Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2406 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		By: Paxton, et al. S.B. No. 2406
2		-
3		-
	2	+	(In the Senate - Filed March 24, 2025; March 25, 2025, read
	3	+	first time and referred to Committee on Local Government;
	4	+	April 1, 2025, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 7,
	5	+	Nays 0; April 1, 2025, sent to printer.)
	6	+	Click here to see the committee vote
4	7
5	8
6	9		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	10		AN ACT
8	11		relating to the Sabine River Authority of Texas, following
9	12		recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; specifying
10	13		grounds for the removal of a member of the board of directors.
11	14		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	15		SECTION 1. Section 2A(a), Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st
13	16		Legislature, Regular Session, 1949, is amended to read as follows:
14	17		(a) The district is subject to review under Chapter 325,
15	18		Government Code (Texas Sunset Act), but may not be abolished under
16	19		that chapter. The review shall be conducted under Section 325.025,
17	20		Government Code, as if the district were a state agency scheduled to
18	21		be abolished September 1, 2037 [2025], and every 12th year after
19	22		that year.
20	23		SECTION 2. Section 4, Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st
21	24		Legislature, Regular Session, 1949, is amended to read as follows:
22	25		Sec. 4. The Governor shall designate a Director as the
23	26		President of the Board to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of
24	27		the Governor. The Directors of the district shall organize by
25	28		electing one of their members [President, one] Vice-President, one
26	29		Secretary, and a Secretary pro tem. Five (5) Directors shall
27	30		constitute a quorum at any meeting, and a concurrence of a majority
28	31		of those present shall be sufficient in all matters pertaining to
29	32		the business of the district, except the letting of construction
30	33		contracts and the authorization of issuance of bonds, which shall
31	34		require the concurrence of five (5) Directors. Warrants for the
32	35		payment of money may be drawn and signed by two (2) officers or
33	36		employees designated by resolution entered on the minutes of the
34	37		Directors, when such accounts have been contracted and ordered paid
35	38		by the Board of Directors.
36	39		SECTION 3. Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st Legislature,
37	40		Regular Session, 1949, is amended by adding Sections 4A, 4B, 6A, and
38	41		6B to read as follows:
39	42		Sec. 4A. (a) It is a ground for removal from the Board of
40	43		Directors that a Director:
41	44		(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
42	45		qualifications required by Section 3 of this Act;
43	46		(2) does not maintain during service on the Board the
44	47		qualifications required by Section 3 of this Act;
45	48		(3) violates Chapter 171, Local Government Code;
46	49		(4) cannot, because of illness or disability,
47	50		discharge the Director's duties for a substantial part of the
48	51		Director's term; or
49	52		(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
50	53		scheduled Board meetings that the Director is eligible to attend
51	54		during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote
52	55		of the Board.
53	56		(b) The validity of an action of the Board is not affected by
54	57		the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a Director
55	58		exists.
56	59		(c) If the manager of the district has knowledge that a
57	60		potential ground for removal exists, the manager shall notify the
58	61		President of the Board of the potential ground. The President shall
59	62		then notify the Governor and the Attorney General that a potential
60	63		ground for removal exists. If the potential ground for removal
61	64		involves the President, the manager shall notify the next highest
62	65		ranking Director, who shall then notify the Governor and the
63	66		Attorney General that a potential ground for removal exists.
64	67		Sec. 4B. (a) A person who is appointed to and qualifies for
65	68		office as a Director may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a
66	69		Director in attendance at a meeting of the Board of Directors until
67	70		the person completes a training program that complies with this
68	71		section.
69	72		(b) The training program must provide the person with
70	73		information regarding:
71	74		(1) the law governing district operations;
72	75		(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
73	76		district;
74	77		(3) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
75	78		authority of the Board of Directors;
76	79		(4) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
77	80		district;
78	81		(5) the requirements of:
79	82		(A) laws relating to open meetings, public
80	83		information, administrative procedure, and disclosing conflicts of
81	84		interest; and
82	85		(B) other laws applicable to members of the
83	86		governing body of a river authority in performing their duties; and
84	87		(6) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
85	88		district or the Texas Ethics Commission.
86	89		(c) A person appointed to the Board of Directors is entitled
87	90		to reimbursement for the travel expenses incurred in attending the
88	91		training program regardless of whether the attendance at the
89	92		program occurs before or after the person qualifies for office.
90	93		(d) The manager of the district shall create a training
91	94		manual that includes the information required by Subsection (b) of
92	95		this section. The manager shall distribute a copy of the training
93	96		manual annually to each Director. Each Director shall sign and
94	97		submit to the manager a statement acknowledging that the Director
95	98		received and has reviewed the training manual.
96	99		Sec. 6A. (a) The district shall maintain a system to
97	100		promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the district.
98	101		The district shall maintain information about parties to the
99	102		complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, a summary of the
100	103		results of the review or investigation of the complaint, and its
101	104		disposition.
102	105		(b) The district shall make information available
103	106		describing its procedures for complaint investigation and
104	107		resolution.
105	108		(c) The district shall periodically notify the complaint
106	109		parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition,
107	110		unless the notice would jeopardize an investigation.
108	111		Sec. 6B. The Board of Directors shall develop and implement
109	112		policies that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to
110	113		appear before the Board and to speak on any issue under the
111	114		jurisdiction of the district.
112	115		SECTION 4. Section 10, Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st
113	116		Legislature, Regular Session, 1949, is amended to read as follows:
114	117		Sec. 10. The Directors shall [may] employ a manager for the
115	118		district, and may give the manager [him] full authority in the
116	119		management and operation of the district affairs (subject only to
117	120		the orders of the Board of Directors). Compensation to be paid such
118	121		manager and all employees shall be fixed by the Board of Directors
119	122		and all employees may be removed by the Board.
120	123		SECTION 5. Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st Legislature,
121	124		Regular Session, 1949, is amended by adding Section 10A to read as
122	125		follows:
123	126		Sec. 10A. The Board of Directors shall develop and
124	127		implement policies that clearly separate the policy-making
125	128		responsibilities of the Board and the management responsibilities
126	129		of the manager and the employees of the district.
127	130		SECTION 6. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
128	131		this section, Section 4B, Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st
129	132		Legislature, Regular Session, 1949, as added by this Act, applies
130	133		to a member of the board of directors of the Sabine River Authority
131	134		of Texas appointed before, on, or after the effective date of this
132	135		Act.
133	136		(b) Notwithstanding Section 4B, Chapter 110, Acts of the
134	137		51st Legislature, Regular Session, 1949, as added by this Act, a
135	138		person serving on the board of directors of the Sabine River
136	139		Authority of Texas may vote, deliberate, and be counted as a
137	140		director in attendance at a meeting of the board until December 1,
138		-	2025. A director may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a
139		-	~~member~~ in attendance at a meeting of the board held on or after
140		-	~~December 1,~~ 2025, until the member completes the training required
141		-	~~by that~~ section.
	141	+	2025. A director may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member
	142	+	in attendance at a meeting of the board held on or after December 1,
	143	+	2025, until the member completes the training required by that
	144	+	section.
142	145		SECTION 7. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
143	146		introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
144	147		Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
145	148		copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
146	149		officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
147	150		under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
148	151		Government Code.
149	152		(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has
150	153		submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
151	154		Environmental Quality.
152	155		(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
153	156		its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
154	157		lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
155	158		representatives within the required time.
156	159		(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
157	160		state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
158	161		to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
159	162		and accomplished.
160	163		SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
	164	+	* * * * *