Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB5410 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R22804 MP-F
2	2	By: Canales H.B. No. 5410
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the Rio Grande Regional Water Authority; affecting the
8	8	qualifications of a member of the board of directors of the
9	9	authority.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 1.01(1), Chapter 385, Acts of the 78th
12	12	Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, is amended to read as follows:
13	13	(1) "Authority" means the Lower Rio Grande Regional
14	14	Water Authority.
15	15	SECTION 2. Section 1.02(a), Chapter 385, Acts of the 78th
16	16	Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, is amended to read as follows:
17	17	(a) A conservation and reclamation district, to be known as
18	18	the Lower Rio Grande Regional Water Authority is created.
19	19	SECTION 3. Chapter 385, Acts of the 78th Legislature,
20	20	Regular Session, 2003, is amended by adding Section 1.025 to read as
21	21	follows:
22	22	Sec. 1.025. NAME CHANGE. A reference in law to the Rio
23	23	Grande Regional Water Authority means the Lower Rio Grande Regional
24	24	Water Authority.
25	25	SECTION 4. Section 1.05, Chapter 385, Acts of the 78th
26	26	Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, is amended to read as follows:
27	27	Sec. 1.05. BOUNDARIES. The boundaries of the authority are
28	28	coextensive with the boundaries of Cameron, Hidalgo, and [Starr,
29	29	Webb,] Willacy[, and Zapata] counties[, except that the authority
30	30	does not include the area within the corporate limits of the City of
31	31	Laredo].
32	32	SECTION 5. Section 2.01, Chapter 385, Acts of the 78th
33	33	Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, is amended to read as follows:
34	34	Sec. 2.01. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a) The board consists of
35	35	11 [18] directors.
36	36	(b) Four directors are appointed by majority vote of the
37	37	Cameron County Commissioners Court [Twelve directors are appointed
38	38	by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate], as
39	39	follows:
40	40	(1) [nine directors who represent irrigation
41	41	districts that are members of the conference from a list of nominees
42	42	submitted by the committee of irrigation districts convened under
43	43	Section 1A.03 of this Act;
44	44	[(2)] one director who represents the public;
45	45	(2) two directors who represent [(3) one director who
46	46	represents] municipal class entities that are members of the
47	47	conference; and
48	48	(3) [(4)] one director who represents water supply
49	49	corporations that are members of the conference.
50	50	(b-1) Four directors are appointed by majority vote of the
51	51	Hidalgo County Commissioners Court, as follows:
52	52	(1) one director who represents the public;
53	53	(2) two directors who represent municipal class
54	54	entities that are members of the conference; and
55	55	(3) one director who represents water supply
56	56	corporations that are members of the conference.
57	57	(b-2) Two directors are appointed by majority vote of the
58	58	Willacy County Commissioners Court, as follows:
59	59	(1) one director who represents either the public or
60	60	municipal class entities that are members of the conference; and
61	61	(2) one director who represents water supply
62	62	corporations that are members of the conference.
63	63	(b-3) One director is appointed by the governor. The
64	64	director appointed under this subsection:
65	65	(1) serves as the presiding officer of the board;
66	66	(2) serves at the pleasure of the governor; and
67	67	(3) does not vote at a board meeting except to break a
68	68	tie vote.
69	69	(c) A [One director is appointed from each of the six
70	70	counties in the authority by majority vote of the commissioners
71	71	court of that county. In January of a year in which a director's
72	72	term expires, the commissioners court of the appropriate county
73	73	shall appoint a director for a four-year term beginning February 1
74	74	of that year. In addition to meeting the requirements of Subsection
75	75	(c-1) of this section, if applicable, a] director appointed as
76	76	provided by this section [subsection] must:
77	77	(1) be a registered voter; and
78	78	(2) [reside in the county from which the director is
79	79	appointed; and
80	80	[(3)] work in a water-related field or have special
81	81	knowledge of water issues.
82	82	(c-1) A director appointed under this section who
83	83	represents a conference member must be an employee or director of
84	84	the conference member [Subsection (c) of this section must reside
85	85	in the most populous municipality in the county from which the
86	86	director is appointed if the county:
87	87	[(1) does not hold water rights;
88	88	[(2) does not have a certificate of convenience and
89	89	necessity to provide water service; and
90	90	[(3) is not a water service provider].
91	91	(c-2) A director appointed to represent the public under
92	92	this section or the director's spouse may not be an employee or
93	93	director of a conference member.
94	94	(d) The appointing entities described by Subsections (b),
95	95	(b-1), and (b-2) of this section shall appoint members in a manner
96	96	that ensures:
97	97	(1) at least one qualified voter of each county in the
98	98	authority is appointed as a director; and
99	99	(2) not more than six directors are qualified voters
100	100	of the same county.
101	101	[(e) Initial directors serve until permanent directors are
102	102	appointed.]
103	103	(f) Except as provided by Subsection (b-3), directors
104	104	[Directors] appointed under [Subsection (b) or (c) of] this section
105	105	serve staggered three-year [four-year] terms.
106	106	(g) Each [Except as provided by Subsection (c) of this
107	107	section, each] director must be a qualified voter of this [the]
108	108	state and reside [residing] within the boundaries of the authority.
