Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1555 Compare Versions

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1	1	H.B. No. 1555
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, following the
6	6	recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; altering terms
7	7	of the board of directors; specifying grounds for the removal of a
8	8	member of the board of directors.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 1A(a), Chapter 5, page 1062, Special
11	11	Laws, Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is
12	12	amended to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 1A. (a) The District is subject to review under
14	14	Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset Act), but may not be
15	15	abolished under that chapter. The review shall be conducted under
16	16	Section 325.025, Government Code, as if the District were a state
17	17	agency scheduled to be abolished September 1, 2035 [2023], and
18	18	every 12th year after that year.
19	19	SECTION 2. Section 8, Chapter 5, page 1062, Special Laws,
20	20	Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is amended to
21	21	read as follows:
22	22	Section 8. The [It shall not be necessary for the Board of
23	23	Directors to call or hold a hearing on the adoption of a plan of
24	24	taxation, but the] ad valorem plan of taxation shall be used by the
25	25	District.
26	26	SECTION 3. Section 9, Chapter 5, page 1062, Special Laws,
27	27	Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is amended by
28	28	amending Subsections (b), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (f) to
29	29	read as follows:
30	30	(b) Directors are appointed by the Governor. The Governor
31	31	shall designate a Director as the president of the Board to serve in
32	32	that capacity at the pleasure of the Governor. Directors are
33	33	appointed for staggered terms of four [six (6)] years with either
34	34	four or five [three] Directors' terms expiring on February 1 of each
35	35	odd-numbered year. The Governor shall fill a vacancy on the Board
36	36	by appointment for the unexpired term.
37	37	(c) The Board of Directors shall elect from its number a
38	38	[president, a] vice president and a secretary of the Board of
39	39	Directors and of the District, and such other officers as in the
40	40	judgment of the Board are necessary. The president, as designated
41	41	by the Governor, shall be chief executive officer of the District
42	42	and the presiding officer of the Board, and shall have the same
43	43	right to vote as any other Director. The vice president shall
44	44	perform all duties and exercise all power conferred by this Act or
45	45	the general law upon the president when the president is absent or
46	46	fails or declines to act. The secretary shall keep and sign the
47	47	minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors; and in the
48	48	secretary's [his] absence at any board meeting, a secretary pro tem
49	49	shall be named for that meeting who may exercise all the duties and
50	50	powers of the secretary for such meeting, sign the minutes thereof,
51	51	and attest all orders passed or other action taken at such meeting.
52	52	The secretary shall be the custodian of all minutes and records of
53	53	the District.
54	54	(d) The Board shall appoint a general manager of the
55	55	District and all necessary engineers, attorneys, auditors, and
56	56	other employees.
57	57	(f) The Board shall develop and implement policies that
58	58	clearly separate the policy-making responsibilities of the Board
59	59	and the management responsibilities of the general manager and the
60	60	staff of the District.
61	61	SECTION 4. Chapter 5, page 1062, Special Laws, Acts of the
62	62	46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is amended by adding
63	63	Sections 9A, 9B, 9C, and 9D to read as follows:
64	64	Sec. 9A. (a) It is a ground for removal from the Board that
65	65	a Director:
66	66	(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
67	67	qualifications required by Section 9(a) of this Act;
68	68	(2) does not maintain during service on the Board the
69	69	qualifications required by Section 9(a) of this Act;
70	70	(3) is ineligible for directorship under Chapter 171,
71	71	Local Government Code;
72	72	(4) cannot, because of illness or disability,
73	73	discharge the Director's duties for a substantial part of the
74	74	Director's term; or
75	75	(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
76	76	scheduled Board meetings that the Director is eligible to attend
77	77	during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote
78	78	of the Board.
79	79	(b) The validity of an action of the Board is not affected by
80	80	the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a Director
81	81	exists.
82	82	(c) If the general manager has knowledge that a potential
83	83	ground for removal exists, the general manager shall notify the
84	84	President of the Board of the potential ground. The President shall
85	85	then notify the Governor and the Attorney General that a potential
86	86	ground for removal exists. If the potential ground for removal
87	87	involves the President, the general manager shall notify the next
88	88	highest ranking Director, who shall then notify the Governor and
89	89	the Attorney General that a potential ground for removal exists.
