Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1535 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R10970 MP-D
2	2	By: Kitzman H.B. No. 1535
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the Trinity 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 1A(a), Chapter 518, Acts of the 54th
14	14	Legislature, Regular Session, 1955, is amended to read as follows:
15	15	(a) The Authority 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 Authority were a state agency scheduled
19	19	to be abolished September 1, 2037 [2025], and every 12th year after
20	20	that year.
21	21	SECTION 2. Section 3(b), Chapter 518, Acts of the 54th
22	22	Legislature, Regular Session, 1955, is amended to read as follows:
23	23	(b) The Board shall consist of twenty-five (25)
24	24	[twenty-four (24)] directors to be appointed by the Governor with
25	25	the advice and consent of the Senate, and, when the Legislature is
26	26	in session, no such appointment shall become effective until it
27	27	shall have been approved by the Senate. For the purposes of the
28	28	appointment of directors the Authority is divided into eighteen
29	29	(18) areas, numbered 1 to 18, both inclusive, respectively
30	30	containing the county as follows:
31	31	Area 1. Tarrant
32	32	Area 2. Dallas
33	33	Area 3. Kaufman
34	34	Area 4. Henderson
35	35	Area 5. Ellis
36	36	Area 6. Navarro
37	37	Area 7. Anderson
38	38	Area 8. Freestone
39	39	Area 9. Leon
40	40	Area 10. Houston
41	41	Area 11. Trinity
42	42	Area 12. Madison
43	43	Area 13. Walker
44	44	Area 14. San Jacinto
45	45	Area 15. Polk
46	46	Area 16. Liberty
47	47	Area 17. Chambers
48	48	Area 18. All of the territory contained within the above
49	49	named seventeen (17) areas and seventeen (17) counties which shall
50	50	be known as "The Area-at-Large." Three (3) directors shall be
51	51	appointed from Tarrant County; four (4) directors shall be
52	52	appointed from Dallas County; and three (3) [two (2)] directors
53	53	shall be appointed from "The Area-at-Large." One (1) director
54	54	shall be appointed from each of the other named Areas. The term of
55	55	each director shall be for six (6) years and until his successor
56	56	shall have been appointed and until he shall have qualified, except
57	57	that of the directors first appointed, eight (8) shall serve for two
58	58	(2) years, eight (8) for four (4) years, and eight (8) for six (6)
59	59	years. The terms of the directors shall expire on the 15th day of
60	60	March of the year in which their respective terms would terminate
61	61	under the provisions of this Act. In making the original
62	62	appointments the Governor will designate the initial term of each
63	63	such directors. The Board has power to appoint an executive
64	64	committee which will perform the functions of the Board between
65	65	meetings, except as its powers may be restricted in the action
66	66	setting up the committee.
67	67	SECTION 3. Section 4, Chapter 518, Acts of the 54th
68	68	Legislature, Regular Session, 1955, is amended to read as follows:
69	69	Sec. 4. The Governor shall designate a member of the Board
70	70	as the president of the Authority to serve in that capacity at the
71	71	pleasure of the Governor. The Board shall elect from its number a
72	72	[president and a] vice-president of the Authority and such other
73	73	officers as in the judgment of the Board are necessary. The
74	74	president shall preside at meetings of the Board and shall be the
75	75	chief officer of the Authority and shall have the same right to vote
76	76	as any other director. The vice-president shall perform all duties
77	77	and exercise all powers conferred by this Act upon the president
78	78	when the president is absent or fails or is unable or declines to
79	79	act. The Board shall appoint a secretary and a treasurer who shall
80	80	not be members of the Board. Within the discretion of the Board the
81	81	officers of secretary and treasurer may be held by one (1) person
82	82	whose title shall be Secretary-Treasurer. The Treasurer shall give
83	83	bond in such amount as shall be prescribed by the Board. The Board
84	84	shall [may] appoint a general manager and may appoint[,] all
85	85	necessary engineers, attorneys and other employees.
86	86	SECTION 4. Chapter 518, Acts of the 54th Legislature,
87	87	Regular Session, 1955, is amended by adding Sections 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D,
88	88	and 4E to read as follows:
89	89	Sec. 4A. (a) It is a ground for removal from the Board that
90	90	a director:
91	91	(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
92	92	qualifications required by Section 3(c) of this Act;
93	93	(2) does not maintain during service on the Board the
94	94	qualifications required by Section 3(c) of this Act;
95	95	(3) violates Chapter 171, Local Government Code;
96	96	(4) cannot, because of illness or disability,
97	97	discharge the director's duties for a substantial part of the
98	98	director's term; or
99	99	(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
100	100	scheduled Board meetings that the director is eligible to attend
101	101	during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote
102	102	of the Board.