109	109	(h) A director who represents a member of the conference is
110	110	no longer eligible to be a member of the board if the annual fees or
111	111	assessments from the conference for the member are thirty days or
112	112	more past due [In making an appointment under Subsection (b)(1) of
113	113	this section, the governor may reject one or more of the nominees on
114	114	a list submitted by the committee of irrigation districts and
115	115	request a new list of different nominees. The second list of
116	116	nominees must be submitted to the governor not later than the 14th
117	117	day after the date of the governor's request for a new list. If the
118	118	governor rejects one or more of the nominees on the second list, the
119	119	governor may request a third, final list of nominees, that must be
120	120	submitted to the governor not later than the 14th day after the date
121	121	of the governor's request for the third list. If the governor
122	122	rejects one or more of the nominees on the third list, the governor
123	123	may select any person who represents an irrigation district that is
124	124	a member of the conference to serve as a director].
125	125	(i) The watermaster serves as a nonvoting advisor to the
126	126	board.
127	127	SECTION 6. Section 2.03, Chapter 385, Acts of the 78th
128	128	Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, is amended to read as follows:
129	129	Sec. 2.03. VACANCY. (a) [The governor shall fill a vacancy
130	130	that occurs in the office of a director appointed by the governor.
131	131	[(b)] The commissioners court of a county shall fill a
132	132	vacancy that occurs in the office of a director appointed by [from]
133	133	that county.
134	134	(b) [(c)] A person appointed to a vacant position serves for
135	135	the unexpired part of the term.
136	136	SECTION 7. Sections 2.06(a) and (b), Chapter 385, Acts of
137	137	the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, are amended to read as
138	138	follows:
139	139	(a) The board shall elect from among its members [a
140	140	president,] a vice president[,] and a secretary-treasurer.
141	141	(b) The president is the director appointed under Section
142	142	2.01(b-3) and is the chief executive officer of the authority. [The
143	143	president may not vote at a board meeting except to break a tie
144	144	vote.]
145	145	SECTION 8. Section 3.08(b), Chapter 385, Acts of the 78th
146	146	Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, is amended to read as follows:
147	147	(b) The board shall timely review and certify the [each]
148	148	list provided under Subsection (a) of this section.
149	149	SECTION 9. Chapter 385, Acts of the 78th Legislature,
150	150	Regular Session, 2003, is amended by adding Section 3.09 to read as
151	151	follows:
152	152	Sec. 3.09. DETERMINATION OF CONNECTIONS. (a) Not later
153	153	than September 1 of each year, the board shall request from the
154	154	commission the number of connections served by each member of the
155	155	conference.
156	156	(b) The board shall timely review and certify the
157	157	information provided under Subsection (a) of this section.
158	158	SECTION 10. Section 4.04, Chapter 385, Acts of the 78th
159	159	Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, is amended by amending
160	160	Subsections (b), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as
161	161	follows:
162	162	(b) Each fiscal year, the board shall determine the amount
163	163	of the fee or assessment based on the greater of the number of water
164	164	rights held or connections served by the affected entity. The fee
165	165	or assessment may not exceed five cents per acre-foot.
166	166	(c) To determine the number of water rights, the board shall
167	167	sum the number of[:
168	168	[(1) shall, for a] domestic, municipal, [or]
169	169	industrial, and [water right, multiply by two the number of water
170	170	rights certified by the board under Section 3.08 of this Act, or
171	171	[(2) shall, for] any other water [right, use the
172	172	number of water] rights certified by the board under Section 3.08 of
173	173	this Act.
174	174	(c-1) To determine the number of connections served, the
175	175	board shall use the number of connections certified by the board
176	176	under Section 3.09 of this Act.
177	177	(d) An initial fee or assessment imposed under this section
178	178	may not exceed five cents per acre-foot for each water right held or
179	179	connection served by the affected entity.
180	180	SECTION 11. The following provisions of Chapter 385, Acts
181	181	of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, are repealed:
182	182	(1) Section 1A.03;
183	183	(2) Section 2.02;
184	184	(3) Section 3.08(c); and
185	185	(4) Section 4.04(g).
186	186	SECTION 12. (a) The terms of the members of the board of
187	187	directors of the Lower Rio Grande Regional Water Authority serving
188	188	on the effective date of this Act expire on the date a majority of
189	189	the members required to be appointed under Subsections (b) and (c)
190	190	of this section qualify to serve.
191	191	(b) Not later than September 30, 2023, the commissioners
192	192	courts of Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy Counties shall appoint
193	193	members of the board of directors of the Lower Rio Grande Regional
194	194	Water Authority as follows:
195	195	(1) the commissioners court of Cameron County shall
196	196	appoint directors to terms expiring February 1, 2024;
197	197	(2) the commissioners court of Willacy County shall
198	198	appoint directors to terms expiring February 1, 2025; and
199	199	(3) the commissioners court of Hidalgo County shall
200	200	appoint directors to terms expiring February 1, 2026.
201	201	(c) Not later than September 30, 2023, the governor shall
202	202	appoint the member of the board of directors of the Lower Rio Grande
203	203	Regional Water Authority as provided by Section 2.01(b-3), Chapter
204	204	385, Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, as added
205	205	by this Act.
206	206	SECTION 13. This Act takes effect immediately if it
207	207	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
208	208	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
209	209	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
210	210	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2023.