Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2592 Compare Versions

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1	1	S.B. No. 2592
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority, following the
6	6	recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; altering terms
7	7	of the board of directors; specifying grounds for the removal of a
8	8	member of the board of directors.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 1(a), Chapter 186, Acts of the 50th
11	11	Legislature, Regular Session, 1947, as amended by Chapter 1224,
12	12	Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, is reenacted
13	13	to read as follows:
14	14	(a) There is hereby created and established within the State
15	15	of Texas, in addition to the Districts into which the state has
16	16	heretofore been divided, a Conservation and Reclamation District to
17	17	be known as the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority, (hereinafter called
18	18	the District), and consisting of that part of the State of Texas
19	19	which is known as and included within the boundaries of Jackson
20	20	County, Texas (the boundaries of the District being coextensive
21	21	with the boundaries of Jackson County, Texas, and the District
22	22	including all of the lands and other property, both real and
23	23	personal, within the boundaries of said county). Such District
24	24	shall be a governmental agency and body politic and corporate, with
25	25	the powers of government and with the authority to exercise the
26	26	rights, privileges, and functions hereinafter specified, the
27	27	creation and establishment of such District being essential to the
28	28	accomplishment of the purposes of Section 59 of Article XVI,
29	29	Constitution of Texas, including the control, storing,
30	30	preservation, and distribution of the storm and flood waters, and
31	31	the waters of the rivers and streams of Jackson County and their
32	32	tributaries, inside and outside the boundaries of the District, for
33	33	domestic, municipal, flood control, irrigation, agricultural,
34	34	mining and recovery of minerals, hydroelectric power, navigation,
35	35	recreation and pleasure, public parks, game preserves, and other
36	36	useful purposes, the development of parks on lands owned or
37	37	acquired by the District, the reclamation and drainage of the
38	38	overflow land of Jackson County, the conservation and development
39	39	of forests, financing of and aiding in the development of
40	40	facilities located on lands owned by the District for the
41	41	generation, transmission, and sale of electric power and energy
42	42	inside or outside the boundaries of the District, and to aid in the
43	43	protection and promotion of navigation on the navigable waters by
44	44	regulating the flood and storm waters that flow into said navigable
45	45	streams. In addition, the District may discover, develop, and
46	46	produce groundwater within the boundaries of the Lavaca River Basin
47	47	for use within that portion of a county located within the
48	48	boundaries of the Lavaca River Basin where groundwater is
49	49	discovered, developed, and produced and may coordinate and contract
50	50	with groundwater conservation districts to engage in conjunctive
51	51	groundwater and surface water management.
52	52	SECTION 2. Section 1, Chapter 186, Acts of the 50th
53	53	Legislature, Regular Session, 1947, is amended by amending
54	54	Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as
55	55	follows:
56	56	(b) The management and control of the District shall be
57	57	vested in a Board of Directors consisting of nine (9) members, who
58	58	must reside within the District and shall be freehold property
59	59	taxpayers and legal voters of the State of Texas. The members of
60	60	the Board of Directors shall be appointed by the Governor of Texas
61	61	with the advice and consent of the Senate. As soon as practicable
62	62	after the passage of this Act (as hereby amended), the members of
63	63	the Board of Directors shall be appointed (hereinafter referred to
64	64	as "First Board"). In appointing the members of the First Board,
65	65	the Governor shall appoint three (3) members to serve until May 1,
66	66	1961, and until their successors are appointed and qualified, three
67	67	(3) members to serve until May 1, 1963, and until their successors
68	68	are appointed and qualified, and three (3) members to serve until
69	69	May 1, 1965, and until their successors are appointed and
70	70	qualified. Except for the First Board, the terms of office of the
71	71	members of the Board of Directors shall be for four [six (6)] years
72	72	ending on May 1st, and until their successors are appointed and
73	73	qualified, with either two or three [three (3)] members to be
74	74	appointed annually during the month of April [of each odd-numbered
75	75	year] by the Governor to succeed the members whose terms of office
76	76	shall expire on the following May 1st. If a vacancy on the Board of
77	77	Directors occurs because of the resignation or death of a member, or
78	78	otherwise, the Governor shall fill the same for the unexpired term
79	79	by the appointment of a successor member. Each Director shall
80	80	qualify by taking the official oath of office and filing a good and
81	81	sufficient bond with the Secretary of State in the amount of One
82	82	Thousand Dollars ($1,000.), which shall be payable to the District,
83	83	conditioned upon the faithful performance of his (or her) official
84	84	duties as a Director.
