Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1525 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R23014 LRM-D
2	2	By: Clardy, Holland, Canales, Goldman, H.B. No. 1525
3	3	Bell of Kaufman
4	4	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1525:
5	5	By: King of Uvalde C.S.H.B. No. 1525
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority, following the
11	11	recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; altering terms
12	12	of the board of directors; specifying grounds for the removal of a
13	13	member of the board of directors.
14	14	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	15	SECTION 1. Section 1(a), Chapter 186, Acts of the 50th
16	16	Legislature, Regular Session, 1947, as amended by Chapter 1224,
17	17	Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, is reenacted
18	18	to read as follows:
19	19	(a) There is hereby created and established within the State
20	20	of Texas, in addition to the Districts into which the state has
21	21	heretofore been divided, a Conservation and Reclamation District to
22	22	be known as the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority, (hereinafter called
23	23	the District), and consisting of that part of the State of Texas
24	24	which is known as and included within the boundaries of Jackson
25	25	County, Texas (the boundaries of the District being coextensive
26	26	with the boundaries of Jackson County, Texas, and the District
27	27	including all of the lands and other property, both real and
28	28	personal, within the boundaries of said county). Such District
29	29	shall be a governmental agency and body politic and corporate, with
30	30	the powers of government and with the authority to exercise the
31	31	rights, privileges, and functions hereinafter specified, the
32	32	creation and establishment of such District being essential to the
33	33	accomplishment of the purposes of Section 59 of Article XVI,
34	34	Constitution of Texas, including the control, storing,
35	35	preservation, and distribution of the storm and flood waters, and
36	36	the waters of the rivers and streams of Jackson County and their
37	37	tributaries, inside and outside the boundaries of the District, for
38	38	domestic, municipal, flood control, irrigation, agricultural,
39	39	mining and recovery of minerals, hydroelectric power, navigation,
40	40	recreation and pleasure, public parks, game preserves, and other
41	41	useful purposes, the development of parks on lands owned or
42	42	acquired by the District, the reclamation and drainage of the
43	43	overflow land of Jackson County, the conservation and development
44	44	of forests, financing of and aiding in the development of
45	45	facilities located on lands owned by the District for the
46	46	generation, transmission, and sale of electric power and energy
47	47	inside or outside the boundaries of the District, and to aid in the
48	48	protection and promotion of navigation on the navigable waters by
49	49	regulating the flood and storm waters that flow into said navigable
50	50	streams. In addition, the District may discover, develop, and
51	51	produce groundwater within the boundaries of the Lavaca River Basin
52	52	for use within that portion of a county located within the
53	53	boundaries of the Lavaca River Basin where groundwater is
54	54	discovered, developed, and produced and may coordinate and contract
55	55	with groundwater conservation districts to engage in conjunctive
56	56	groundwater and surface water management.
57	57	SECTION 2. Section 1, Chapter 186, Acts of the 50th
58	58	Legislature, Regular Session, 1947, is amended by amending
59	59	Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as
60	60	follows:
61	61	(b) The management and control of the District shall be
62	62	vested in a Board of Directors consisting of nine (9) members, who
63	63	must reside within the District and shall be freehold property
64	64	taxpayers and legal voters of the State of Texas. The members of
65	65	the Board of Directors shall be appointed by the Governor of Texas
66	66	with the advice and consent of the Senate. As soon as practicable
67	67	after the passage of this Act (as hereby amended), the members of
68	68	the Board of Directors shall be appointed (hereinafter referred to
69	69	as "First Board"). In appointing the members of the First Board,
70	70	the Governor shall appoint three (3) members to serve until May 1,
71	71	1961, and until their successors are appointed and qualified, three
72	72	(3) members to serve until May 1, 1963, and until their successors
73	73	are appointed and qualified, and three (3) members to serve until
74	74	May 1, 1965, and until their successors are appointed and
75	75	qualified. Except for the First Board, the terms of office of the
76	76	members of the Board of Directors shall be for four [six (6)] years
77	77	ending on May 1st, and until their successors are appointed and
78	78	qualified, with either two or three [three (3)] members to be
79	79	appointed annually during the month of April [of each odd-numbered
80	80	year] by the Governor to succeed the members whose terms of office
81	81	shall expire on the following May 1st. If a vacancy on the Board of
82	82	Directors occurs because of the resignation or death of a member, or
83	83	otherwise, the Governor shall fill the same for the unexpired term
84	84	by the appointment of a successor member. Each Director shall
85	85	qualify by taking the official oath of office and filing a good and
86	86	sufficient bond with the Secretary of State in the amount of One
87	87	Thousand Dollars ($1,000.), which shall be payable to the District,
88	88	conditioned upon the faithful performance of his (or her) official
89	89	duties as a Director.
