Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2586 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Paxton, et al. S.B. No. 2586
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the San Jacinto River Authority, following
7	7	recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; specifying
8	8	grounds for the removal of a 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 426, Acts of the 45th
11	11	Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows:
12	12	(a) The District is subject to review under Chapter 325,
13	13	Government Code (Texas Sunset Act), but may not be abolished under
14	14	that chapter. The review shall be conducted under Section 325.025,
15	15	Government Code, as if the District were a state agency scheduled to
16	16	be abolished September 1, 2035 [2023], and every 12th year after
17	17	that year.
18	18	SECTION 2. Section 6, Chapter 426, Acts of the 45th
19	19	Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows:
20	20	Sec. 6. The management and control of all the affairs of
21	21	said District shall be vested in, and the powers, rights,
22	22	privileges, and functions of the District shall be exercised by a
23	23	Board of Directors consisting of seven [six (6)] members, all of
24	24	whom shall be freehold property taxpayers and legal voters of the
25	25	State of Texas and four (4) of whom shall be residents of a county
26	26	wholly encompassed by the District. Members of such Board of
27	27	Directors shall be appointed by the Governor for terms of four [six
28	28	(6)] years. [Provided, the present Board of six (6) directors of
29	29	said District, appointed by the State Board of Water Engineers
30	30	under authority of House Bill No. 1094, Chapter 613, Acts of the
31	31	Regular Session of the Forty-seventh Legislature, amending Section
32	32	6 of Chapter 426, Acts of the Regular Session of the Forty-fifth
33	33	Legislature, as amended by House Bill No. 828, Chapter 480, Acts of
34	34	the Regular Session of the Forty-seventh Legislature, for terms of
35	35	two (2), four (4), and six (6) years, shall continue to serve as
36	36	such until the expiration of the respective terms for which they
37	37	were appointed. Upon the expiration of the terms for which the
38	38	present members of the Board of Directors were appointed, the
39	39	successors of each and all of them shall be appointed by the
40	40	Governor for a term of six (6) years.]
41	41	The Directors shall hold office after their appointment and
42	42	qualification until their successors shall be appointed and
43	43	qualified. Should any vacancy occur in the Board of Directors, the
44	44	same shall be filled in like manner by the Governor for the
45	45	unexpired term. The Directors appointed shall, within thirty (30)
46	46	days after their appointment, qualify by taking the official oath
47	47	required of County Commissioners, and shall execute bond in the sum
48	48	of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000) payable to the District, the
49	49	sufficiency of which bond shall be determined by the Governor,
50	50	which bonds after being recorded in the official bond records of the
51	51	county in which the District maintains its office shall be
52	52	deposited with the depository selected and approved for the deposit
53	53	of the funds of the District.
54	54	The Governor shall designate a Director as the President of
55	55	the Board to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of the Governor.
56	56	The Board of Directors shall organize by electing one of its members
57	57	[President, one] Vice-President, one Secretary, and one Treasurer.
58	58	Four (4) members, including the President [presiding officer],
59	59	shall constitute a quorum to transact business. The President
60	60	shall preside at all meetings of the Board and shall be the chief
61	61	executive officer of the District. The Vice-President shall act as
62	62	President in case of the absence or disability of the President.
63	63	The Secretary shall act as Secretary of the Board and shall be
64	64	charged with the duty of keeping a record of all proceedings and all
65	65	orders of the Board. The Treasurer shall receive and receipt for
66	66	all moneys received by the District and shall keep books and records
67	67	of all moneys received and expended. In case of the absence or
68	68	inability of the Secretary to act, a Secretary pro tem shall be
69	69	selected by the Directors.
70	70	The domicile of the District shall be in the City of Conroe,
71	71	in the County of Montgomery, Texas, where the District shall
72	72	maintain its principal office. The Board of Directors shall have
73	73	authority to fix the time, place and number of meetings of such
74	74	Board by proper resolutions, regulations and bylaws passed by said
75	75	Board. Said Board shall cause to be kept complete and accurate
76	76	accounts conforming to approved methods of bookkeeping. Said
77	77	accounts and all contracts, documents, and records of the District
78	78	shall be kept at said principal office, and same shall be open to
79	79	public inspection at all reasonable times.
80	80	SECTION 3. Chapter 426, Acts of the 45th Legislature,
81	81	Regular Session, 1937, is amended by adding Sections 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D,
82	82	6E, and 6F to read as follows:
83	83	Sec. 6A. (a) It is a ground for removal from the Board of
84	84	Directors that a Director:
85	85	(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
86	86	qualifications required by Section 6 of this Act;
87	87	(2) does not maintain during service on the Board the
88	88	qualifications required by Section 6 of this Act;
89	89	(3) is ineligible for directorship under Chapter 171,
90	90	Local Government Code;
91	91	(4) cannot, because of illness or disability,
92	92	discharge the Director's duties for a substantial part of the
93	93	Director's term; or
94	94	(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
95	95	scheduled Board meetings that the Director is eligible to attend
96	96	during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote
97	97	of the Board.
