	182	including a requirement that an exception be subject to the same
183	183	reporting requirements as other approved expenditures from the
184	184	promotion and development fund;
185	185	(6) a provision for evaluating the policy's
186	186	effectiveness and having the port commission adopt updates to the
187	187	policy as needed at regularly scheduled public meetings; and
188	188	(7) requirements for regular tracking of all
189	189	expenditures from the promotion and development fund and reporting
190	190	of the expenditures to the port commission and to the public by
191	191	making the reports available on the authority's website.
192	192	(c) A report described by Subsection (b)(7) of this section
193	193	must include detailed information about:
194	194	(1) travel by port commissioners;
195	195	(2) special uses of the authority's resources,
196	196	including the use of any public tour vessels and the associated
197	197	costs, sorted by authority division;
198	198	(3) sponsorship and similar spending; and
199	199	(4) total expenditures from the promotion and
200	200	development fund, including year-to-date summary information by
201	201	category of expenditure.
202	202	Sec. 16. BUDGET. The port commission annually shall adopt a
203	203	budget for the authority in an open meeting.
204	204	Sec. 17. PLANNING. (a) In this section, "staff" means one
205	205	or more authority employees and does not include a port
206	206	commissioner.
207	207	(b) Appropriate staff shall develop a long-range plan
208	208	containing:
209	209	(1) a mission and values statement;
210	210	(2) an assessment of the authority's state as of the
211	211	date of the plan;
212	212	(3) an assessment of the projected operating
213	213	environment over the course of the long-range plan;
214	214	(4) a discussion of high-level goals, strategies, and
215	215	priorities;
216	216	(5) a scheme for ongoing evaluation of progress toward
217	217	stated goals, including performance measures; and
218	218	(6) other strategic planning elements, as considered
219	219	appropriate by the staff or port commission.
220	220	(c) The port commission shall establish a planning horizon
221	221	of at least 10 years for the long-range plan. The staff shall
222	222	identify and collaborate with stakeholders to obtain input on the
223	223	long-range plan. The port commission may amend and shall adopt the
224	224	plan and any updates to the plan in an open meeting. The staff shall
225	225	provide annual progress updates according to performance measures
226	226	developed under Subsection (b)(5) of this section. The staff shall
227	227	present a report on the annual progress to the port commission.
228	228	(d) The staff shall complete a comprehensive reevaluation
229	229	and update of the long-range plan at least every five years, or more
230	230	frequently if the port commission finds that conditions warrant a
231	231	more frequent update.
232	232	(e) Appropriate staff shall develop a mid-range plan
233	233	consistent with the long-range plan. The mid-range plan must
234	234	include:
235	235	(1) a five-year financial forecast addressing the
236	236	financial needs and financing options of the authority for the
237	237	five-year period, with information about the relative cost of the
238	238	options;
239	239	(2) a five-year capital plan, including a preliminary
240	240	analysis and prioritization of projects; and
241	241	(3) other detailed action plans as the port commission
242	242	or staff finds necessary to achieve the goals of the mid-range plan
243	243	or long-range plan.
244	244	(f) The staff shall present the mid-range plan in an open
245	245	meeting of the port commission. The port commission is not required
246	246	to adopt a mid-range plan.
247	247	(g) Appropriate staff shall develop a one-year capital
248	248	plan, including associated financing, that is integrated with the
249	249	budget of the authority. The port commission shall adopt the
250	250	one-year capital plan in an open meeting. The port commission shall
251	251	establish and document a detailed process for the analysis and
252	252	approval of a project proposed for inclusion in the one-year
253	253	capital plan. A project may be included in the one-year capital
254	254	plan only if it is approved in accordance with that process.
255	255	Sec. 18. PUBLIC ACCESS TO BUDGET AND PLANNING INFORMATION.
256	256	(a) The port commission shall post on the authority's website and
257	257	otherwise make available to the public the authority's most
258	258	recently adopted budget and any plan adopted by the port commission
259	259	at an open meeting, including the long-range plan, mid-range plan,
260	260	one-year capital plan, and updates to that budget or those plans.
261	261	(b) The port commission may redact sensitive business
262	262	information from the plans made publicly available under this
263	263	section.
264	264	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.