90	90	Sec. 9B. (a) A person who is appointed to and qualifies for
91	91	office as a Director may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a
92	92	Director in attendance at a meeting of the Board until the person
93	93	completes a training program that complies with this section.
94	94	(b) The training program must provide the person with
95	95	information regarding:
96	96	(1) the law governing District operations;
97	97	(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
98	98	District;
99	99	(3) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
100	100	authority of the Board;
101	101	(4) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
102	102	District;
103	103	(5) the requirements of:
104	104	(A) laws relating to open meetings, public
105	105	information, administrative procedure, and disclosing conflicts of
106	106	interest; and
107	107	(B) other laws applicable to members of the
108	108	governing body of a river authority in performing their duties; and
109	109	(6) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
110	110	District or the Texas Ethics Commission.
111	111	(c) A person appointed to the Board is entitled to
112	112	reimbursement for the travel expenses incurred in attending the
113	113	training program regardless of whether the attendance at the
114	114	program occurs before or after the person qualifies for office.
115	115	(d) The general manager of the District shall create a
116	116	training manual that includes the information required by
117	117	Subsection (b) of this section. The general manager shall
118	118	distribute a copy of the training manual annually to each Director.
119	119	Each Director shall sign and submit to the general manager a
120	120	statement acknowledging that the Director received and has reviewed
121	121	the training manual.
122	122	Sec. 9C. (a) The District shall maintain a system to
123	123	promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the District.
124	124	The District shall maintain information about parties to the
125	125	complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, a summary of the
126	126	results of the review or investigation of the complaint, and its
127	127	disposition.
128	128	(b) The District shall make information available
129	129	describing its procedures for complaint investigation and
130	130	resolution.
131	131	(c) The District shall periodically notify the complaint
132	132	parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition,
133	133	unless the notice would jeopardize an investigation.
134	134	Sec. 9D. The Board shall develop and implement policies
135	135	that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear
136	136	before the Board and to speak on any issue under the jurisdiction of
137	137	the District.
138	138	SECTION 5. Section 7, Chapter 5, page 1062, Special Laws,
139	139	Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is repealed.
140	140	SECTION 6. At the first meeting of the board of the Upper
141	141	Guadalupe River Authority that follows the effective date of this
142	142	Act, the six directors of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority whose
143	143	terms do not expire on February 1, 2025, shall draw lots to
144	144	determine which director will serve a term that expires on February
145	145	1, 2025, and which five directors will serve terms that expire on
146	146	February 1, 2027. The three directors with terms expiring on
147	147	February 1, 2025, will serve terms that expire on that date.
148	148	SECTION 7. Notwithstanding Section 9B, Chapter 5, page
149	149	1062, Special Laws, Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session,
150	150	1939, as added by this Act, a person serving on the board of
151	151	directors of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority may vote,
152	152	deliberate, and be counted as a director in attendance at a meeting
153	153	of the board until December 1, 2023.
154	154	SECTION 8. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
155	155	introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
156	156	Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
157	157	copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
158	158	officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
159	159	under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
160	160	Government Code.
161	161	(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has
162	162	submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
163	163	Environmental Quality.
164	164	(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
165	165	its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
166	166	lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
167	167	representatives within the required time.
168	168	(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
169	169	state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
170	170	to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
171	171	and accomplished.
172	172	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
173	173	______________________________ ______________________________
174	174	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
175	175	I certify that H.B. No. 1555 was passed by the House on April
176	176	26, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 3, 1 present, not
177	177	voting.
178	178	______________________________
179	179	Chief Clerk of the House
180	180	I certify that H.B. No. 1555 was passed by the Senate on May
181	181	10, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
182	182	______________________________
183	183	Secretary of the Senate
184	184	APPROVED: _____________________
185	185	Date
186	186	_____________________
187	187	Governor