98	98	(b) The validity of an action of the Board is not affected by
99	99	the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a Director
100	100	exists.
101	101	(c) If the general manager has knowledge that a potential
102	102	ground for removal exists, the general manager shall notify the
103	103	President of the Board of the potential ground. The President shall
104	104	then notify the Governor and the Attorney General that a potential
105	105	ground for removal exists. If the potential ground for removal
106	106	involves the President, the general manager shall notify the next
107	107	highest ranking Director, who shall then notify the Governor and
108	108	the Attorney General that a potential ground for removal exists.
109	109	Sec. 6B. (a) A person who is appointed to and qualifies for
110	110	office as a Director may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a
111	111	Director in attendance at a meeting of the Board of Directors until
112	112	the person completes a training program that complies with this
113	113	section.
114	114	(b) The training program must provide the person with
115	115	information regarding:
116	116	(1) the law governing District operations;
117	117	(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
118	118	District;
119	119	(3) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
120	120	authority of the District;
121	121	(4) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
122	122	District;
123	123	(5) the requirements of:
124	124	(A) laws relating to open meetings, public
125	125	information, administrative procedure, and disclosing conflicts of
126	126	interest; and
127	127	(B) other laws applicable to members of the
128	128	governing body of a river authority in performing their duties; and
129	129	(6) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
130	130	District or the Texas Ethics Commission.
131	131	(c) A person appointed to the Board is entitled to
132	132	reimbursement for the travel expenses incurred in attending the
133	133	training program regardless of whether the attendance at the
134	134	program occurs before or after the person qualifies for office.
135	135	(d) The general manager of the District shall create a
136	136	training manual that includes the information required by
137	137	Subsection (b) of this section. The general manager shall
138	138	distribute a copy of the training manual annually to each Director.
139	139	Each Director shall sign and submit to the general manager a
140	140	statement acknowledging that the Director received and has reviewed
141	141	the training manual.
142	142	Sec. 6C. The Board of Directors shall develop and implement
143	143	policies that clearly separate the policy-making responsibilities
144	144	of the Board and the management responsibilities of the general
145	145	manager and the staff of the District.
146	146	Sec. 6D. (a) The District shall maintain a system to
147	147	promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the District.
148	148	The District shall maintain information about parties to the
149	149	complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, a summary of the
150	150	results of the review or investigation of the complaint, and its
151	151	disposition.
152	152	(b) The District shall make information available
153	153	describing its procedures for complaint investigation and
154	154	resolution.
155	155	(c) The District shall periodically notify the complaint
156	156	parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition,
157	157	unless the notice would jeopardize an investigation.
158	158	Sec. 6E. The Board of Directors shall develop and implement
159	159	policies that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to
160	160	appear before the Board and to speak on any issue under the
161	161	jurisdiction of the District.
162	162	Sec. 6F. The Board of Directors shall develop and implement
163	163	a comprehensive policy that provides a structure for public
164	164	engagement in advance of major actions and projects. The policy
165	165	must include a clear and detailed description of how the District
166	166	will seek to actively engage stakeholders, including the possible
167	167	use of:
168	168	(1) advisory committees;
169	169	(2) community panels;
170	170	(3) town hall meetings;
171	171	(4) surveys; and
172	172	(5) other strategies on a recurring basis.
173	173	SECTION 4. The member of the board of directors of the San
174	174	Jacinto River Authority whose term expires in November 2027 shall
175	175	continue in office until the member's successor is appointed to and
176	176	qualifies for a term of four years beginning in October 2027.
177	177	SECTION 5. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
178	178	this section, Section 6B, Chapter 426, Acts of the 45th
179	179	Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, as added by this Act, applies
180	180	to a member of the board of directors of the San Jacinto River
181	181	Authority appointed before, on, or after the effective date of this
182	182	Act.
183	183	(b) Notwithstanding Section 6B, Chapter 426, Acts of the
184	184	45th Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, as added by this Act, a
185	185	person serving on the board of directors of the San Jacinto River
186	186	Authority may vote, deliberate, and be counted as a director in
187	187	attendance at a meeting of the board until December 1, 2023. A
188	188	director may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member in
189	189	attendance at a meeting of the board held on or after December 1,
190	190	2023, until the member completes the training required by that
191	191	section.
192	192	SECTION 6. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
193	193	introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
194	194	Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
195	195	copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
196	196	officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
197	197	under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
198	198	Government Code.
199	199	(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has
200	200	submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
201	201	Environmental Quality.
202	202	(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
203	203	its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
204	204	lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
205	205	representatives within the required time.
206	206	(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
207	207	state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
208	208	to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
209	209	and accomplished.
210	210	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.