| 1 | 1 | | 89R1764 LRM-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Metcalf H.B. No. 5005 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to the election of the board of directors of the San |
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| 10 | 10 | | Jacinto River Authority. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Section 6, Chapter 426, Acts of the 45th |
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| 13 | 13 | | Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | Sec. 6. (a) The management and control of all the affairs |
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| 15 | 15 | | of said District shall be vested in, and the powers, rights, |
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| 16 | 16 | | privileges, and functions of the District shall be exercised by, a |
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| 17 | 17 | | Board of Directors consisting of seven members, all of whom shall be |
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| 18 | 18 | | freehold property taxpayers and legal voters of the State of Texas |
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| 19 | 19 | | [and four (4) of whom shall be residents of a county wholly |
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| 20 | 20 | | encompassed by the District]. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (b) Members of the [such] Board of Directors shall be |
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| 22 | 22 | | elected at large by voters in the District [appointed by the |
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| 23 | 23 | | Governor for terms of four years]. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (c) The Directors shall hold office after their election |
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| 25 | 25 | | [appointment] and qualification until their successors shall be |
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| 26 | 26 | | elected [appointed] and qualified. [Should any vacancy occur in |
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| 27 | 27 | | the Board of Directors, the same shall be filled in like manner by |
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| 28 | 28 | | the Governor for the unexpired term.] The Directors [appointed] |
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| 29 | 29 | | shall, within thirty (30) days after their election [appointment], |
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| 30 | 30 | | qualify by taking the official oath required of County |
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| 31 | 31 | | Commissioners, and shall execute bond in the sum of Five Thousand |
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| 32 | 32 | | Dollars ($5,000) payable to the District, the sufficiency of which |
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| 33 | 33 | | bond shall be determined by the Governor, which bonds after being |
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| 34 | 34 | | recorded in the official bond records of the county in which the |
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| 35 | 35 | | District maintains its office shall be deposited with the |
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| 36 | 36 | | depository selected and approved for the deposit of the funds of the |
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| 37 | 37 | | District. |
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| 38 | 38 | | (d) The Governor shall designate a Director as the President |
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| 39 | 39 | | of the Board to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of the |
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| 40 | 40 | | Governor. The Board of Directors shall organize by electing one of |
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| 41 | 41 | | its members Vice-President, one Secretary, and one Treasurer. Four |
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| 42 | 42 | | (4) members, including the President, shall constitute a quorum to |
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| 43 | 43 | | transact business. The President shall preside at all meetings of |
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| 44 | 44 | | the Board and shall be the chief executive officer of the District. |
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| 45 | 45 | | The Vice-President shall act as President in case of the absence or |
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| 46 | 46 | | disability of the President. The Secretary shall act as Secretary |
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| 47 | 47 | | of the Board and shall be charged with the duty of keeping a record |
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| 48 | 48 | | of all proceedings and all orders of the Board. The Treasurer shall |
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| 49 | 49 | | receive and receipt for all moneys received by the District and |
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| 50 | 50 | | shall keep books and records of all moneys received and expended. In |
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| 51 | 51 | | case of the absence or inability of the Secretary to act, a |
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| 52 | 52 | | Secretary pro tem shall be selected by the Directors. |
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| 53 | 53 | | (e) The domicile of the District shall be in the City of |
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| 54 | 54 | | Conroe, in the County of Montgomery, Texas, where the District |
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| 55 | 55 | | shall maintain its principal office. The Board of Directors shall |
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| 56 | 56 | | have authority to fix the time, place and number of meetings of such |
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| 57 | 57 | | Board by proper resolutions, regulations and bylaws passed by said |
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| 58 | 58 | | Board. Said Board shall cause to be kept complete and accurate |
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| 59 | 59 | | accounts conforming to approved methods of bookkeeping. Said |
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| 60 | 60 | | accounts and all contracts, documents, and records of the District |
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| 61 | 61 | | shall be kept at said principal office, and same shall be open to |
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| 62 | 62 | | public inspection at all reasonable times. |
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| 63 | 63 | | SECTION 2. Section 30.003(4), Water Code, is amended to |
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| 64 | 64 | | read as follows: |
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| 65 | 65 | | (4) "River authority" means any district or authority |
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| 66 | 66 | | created by the legislature which contains an area within its |
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| 67 | 67 | | boundaries of one or more counties and which is governed by a board |
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| 68 | 68 | | of directors appointed or designated in whole or in part by the |
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| 69 | 69 | | governor, or by the Texas Water Development Board. The term |
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| 70 | 70 | | includes[, including without limitation] the San Antonio River |
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| 71 | 71 | | Authority and the San Jacinto River Authority. |
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| 72 | 72 | | SECTION 3. (a) The San Jacinto River Authority shall hold |
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| 73 | 73 | | the first election to elect directors as described by Section 6, |
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| 74 | 74 | | Chapter 426, Acts of the 45th Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, |
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| 75 | 75 | | as amended by this Act, on the uniform election date in May 2026. |
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| 76 | 76 | | (b) The terms of the directors serving on the board of |
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| 77 | 77 | | directors of the San Jacinto River Authority on the effective date |
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| 78 | 78 | | of this Act expire on the date the directors elected under |
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| 79 | 79 | | Subsection (a) of this section have qualified. |
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| 80 | 80 | | (c) At the first meeting of the board of directors of the San |
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| 81 | 81 | | Jacinto River Authority that follows the election held under |
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| 82 | 82 | | Subsection (a) of this section, the directors shall draw lots to |
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| 83 | 83 | | determine which four directors serve a term of four years and which |
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| 84 | 84 | | three directors serve a term of two years. |
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| 85 | 85 | | SECTION 4. (a) The legal notice of the intention to |
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| 86 | 86 | | introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this |
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| 87 | 87 | | Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a |
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| 88 | 88 | | copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies, |
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| 89 | 89 | | officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished |
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| 90 | 90 | | under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313, |
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| 91 | 91 | | Government Code. |
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| 92 | 92 | | (b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has |
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| 93 | 93 | | submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on |
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| 94 | 94 | | Environmental Quality. |
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| 95 | 95 | | (c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed |
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| 96 | 96 | | its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the |
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| 97 | 97 | | lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of |
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| 98 | 98 | | representatives within the required time. |
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| 99 | 99 | | (d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this |
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| 100 | 100 | | state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect |
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| 101 | 101 | | to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled |
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| 102 | 102 | | and accomplished. |
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| 103 | 103 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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