103	103	(b) The validity of an action of the Board is not affected by
104	104	the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a director
105	105	exists.
106	106	(c) If the general manager of the Authority has knowledge
107	107	that a potential ground for removal exists, the general manager
108	108	shall notify the president of the Authority of the potential
109	109	ground. The president shall then notify the Governor and the
110	110	Attorney General that a potential ground for removal exists. If the
111	111	potential ground for removal involves the president, the general
112	112	manager shall notify the next highest ranking director, who shall
113	113	then notify the Governor and the Attorney General that a potential
114	114	ground for removal exists.
115	115	Sec. 4B. (a) A person who is appointed to and qualifies for
116	116	office as a director may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a
117	117	director in attendance at a meeting of the Board until the person
118	118	completes a training program that complies with this section.
119	119	(b) The training program must provide the person with
120	120	information regarding:
121	121	(1) the law governing Authority operations;
122	122	(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
123	123	Authority;
124	124	(3) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
125	125	authority of the Board;
126	126	(4) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
127	127	Authority;
128	128	(5) the requirements of:
129	129	(A) laws relating to open meetings, public
130	130	information, administrative procedure, and disclosing conflicts of
131	131	interest; and
132	132	(B) other laws applicable to members of the
133	133	governing body of a river authority in performing their duties; and
134	134	(6) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
135	135	Authority or the Texas Ethics Commission.
136	136	(c) A person appointed to the Board is entitled to
137	137	reimbursement for the travel expenses incurred in attending the
138	138	training program regardless of whether the attendance at the
139	139	program occurs before or after the person qualifies for office.
140	140	(d) The general manager of the Authority shall create a
141	141	training manual that includes the information required by
142	142	Subsection (b) of this section. The general manager shall
143	143	distribute a copy of the training manual annually to each director.
144	144	Each director shall sign and submit to the general manager a
145	145	statement acknowledging that the director received and has reviewed
146	146	the training manual.
147	147	Sec. 4C. (a) The Authority shall maintain a system to
148	148	promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the
149	149	Authority. The Authority shall maintain information about parties
150	150	to the complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, a summary of
151	151	the results of the review or investigation of the complaint, and its
152	152	disposition.
153	153	(b) The Authority shall make information available
154	154	describing its procedures for complaint investigation and
155	155	resolution.
156	156	(c) The Authority shall periodically notify the complaint
157	157	parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition,
158	158	unless the notice would jeopardize an investigation.
159	159	Sec. 4D. The Board shall develop and implement policies
160	160	that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear
161	161	before the Board and to speak on any issue under the jurisdiction of
162	162	the Authority.
163	163	Sec. 4E. The Board shall develop and implement policies
164	164	that clearly separate the policy-making responsibilities of the
165	165	Board and the management responsibilities of the general manager
166	166	and the employees of the Authority.
167	167	SECTION 5. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
168	168	section, Section 4B, Chapter 518, Acts of the 54th Legislature,
169	169	Regular Session, 1955, as added by this Act, applies to a member of
170	170	the board of directors of the Trinity River Authority of Texas
171	171	appointed before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
172	172	(b) Notwithstanding Section 4B, Chapter 518, Acts of the
173	173	54th Legislature, Regular Session, 1955, as added by this Act, a
174	174	member of the board of directors of the Trinity River Authority of
175	175	Texas may vote, deliberate, and be counted as a director in
176	176	attendance at a meeting of the board until December 1, 2025. A
177	177	member of the board may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a
178	178	member in attendance at a meeting of the board held on or after
179	179	December 1, 2025, until the member completes the training required
180	180	by that section.
181	181	SECTION 6. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
182	182	introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
183	183	Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
184	184	copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
185	185	officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
186	186	under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
187	187	Government Code.
188	188	(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has
189	189	submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
190	190	Environmental Quality.
191	191	(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
192	192	its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
193	193	lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
194	194	representatives within the required time.
195	195	(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
196	196	state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
197	197	to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
198	198	and accomplished.
199	199	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.