90	90	(c) The Board of Directors shall meet at such times and
91	91	places as it shall designate, and shall hold regular and special
92	92	meetings as it shall see fit. Said Board shall organize by electing
93	93	one of its members as [President, one as] Vice President, one as
94	94	Secretary, and one as Treasurer (provided that the offices of
95	95	Secretary and Treasurer may be combined into one office of
96	96	Secretary-Treasurer upon a majority vote of the members of the
97	97	Board). The Governor shall designate a Director as the President of
98	98	the Board to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of the Governor.
99	99	Except for the First Board, such officers shall serve for a term of
100	100	one (1) year, and annually during the month of May said Board shall
101	101	elect such officers. Special meetings of the Board may be called by
102	102	the President or by any three members, and a majority of the members
103	103	shall constitute a quorum to transact any and all business. A
104	104	majority vote of the members present at any regular or special
105	105	meeting shall be sufficient for the adoption of any proceedings or
106	106	for the taking of any official action.
107	107	(c-1) The Board shall appoint a general manager of the
108	108	District.
109	109	SECTION 3. Section 1A(a), Chapter 186, Acts of the 50th
110	110	Legislature, Regular Session, 1947, is amended to read as follows:
111	111	(a) The District is subject to review under Chapter 325,
112	112	Government Code (Texas Sunset Act), but may not be abolished under
113	113	that chapter. The review shall be conducted under Section 325.025,
114	114	Government Code, as if the District were a state agency scheduled to
115	115	be abolished September 1, 2035 [2023], and every 12th year after
116	116	that year.
117	117	SECTION 4. Chapter 186, Acts of the 50th Legislature,
118	118	Regular Session, 1947, is amended by adding Sections 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E,
119	119	and 1F to read as follows:
120	120	Sec. 1B. (a) It is a ground for removal from the Board that
121	121	a Director:
122	122	(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
123	123	qualifications required by Section 1 of this Act;
124	124	(2) does not maintain during service on the Board the
125	125	qualifications required by Section 1 of this Act;
126	126	(3) violates Chapter 171, Local Government Code;
127	127	(4) cannot, because of illness or disability,
128	128	discharge the Director's duties for a substantial part of the
129	129	Director's term; or
130	130	(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
131	131	scheduled Board meetings that the Director is eligible to attend
132	132	during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote
133	133	of the Board.
134	134	(b) The validity of an action of the Board is not affected by
135	135	the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a Director
136	136	exists.
137	137	(c) If the general manager has knowledge that a potential
138	138	ground for removal exists, the general manager shall notify the
139	139	President of the Board of the potential ground. The President shall
140	140	then notify the Governor and the Attorney General that a potential
141	141	ground for removal exists. If the potential ground for removal
142	142	involves the President, the general manager shall notify the next
143	143	highest ranking Director, who shall then notify the Governor and
144	144	the Attorney General that a potential ground for removal exists.
145	145	Sec. 1C. (a) A person who is appointed to and qualifies for
146	146	office as a Director may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a
147	147	Director in attendance at a meeting of the Board until the person
148	148	completes a training program that complies with this section.
