89R10970 MP-D
By: Kitzman H.B. No. 1535
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Trinity River Authority of Texas, following
recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; specifying
grounds for the removal of a member of the board of directors.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1A(a), Chapter 518, Acts of the 54th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1955, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The Authority is subject to review under Chapter 325,
Government Code (Texas Sunset Act), but may not be abolished under
that chapter. The review shall be conducted under Section 325.025,
Government Code, as if the Authority were a state agency scheduled
to be abolished September 1, 2037 [2025], and every 12th year after
that year.
SECTION 2. Section 3(b), Chapter 518, Acts of the 54th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1955, is amended to read as follows:
(b) The Board shall consist of twenty-five (25)
[twenty-four (24)] directors to be appointed by the Governor with
the advice and consent of the Senate, and, when the Legislature is
in session, no such appointment shall become effective until it
shall have been approved by the Senate. For the purposes of the
appointment of directors the Authority is divided into eighteen
(18) areas, numbered 1 to 18, both inclusive, respectively
containing the county as follows:
Area 1. Tarrant
Area 2. Dallas
Area 3. Kaufman
Area 4. Henderson
Area 5. Ellis
Area 6. Navarro
Area 7. Anderson
Area 8. Freestone
Area 9. Leon
Area 10. Houston
Area 11. Trinity
Area 12. Madison
Area 13. Walker
Area 14. San Jacinto
Area 15. Polk
Area 16. Liberty
Area 17. Chambers
Area 18. All of the territory contained within the above
named seventeen (17) areas and seventeen (17) counties which shall
be known as "The Area-at-Large." Three (3) directors shall be
appointed from Tarrant County; four (4) directors shall be
appointed from Dallas County; and three (3) [two (2)] directors
shall be appointed from "The Area-at-Large." One (1) director
shall be appointed from each of the other named Areas. The term of
each director shall be for six (6) years and until his successor
shall have been appointed and until he shall have qualified, except
that of the directors first appointed, eight (8) shall serve for two
(2) years, eight (8) for four (4) years, and eight (8) for six (6)
years. The terms of the directors shall expire on the 15th day of
March of the year in which their respective terms would terminate
under the provisions of this Act. In making the original
appointments the Governor will designate the initial term of each
such directors. The Board has power to appoint an executive
committee which will perform the functions of the Board between
meetings, except as its powers may be restricted in the action
setting up the committee.
SECTION 3. Section 4, Chapter 518, Acts of the 54th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1955, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 4. The Governor shall designate a member of the Board
as the president of the Authority to serve in that capacity at the
pleasure of the Governor. The Board shall elect from its number a
[president and a] vice-president of the Authority and such other
officers as in the judgment of the Board are necessary. The
president shall preside at meetings of the Board and shall be the
chief officer of the Authority and shall have the same right to vote
as any other director. The vice-president shall perform all duties
and exercise all powers conferred by this Act upon the president
when the president is absent or fails or is unable or declines to
act. The Board shall appoint a secretary and a treasurer who shall
not be members of the Board. Within the discretion of the Board the
officers of secretary and treasurer may be held by one (1) person
whose title shall be Secretary-Treasurer. The Treasurer shall give
bond in such amount as shall be prescribed by the Board. The Board
shall [may] appoint a general manager and may appoint[,] all
necessary engineers, attorneys and other employees.
SECTION 4. Chapter 518, Acts of the 54th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1955, is amended by adding Sections 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D,
and 4E to read as follows:
Sec. 4A. (a) It is a ground for removal from the Board that
a director:
(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
qualifications required by Section 3(c) of this Act;
(2) does not maintain during service on the Board the
qualifications required by Section 3(c) of this Act;
(3) violates Chapter 171, Local Government Code;
(4) cannot, because of illness or disability,
discharge the director's duties for a substantial part of the
director's term; or
(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
scheduled Board meetings that the director is eligible to attend
during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote
of the Board.
(b) The validity of an action of the Board is not affected by
the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a director
exists.
(c) If the general manager of the Authority has knowledge
that a potential ground for removal exists, the general manager
shall notify the president of the Authority of the potential
ground. The president shall then notify the Governor and the
Attorney General that a potential ground for removal exists. If the
potential ground for removal involves the president, the general
manager shall notify the next highest ranking director, who shall
then notify the Governor and the Attorney General that a potential
ground for removal exists.
Sec. 4B. (a) A person who is appointed to and qualifies for
office as a director may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a
director in attendance at a meeting of the Board until the person
completes a training program that complies with this section.
(b) The training program must provide the person with
information regarding:
(1) the law governing Authority operations;
(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
Authority;
(3) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
authority of the Board;
(4) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
Authority;
(5) the requirements of:
(A) laws relating to open meetings, public
information, administrative procedure, and disclosing conflicts of
interest; and
(B) other laws applicable to members of the
governing body of a river authority in performing their duties; and
(6) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
Authority or the Texas Ethics Commission.
(c) A person appointed to the Board is entitled to
reimbursement for the travel expenses incurred in attending the
training program regardless of whether the attendance at the
program occurs before or after the person qualifies for office.
(d) The general manager of the Authority shall create a
training manual that includes the information required by
Subsection (b) of this section. The general manager shall
distribute a copy of the training manual annually to each director.
Each director shall sign and submit to the general manager a
statement acknowledging that the director received and has reviewed
the training manual.
Sec. 4C. (a) The Authority shall maintain a system to
promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the
Authority. The Authority shall maintain information about parties
to the complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, a summary of
the results of the review or investigation of the complaint, and its
disposition.
(b) The Authority shall make information available
describing its procedures for complaint investigation and
resolution.
(c) The Authority shall periodically notify the complaint
parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition,
unless the notice would jeopardize an investigation.
Sec. 4D. The Board shall develop and implement policies
that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear
before the Board and to speak on any issue under the jurisdiction of
the Authority.
Sec. 4E. The Board shall develop and implement policies
that clearly separate the policy-making responsibilities of the
Board and the management responsibilities of the general manager
and the employees of the Authority.
SECTION 5. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
section, Section 4B, Chapter 518, Acts of the 54th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1955, as added by this Act, applies to a member of
the board of directors of the Trinity River Authority of Texas
appointed before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 4B, Chapter 518, Acts of the
54th Legislature, Regular Session, 1955, as added by this Act, a
member of the board of directors of the Trinity River Authority of
Texas may vote, deliberate, and be counted as a director in
attendance at a meeting of the board until December 1, 2025. A
member of the board may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a
member in attendance at a meeting of the board held on or after
December 1, 2025, until the member completes the training required
by that section.
SECTION 6. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
Government Code.
(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has
submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
representatives within the required time.
(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
and accomplished.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.