Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2578 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R13042 SCP-D
2	2	By: Johnson, et al. S.B. No. 2578
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, following the
8	8	recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; altering terms
9	9	of the board of directors; specifying grounds for the removal of a
10	10	member of the board of directors.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 1A(a), Chapter 5, page 1062, Special
13	13	Laws, Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is
14	14	amended to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 1A. (a) The District is subject to review under
16	16	Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset Act), but may not be
17	17	abolished under that chapter. The review shall be conducted under
18	18	Section 325.025, Government Code, as if the District were a state
19	19	agency scheduled to be abolished September 1, 2035 [2023], and
20	20	every 12th year after that year.
21	21	SECTION 2. Section 8, Chapter 5, page 1062, Special Laws,
22	22	Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is amended to
23	23	read as follows:
24	24	Section 8. The [It shall not be necessary for the Board of
25	25	Directors to call or hold a hearing on the adoption of a plan of
26	26	taxation, but the] ad valorem plan of taxation shall be used by the
27	27	District.
28	28	SECTION 3. Section 9, Chapter 5, page 1062, Special Laws,
29	29	Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is amended by
30	30	amending Subsections (b), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (f) to
31	31	read as follows:
32	32	(b) Directors are appointed by the Governor. The Governor
33	33	shall designate a Director as the president of the Board to serve in
34	34	that capacity at the pleasure of the Governor. Directors are
35	35	appointed for staggered terms of four [six (6)] years with either
36	36	four or five [three] Directors' terms expiring on February 1 of each
37	37	odd-numbered year. The Governor shall fill a vacancy on the Board
38	38	by appointment for the unexpired term.
39	39	(c) The Board of Directors shall elect from its number a
40	40	[president, a] vice president and a secretary of the Board of
41	41	Directors and of the District, and such other officers as in the
42	42	judgment of the Board are necessary. The president, as designated
43	43	by the Governor, shall be chief executive officer of the District
44	44	and the presiding officer of the Board, and shall have the same
45	45	right to vote as any other Director. The vice president shall
46	46	perform all duties and exercise all power conferred by this Act or
47	47	the general law upon the president when the president is absent or
48	48	fails or declines to act. The secretary shall keep and sign the
49	49	minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors; and in the
50	50	secretary's [his] absence at any board meeting, a secretary pro tem
51	51	shall be named for that meeting who may exercise all the duties and
52	52	powers of the secretary for such meeting, sign the minutes thereof,
53	53	and attest all orders passed or other action taken at such meeting.
54	54	The secretary shall be the custodian of all minutes and records of
55	55	the District.
56	56	(d) The Board shall appoint a general manager of the
57	57	District and all necessary engineers, attorneys, auditors, and
58	58	other employees.
59	59	(f) The Board shall develop and implement policies that
60	60	clearly separate the policy-making responsibilities of the Board
61	61	and the management responsibilities of the general manager and the
62	62	staff of the District.
63	63	SECTION 4. Chapter 5, page 1062, Special Laws, Acts of the
64	64	46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is amended by adding
65	65	Sections 9A, 9B, 9C, and 9D to read as follows:
66	66	Sec. 9A. (a) It is a ground for removal from the Board that
67	67	a Director:
68	68	(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
69	69	qualifications required by Section 9(a) of this Act;
70	70	(2) does not maintain during service on the Board the
71	71	qualifications required by Section 9(a) of this Act;
72	72	(3) is ineligible for directorship under Chapter 171,
73	73	Local Government Code;
74	74	(4) cannot, because of illness or disability,
75	75	discharge the Director's duties for a substantial part of the
76	76	Director's term; or
77	77	(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
78	78	scheduled Board meetings that the Director is eligible to attend
79	79	during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote
80	80	of the Board.
81	81	(b) The validity of an action of the Board is not affected by
82	82	the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a Director
83	83	exists.
84	84	(c) If the general manager has knowledge that a potential
85	85	ground for removal exists, the general manager shall notify the
86	86	President of the Board of the potential ground. The President shall
87	87	then notify the Governor and the Attorney General that a potential
88	88	ground for removal exists. If the potential ground for removal
89	89	involves the President, the general manager shall notify the next
90	90	highest ranking Director, who shall then notify the Governor and
91	91	the Attorney General that a potential ground for removal exists.
92	92	Sec. 9B. (a) A person who is appointed to and qualifies for
93	93	office as a Director may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a
94	94	Director in attendance at a meeting of the Board until the person
95	95	completes a training program that complies with this section.
96	96	(b) The training program must provide the person with
97	97	information regarding:
98	98	(1) the law governing District operations;
99	99	(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
100	100	District;
101	101	(3) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
102	102	authority of the Board;
103	103	(4) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
104	104	District;
105	105	(5) the requirements of:
106	106	(A) laws relating to open meetings, public
107	107	information, administrative procedure, and disclosing conflicts of
108	108	interest; and
109	109	(B) other laws applicable to members of the
110	110	governing body of a river authority in performing their duties; and
111	111	(6) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
112	112	District or the Texas Ethics Commission.
113	113	(c) A person appointed to the Board is entitled to
114	114	reimbursement for the travel expenses incurred in attending the
115	115	training program regardless of whether the attendance at the
116	116	program occurs before or after the person qualifies for office.
117	117	(d) The general manager of the District shall create a
118	118	training manual that includes the information required by
119	119	Subsection (b) of this section. The general manager shall
120	120	distribute a copy of the training manual annually to each Director.
121	121	Each Director shall sign and submit to the general manager a
122	122	statement acknowledging that the Director received and has reviewed
123	123	the training manual.
124	124	Sec. 9C. (a) The District shall maintain a system to
125	125	promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the District.
126	126	The District shall maintain information about parties to the
127	127	complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, a summary of the
128	128	results of the review or investigation of the complaint, and its
129	129	disposition.
130	130	(b) The District shall make information available
131	131	describing its procedures for complaint investigation and
132	132	resolution.
133	133	(c) The District shall periodically notify the complaint
134	134	parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition,
135	135	unless the notice would jeopardize an investigation.
136	136	Sec. 9D. The Board shall develop and implement policies
137	137	that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear
138	138	before the Board and to speak on any issue under the jurisdiction of
139	139	the District.
140	140	SECTION 5. Section 7, Chapter 5, page 1062, Special Laws,
141	141	Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is repealed.
142	142	SECTION 6. At the first meeting of the board of the Upper
143	143	Guadalupe River Authority that follows the effective date of this
144	144	Act, the six directors of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority whose
145	145	terms do not expire on February 1, 2025, shall draw lots to
146	146	determine which director will serve a term that expires on February
147	147	1, 2025, and which five directors will serve terms that expire on
148	148	February 1, 2027. The three directors with terms expiring on
149	149	February 1, 2025, will serve terms that expire on that date.
150	150	SECTION 7. Notwithstanding Section 9B, Chapter 5, page
151	151	1062, Special Laws, Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session,
152	152	1939, as added by this Act, a person serving on the board of
153	153	directors of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority may vote,
154	154	deliberate, and be counted as a director in attendance at a meeting
155	155	of the board until December 1, 2023.
156	156	SECTION 8. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
157	157	introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
158	158	Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
159	159	copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
160	160	officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
161	161	under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
162	162	Government Code.
163	163	(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has
164	164	submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
165	165	Environmental Quality.
166	166	(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
167	167	its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
168	168	lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
169	169	representatives within the required time.
170	170	(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
171	171	state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
172	172	to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
173	173	and accomplished.
174	174	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.