149	149	(b) The training program must provide the person with
150	150	information regarding:
151	151	(1) the law governing District operations;
152	152	(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
153	153	District;
154	154	(3) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
155	155	authority of the District;
156	156	(4) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
157	157	District;
158	158	(5) the requirements of:
159	159	(A) laws relating to open meetings, public
160	160	information, administrative procedure, and disclosing conflicts of
161	161	interest; and
162	162	(B) other laws applicable to members of the
163	163	governing body of a river authority in performing their duties; and
164	164	(6) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
165	165	District or the Texas Ethics Commission.
166	166	(c) A person appointed to the Board is entitled to
167	167	reimbursement for the travel expenses incurred in attending the
168	168	training program regardless of whether the attendance at the
169	169	program occurs before or after the person qualifies for office.
170	170	(d) The general manager of the District shall create a
171	171	training manual that includes the information required by
172	172	Subsection (b) of this section. The general manager shall
173	173	distribute a copy of the training manual annually to each Director.
174	174	Each Director shall sign and submit to the general manager a
175	175	statement acknowledging that the Director received and has reviewed
176	176	the training manual.
177	177	Sec. 1D. The Board shall develop and implement policies
178	178	that clearly separate the policy-making responsibilities of the
179	179	Board and the management responsibilities of the general manager
180	180	and the staff of the District.
181	181	Sec. 1E. (a) The District shall maintain a system to
182	182	promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the District.
183	183	The District shall maintain information about parties to the
184	184	complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, a summary of the
185	185	results of the review or investigation of the complaint, and its
186	186	disposition.
187	187	(b) The District shall make information available
188	188	describing its procedures for complaint investigation and
189	189	resolution.
190	190	(c) The District shall periodically notify the complaint
191	191	parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition,
192	192	unless the notice would jeopardize an investigation.
193	193	Sec. 1F. The Board shall develop and implement policies
194	194	that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear
195	195	before the Board and to speak on any issue under the jurisdiction of
196	196	the District.
197	197	SECTION 5. The following provisions are repealed:
198	198	(1) Section 1(a), Chapter 22, Acts of the 56th
199	199	Legislature, 3rd Called Session, 1959; and
200	200	(2) Chapter 417, Acts of the 61st Legislature, Regular
201	201	Session, 1969.
202	202	SECTION 6. (a) The legislature validates and confirms all
203	203	governmental acts and proceedings of the Lavaca-Navidad River
204	204	Authority that were taken before the effective date of this Act.
205	205	(b) This section does not apply to any matter that on the
206	206	effective date of this Act:
207	207	(1) is involved in litigation if the litigation
208	208	ultimately results in the matter being held invalid by a final court
209	209	judgment; or
210	210	(2) has been held invalid by a final court judgment.
211	211	SECTION 7. At the first meeting of the board of the
212	212	Lavaca-Navidad River Authority that follows the effective date of
213	213	this Act, the six directors of the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority
214	214	whose terms do not expire on May 1, 2027, shall draw lots to
215	215	determine which two directors will serve terms that expire on May 1,
216	216	2024, which two directors will serve terms that expire on May 1,
217	217	2025, and which two directors will serve terms that expire on May 1,
218	218	2026. The three directors with terms expiring on May 1, 2027, will
219	219	serve terms that expire on that date.
220	220	SECTION 8. Notwithstanding Section 1C, Chapter 186, Acts of
221	221	the 50th Legislature, Regular Session, 1947, as added by this Act, a
222	222	person serving on the board of directors of the Lavaca-Navidad
223	223	River Authority may vote, deliberate, and be counted as a director
224	224	in attendance at a meeting of the board until December 1, 2023.
225	225	SECTION 9. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
226	226	introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
227	227	Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
228	228	copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
229	229	officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
230	230	under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
231	231	Government Code.
232	232	(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has
233	233	submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
234	234	Environmental Quality.
235	235	(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
236	236	its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
237	237	lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
238	238	representatives within the required time.
239	239	(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
240	240	state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
241	241	to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
242	242	and accomplished.
243	243	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.