85	85	(c) The Board of Directors shall meet at such times and
86	86	places as it shall designate, and shall hold regular and special
87	87	meetings as it shall see fit. Said Board shall organize by electing
88	88	one of its members as [President, one as] Vice President, one as
89	89	Secretary, and one as Treasurer (provided that the offices of
90	90	Secretary and Treasurer may be combined into one office of
91	91	Secretary-Treasurer upon a majority vote of the members of the
92	92	Board). The Governor shall designate a Director as the President of
93	93	the Board to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of the Governor.
94	94	Except for the First Board, such officers shall serve for a term of
95	95	one (1) year, and annually during the month of May said Board shall
96	96	elect such officers. Special meetings of the Board may be called by
97	97	the President or by any three members, and a majority of the members
98	98	shall constitute a quorum to transact any and all business. A
99	99	majority vote of the members present at any regular or special
100	100	meeting shall be sufficient for the adoption of any proceedings or
101	101	for the taking of any official action.
102	102	(c-1) The Board shall appoint a general manager of the
103	103	District.
104	104	SECTION 3. Section 1A(a), Chapter 186, Acts of the 50th
105	105	Legislature, Regular Session, 1947, is amended to read as follows:
106	106	(a) The District is subject to review under Chapter 325,
107	107	Government Code (Texas Sunset Act), but may not be abolished under
108	108	that chapter. The review shall be conducted under Section 325.025,
109	109	Government Code, as if the District were a state agency scheduled to
110	110	be abolished September 1, 2035 [2023], and every 12th year after
111	111	that year.
112	112	SECTION 4. Chapter 186, Acts of the 50th Legislature,
113	113	Regular Session, 1947, is amended by adding Sections 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E,
114	114	and 1F to read as follows:
115	115	Sec. 1B. (a) It is a ground for removal from the Board that
116	116	a Director:
117	117	(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
118	118	qualifications required by Section 1 of this Act;
119	119	(2) does not maintain during service on the Board the
120	120	qualifications required by Section 1 of this Act;
121	121	(3) violates Chapter 171, Local Government Code;
122	122	(4) cannot, because of illness or disability,
123	123	discharge the Director's duties for a substantial part of the
124	124	Director's term; or
125	125	(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
126	126	scheduled Board meetings that the Director is eligible to attend
127	127	during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote
128	128	of the Board.
129	129	(b) The validity of an action of the Board is not affected by
130	130	the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a Director
131	131	exists.
132	132	(c) If the general manager has knowledge that a potential
133	133	ground for removal exists, the general manager shall notify the
134	134	President of the Board of the potential ground. The President shall
135	135	then notify the Governor and the Attorney General that a potential
136	136	ground for removal exists. If the potential ground for removal
137	137	involves the President, the general manager shall notify the next
138	138	highest ranking Director, who shall then notify the Governor and
139	139	the Attorney General that a potential ground for removal exists.
140	140	Sec. 1C. (a) A person who is appointed to and qualifies for
141	141	office as a Director may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a
142	142	Director in attendance at a meeting of the Board until the person
143	143	completes a training program that complies with this section.
144	144	(b) The training program must provide the person with
145	145	information regarding:
146	146	(1) the law governing District operations;
147	147	(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
148	148	District;
149	149	(3) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
150	150	authority of the District;
151	151	(4) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
152	152	District;
153	153	(5) the requirements of:
154	154	(A) laws relating to open meetings, public
155	155	information, administrative procedure, and disclosing conflicts of
156	156	interest; and
157	157	(B) other laws applicable to members of the
158	158	governing body of a river authority in performing their duties; and
159	159	(6) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
160	160	District or the Texas Ethics Commission.
