Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2912 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R3146 LRM-D
2	2	By: Metcalf H.B. No. 2912
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the election of the board of directors of the San
8	8	Jacinto River Authority.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 6, Chapter 426, Acts of the 45th
11	11	Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 6. (a) The management and control of all the affairs
13	13	of said District shall be vested in, and the powers, rights,
14	14	privileges, and functions of the District shall be exercised by, a
15	15	Board of Directors consisting of seven [six (6)] members, all of
16	16	whom shall be freehold property taxpayers and legal voters of the
17	17	State of Texas [and four (4) of whom shall be residents of a county
18	18	wholly encompassed by the District].
19	19	(b) Members of the [such] Board of Directors shall be
20	20	elected at large by voters in the District [appointed by the
21	21	Governor for terms of six (6) years. Provided, the present Board of
22	22	six (6) directors of said District, appointed by the State Board of
23	23	Water Engineers under authority of House Bill No. 1094, Chapter
24	24	613, Acts of the Regular Session of the Forty-seventh Legislature,
25	25	amending Section 6 of Chapter 426, Acts of the Regular Session of
26	26	the Forty-fifth Legislature, as amended by House Bill No. 828,
27	27	Chapter 480, Acts of the Regular Session of the Forty-seventh
28	28	Legislature, for terms of two (2), four (4), and six (6) years,
29	29	shall continue to serve as such until the expiration of the
30	30	respective terms for which they were appointed. Upon the
31	31	expiration of the terms for which the present members of the Board
32	32	of Directors were appointed, the successors of each and all of them
33	33	shall be appointed by the Governor for a term of six (6) years].
34	34	(c) The Directors shall hold office after their election
35	35	[appointment] and qualification until their successors shall be
36	36	elected [appointed] and qualified. [Should any vacancy occur in
37	37	the Board of Directors, the same shall be filled in like manner by
38	38	the Governor for the unexpired term.] The Directors [appointed]
39	39	shall, within thirty (30) days after their election [appointment],
40	40	qualify by taking the official oath required of County
41	41	Commissioners, and shall execute bond in the sum of Five Thousand
42	42	Dollars ($5,000) payable to the District, the sufficiency of which
43	43	bond shall be determined by the Governor, which bonds after being
44	44	recorded in the official bond records of the county in which the
45	45	District maintains its office shall be deposited with the
46	46	depository selected and approved for the deposit of the funds of the
47	47	District.
48	48	(d) The Board of Directors shall organize by electing one of
49	49	its members President, one Vice-President, one Secretary, and one
50	50	Treasurer. Four (4) members, including the presiding officer,
51	51	shall constitute a quorum to transact business. The President
52	52	shall preside at all meetings of the Board and shall be the chief
53	53	executive officer of the District. The Vice-President shall act as
54	54	President in case of the absence or disability of the President.
55	55	The Secretary shall act as Secretary of the Board and shall be
56	56	charged with the duty of keeping a record of all proceedings and all
57	57	orders of the Board. The Treasurer shall receive and receipt for
58	58	all moneys received by the District and shall keep books and records
59	59	of all moneys received and expended. In case of the absence or
60	60	inability of the Secretary to act, a Secretary pro tem shall be
61	61	selected by the Directors.
62	62	(e) The domicile of the District shall be in the City of
63	63	Conroe, in the County of Montgomery, Texas, where the District
64	64	shall maintain its principal office. The Board of Directors shall
65	65	have authority to fix the time, place and number of meetings of such
66	66	Board by proper resolutions, regulations and bylaws passed by said
67	67	Board. Said Board shall cause to be kept complete and accurate
68	68	accounts conforming to approved methods of bookkeeping. Said
69	69	accounts and all contracts, documents, and records of the District
70	70	shall be kept at said principal office, and same shall be open to
71	71	public inspection at all reasonable times.
72	72	SECTION 2. Section 30.003(4), Water Code, is amended to
73	73	read as follows:
74	74	(4) "River authority" means any district or authority
75	75	created by the legislature which contains an area within its
76	76	boundaries of one or more counties and which is governed by a board
77	77	of directors appointed or designated in whole or in part by the
78	78	governor, or by the Texas Water Development Board. The term
79	79	includes[, including without limitation] the San Antonio River
80	80	Authority and the San Jacinto River Authority.
81	81	SECTION 3. (a) The San Jacinto River Authority shall hold
82	82	the first election to elect directors as described by Section 6,
83	83	Chapter 426, Acts of the 45th Legislature, Regular Session, 1937,
84	84	as amended by this Act, on the uniform election date in May 2024.
85	85	(b) The terms of the directors serving on the board of
86	86	directors of the San Jacinto River Authority on the effective date
87	87	of this Act expire on the date the directors elected under
88	88	Subsection (a) of this section have qualified.
89	89	(c) At the first meeting of the board of directors of the San
90	90	Jacinto River Authority that follows the election held under
91	91	Subsection (a) of this section, the directors shall draw lots to
92	92	determine which four directors serve a term of four years and which
93	93	three directors serve a term of two years.
94	94	SECTION 4. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
95	95	introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
96	96	Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
97	97	copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
98	98	officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
99	99	under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
100	100	Government Code.
101	101	(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has
102	102	submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
103	103	Environmental Quality.
104	104	(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
105	105	its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
106	106	lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
107	107	representatives within the required time.
108	108	(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
109	109	state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
110	110	to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
111	111	and accomplished.
112	112	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.