88R10926 LRM-F
By: Manuel H.B. No. 4711
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to improvement projects of the Sabine-Neches Navigation
District of Jefferson County, Texas.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 6B(b), (c), and (e), Chapter 1472, Acts
of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, are amended to read
as follows:
(b) The district is the project sponsor of the existing
Sabine-Neches Waterway and any [the] improvement project
authorized by the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of
2014 (Pub. L. No. 113-121) or any other federal development
initiative to improve an existing facility of the district, [and]
deepen the Sabine-Neches Waterway, or widen the Sabine-Neches
Waterway. The district is also the nonfederal cost-sharing sponsor
of an [the] improvement project under this section. The commission
shall make a determination on matters that may be required or
desirable as a project sponsor to implement an [the] improvement
project under this section.
(c) In the district's capacity as the project sponsor of an
[the] improvement project under this section, the district is
authorized to enter into any contract, agreement, including an
economic development agreement, or lease as necessary or convenient
to carry out any of the district's powers granted under this
section. A contract, agreement, or lease, including any amendments
to a contract, agreement, or lease, may provide any terms and
conditions, and be for any term of years, as the commission
determines are in the best interests of the district. The contract,
agreement, or lease may be entered into with any person, political
subdivision, or governmental agency, including the United States,
the secretary of the army or the secretary of the army's designees,
the Army Corps of Engineers, any local government, any county
government, any special district or authority, any local government
corporation, any transportation corporation, any tax increment
reinvestment zone, the State of Texas, any agency of the State of
Texas, and any other entity. The district is authorized to enter
into contracts with a private entity to develop or operate any part
of an [the] improvement project under Chapter 2267, Government
Code, and those contracts may provide that the private entity:
(1) perform all or any part of the district's
obligations under contracts or agreements with the United States;
and
(2) use revenue or other money from the improvement
project to prepay for duties or tariffs, including duties or
tariffs that may not be effective until the improvement project is
partially or wholly completed, which may be credited against future
duties or tariffs.
(e) The district is not required to obtain approval from the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for the district's
contracts or financing related to an [the] improvement project
under this section. Any contracts or agreements of the district may
be renewed or extended, and any time warrants or maintenance notes
may be refunded in the manner provided by general law.
SECTION 2. (a) The legislature validates and confirms all
governmental acts and proceedings of the Sabine-Neches Navigation
District of Jefferson County that were taken before the effective
date of this Act.
(b) 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 court
judgment; or
(2) has been held invalid by a final court judgment.
SECTION 3. 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, 2023.