Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1530 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R3114 SCF-D
2	2	By: Kitzman H.B. No. 1530
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the Sabine River Authority of Texas, following
10	10	recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; specifying
11	11	grounds for the removal of a member of the board of directors.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 2A(a), Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st
14	14	Legislature, Regular Session, 1949, is amended to read as follows:
15	15	(a) The district is subject to review under Chapter 325,
16	16	Government Code (Texas Sunset Act), but may not be abolished under
17	17	that chapter. The review shall be conducted under Section 325.025,
18	18	Government Code, as if the district were a state agency scheduled to
19	19	be abolished September 1, 2037 [2025], and every 12th year after
20	20	that year.
21	21	SECTION 2. Section 4, Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st
22	22	Legislature, Regular Session, 1949, is amended to read as follows:
23	23	Sec. 4. The Governor shall designate a Director as the
24	24	President of the Board to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of
25	25	the Governor. The Directors of the district shall organize by
26	26	electing one of their members [President, one] Vice-President, one
27	27	Secretary, and a Secretary pro tem. Five (5) Directors shall
28	28	constitute a quorum at any meeting, and a concurrence of a majority
29	29	of those present shall be sufficient in all matters pertaining to
30	30	the business of the district, except the letting of construction
31	31	contracts and the authorization of issuance of bonds, which shall
32	32	require the concurrence of five (5) Directors. Warrants for the
33	33	payment of money may be drawn and signed by two (2) officers or
34	34	employees designated by resolution entered on the minutes of the
35	35	Directors, when such accounts have been contracted and ordered paid
36	36	by the Board of Directors.
37	37	SECTION 3. Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st Legislature,
38	38	Regular Session, 1949, is amended by adding Sections 4A, 4B, 6A, and
39	39	6B to read as follows:
40	40	Sec. 4A. (a) It is a ground for removal from the Board of
41	41	Directors that a Director:
42	42	(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
43	43	qualifications required by Section 3 of this Act;
44	44	(2) does not maintain during service on the Board the
45	45	qualifications required by Section 3 of this Act;
46	46	(3) violates Chapter 171, Local Government Code;
47	47	(4) cannot, because of illness or disability,
48	48	discharge the Director's duties for a substantial part of the
49	49	Director's term; or
50	50	(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
51	51	scheduled Board meetings that the Director is eligible to attend
52	52	during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote
53	53	of the Board.
54	54	(b) The validity of an action of the Board is not affected by
55	55	the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a Director
56	56	exists.
57	57	(c) If the manager of the district has knowledge that a
58	58	potential ground for removal exists, the manager shall notify the
59	59	President of the Board of the potential ground. The President shall
60	60	then notify the Governor and the Attorney General that a potential
61	61	ground for removal exists. If the potential ground for removal
62	62	involves the President, the manager shall notify the next highest
63	63	ranking Director, who shall then notify the Governor and the
64	64	Attorney General that a potential ground for removal exists.
65	65	Sec. 4B. (a) A person who is appointed to and qualifies for
66	66	office as a Director may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a
67	67	Director in attendance at a meeting of the Board of Directors until
68	68	the person completes a training program that complies with this
69	69	section.
70	70	(b) The training program must provide the person with
71	71	information regarding:
72	72	(1) the law governing district operations;
73	73	(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
74	74	district;
75	75	(3) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
76	76	authority of the Board of Directors;
77	77	(4) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
78	78	district;
79	79	(5) the requirements of:
80	80	(A) laws relating to open meetings, public
81	81	information, administrative procedure, and disclosing conflicts of
82	82	interest; and
83	83	(B) other laws applicable to members of the
84	84	governing body of a river authority in performing their duties; and
85	85	(6) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
86	86	district or the Texas Ethics Commission.
87	87	(c) A person appointed to the Board of Directors is entitled
88	88	to reimbursement for the travel expenses incurred in attending the
89	89	training program regardless of whether the attendance at the
90	90	program occurs before or after the person qualifies for office.
91	91	(d) The manager of the district shall create a training
92	92	manual that includes the information required by Subsection (b) of
93	93	this section. The manager shall distribute a copy of the training
94	94	manual annually to each Director. Each Director shall sign and
95	95	submit to the manager a statement acknowledging that the Director
96	96	received and has reviewed the training manual.
97	97	Sec. 6A. (a) The district shall maintain a system to
98	98	promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the district.
99	99	The district shall maintain information about parties to the
100	100	complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, a summary of the
101	101	results of the review or investigation of the complaint, and its
102	102	disposition.
103	103	(b) The district shall make information available
104	104	describing its procedures for complaint investigation and
105	105	resolution.
106	106	(c) The district shall periodically notify the complaint
107	107	parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition,
108	108	unless the notice would jeopardize an investigation.
109	109	Sec. 6B. The Board of Directors shall develop and implement
110	110	policies that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to
111	111	appear before the Board and to speak on any issue under the
112	112	jurisdiction of the district.
113	113	SECTION 4. Section 10, Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st
114	114	Legislature, Regular Session, 1949, is amended to read as follows:
115	115	Sec. 10. The Directors shall [may] employ a manager for the
116	116	district, and may give the manager [him] full authority in the
117	117	management and operation of the district affairs (subject only to
118	118	the orders of the Board of Directors). Compensation to be paid such
119	119	manager and all employees shall be fixed by the Board of Directors
120	120	and all employees may be removed by the Board.
121	121	SECTION 5. Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st Legislature,
122	122	Regular Session, 1949, is amended by adding Section 10A to read as
123	123	follows:
124	124	Sec. 10A. The Board of Directors shall develop and
125	125	implement policies that clearly separate the policy-making
126	126	responsibilities of the Board and the management responsibilities
127	127	of the manager and the employees of the district.
128	128	SECTION 6. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
129	129	this section, Section 4B, Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st
130	130	Legislature, Regular Session, 1949, as added by this Act, applies
131	131	to a member of the board of directors of the Sabine River Authority
132	132	of Texas appointed before, on, or after the effective date of this
133	133	Act.
134	134	(b) Notwithstanding Section 4B, Chapter 110, Acts of the
135	135	51st Legislature, Regular Session, 1949, as added by this Act, a
136	136	person serving on the board of directors of the Sabine River
137	137	Authority of Texas may vote, deliberate, and be counted as a
138	138	director in attendance at a meeting of the board until December 1,
139	139	2025. A director may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member
140	140	in attendance at a meeting of the board held on or after December 1,
141	141	2025, until the member completes the training required by that
142	142	section.
143	143	SECTION 7. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
144	144	introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
145	145	Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
146	146	copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
147	147	officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
148	148	under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
149	149	Government Code.
150	150	(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has
151	151	submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
152	152	Environmental Quality.
153	153	(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
154	154	its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
155	155	lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
156	156	representatives within the required time.
157	157	(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
158	158	state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
159	159	to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
160	160	and accomplished.
161	161	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.