161	161	(c) A person appointed to the Board is entitled to
162	162	reimbursement for the travel expenses incurred in attending the
163	163	training program regardless of whether the attendance at the
164	164	program occurs before or after the person qualifies for office.
165	165	(d) The general manager of the District shall create a
166	166	training manual that includes the information required by
167	167	Subsection (b) of this section. The general manager shall
168	168	distribute a copy of the training manual annually to each Director.
169	169	Each Director shall sign and submit to the general manager a
170	170	statement acknowledging that the Director received and has reviewed
171	171	the training manual.
172	172	Sec. 1D. The Board shall develop and implement policies
173	173	that clearly separate the policy-making responsibilities of the
174	174	Board and the management responsibilities of the general manager
175	175	and the staff of the District.
176	176	Sec. 1E. (a) The District shall maintain a system to
177	177	promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the District.
178	178	The District shall maintain information about parties to the
179	179	complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, a summary of the
180	180	results of the review or investigation of the complaint, and its
181	181	disposition.
182	182	(b) The District shall make information available
183	183	describing its procedures for complaint investigation and
184	184	resolution.
185	185	(c) The District shall periodically notify the complaint
186	186	parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition,
187	187	unless the notice would jeopardize an investigation.
188	188	Sec. 1F. The Board shall develop and implement policies
189	189	that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear
190	190	before the Board and to speak on any issue under the jurisdiction of
191	191	the District.
192	192	SECTION 5. The following provisions are repealed:
193	193	(1) Section 1(a), Chapter 22, Acts of the 56th
194	194	Legislature, 3rd Called Session, 1959; and
195	195	(2) Chapter 417, Acts of the 61st Legislature, Regular
196	196	Session, 1969.
197	197	SECTION 6. (a) The legislature validates and confirms all
198	198	governmental acts and proceedings of the Lavaca-Navidad River
199	199	Authority that were taken before the effective date of this Act.
200	200	(b) This section does not apply to any matter that on the
201	201	effective date of this Act:
202	202	(1) is involved in litigation if the litigation
203	203	ultimately results in the matter being held invalid by a final court
204	204	judgment; or
205	205	(2) has been held invalid by a final court judgment.
206	206	SECTION 7. At the first meeting of the board of the
207	207	Lavaca-Navidad River Authority that follows the effective date of
208	208	this Act, the six directors of the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority
209	209	whose terms do not expire on May 1, 2027, shall draw lots to
210	210	determine which two directors will serve terms that expire on May 1,
211	211	2024, which two directors will serve terms that expire on May 1,
212	212	2025, and which two directors will serve terms that expire on May 1,
213	213	2026. The three directors with terms expiring on May 1, 2027, will
214	214	serve terms that expire on that date.
215	215	SECTION 8. Notwithstanding Section 1C, Chapter 186, Acts of
216	216	the 50th Legislature, Regular Session, 1947, as added by this Act, a
217	217	person serving on the board of directors of the Lavaca-Navidad
218	218	River Authority may vote, deliberate, and be counted as a director
219	219	in attendance at a meeting of the board until December 1, 2023.
220	220	SECTION 9. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
221	221	introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
222	222	Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
223	223	copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
224	224	officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
225	225	under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
226	226	Government Code.
227	227	(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has
228	228	submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
229	229	Environmental Quality.
230	230	(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
231	231	its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
232	232	lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
233	233	representatives within the required time.
234	234	(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
235	235	state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
236	236	to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
237	237	and accomplished.
238	238	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
239	239	______________________________ ______________________________
240	240	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
241	241	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 2592 passed the Senate on
242	242	April 24, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
243	243	______________________________
244	244	Secretary of the Senate
245	245	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 2592 passed the House on
246	246	May 17, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 3,
247	247	one present not voting.
248	248	______________________________
249	249	Chief Clerk of the House
250	250	Approved:
251	251	______________________________
252	252	Date
253	253	______________________________
254	254	Governor