Bill Text: TX HB1321 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the Nueces River Authority, following recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-27 - Referred to Natural Resources [HB1321 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-HB1321-Introduced.html

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86R3448 BRG-D
By: Thompson of Harris H.B. No. 1321

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Nueces River Authority, following recommendations
of the Sunset Advisory Commission.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 1.02(6), (7), (8), and (9), Chapter
427, Acts of the 44th Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, are
amended to read as follows:
(6) "Commission" means the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality [Water Rights Commission].
(7) ["Quality board" means the Texas Water Quality
Board.]
[(8)] "Development board" means the Texas Water
Development Board.
(8) [(9)] "Waste" means sewage, industrial waste,
municipal waste, recreational waste, agricultural waste, waste
heat, solid waste, or any other waste.
SECTION 2. Section 1.02A(a), Chapter 427, Acts of the 44th
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, 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, 2031 [2019], and every 12th year after
that year.
SECTION 3. Section 2.02(c), Chapter 427, Acts of the 44th
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, is amended to read as
follows:
(c) If the directors find any land included in the field
notes other than land in San Patricio, Nueces, and Jim Wells
counties, which is not actually included in the watershed of the
Nueces River, the board shall exclude the land from the authority
and file a certificate of exclusion with the county clerk of the
county in which the land is located. The certificate of exclusion
shall describe the boundaries of the land excluded so that the land
remaining in the authority may be adequately identified.
SECTION 4. Section 2.03(i), Chapter 427, Acts of the 44th
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, is amended to read as
follows:
(i) The governor shall designate a member of the board as
the president of the board to serve in that capacity at the pleasure
of the governor. The board shall elect [a president,] one or more
vice-presidents, a secretary, a treasurer, and such other officers
as the members of the board may determine in the bylaws or
otherwise. The [president,] vice-presidents, secretary, and
treasurer shall be members of the board, but other officers need not
be members of the board. The offices of secretary and treasurer may
be combined, as may the offices of assistant secretary and
assistant treasurer.
SECTION 5. Subchapter 2, Chapter 427, Acts of the 44th
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, is amended by adding Section
2.03A to read as follows:
Sec. 2.03A. DIRECTOR TRAINING. (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 board
meeting 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 authority;
(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 disclosure of 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 executive director shall create a training manual
that includes the information required by Subsection (b) of this
section. The executive director shall distribute a copy of the
training manual annually to each director. Each director shall
sign and submit to the executive director a statement acknowledging
that the director has received the training manual.
SECTION 6. Section 2.05, Chapter 427, Acts of the 44th
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, is amended by amending
Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(a) A director is entitled to receive an allowance in an
amount not exceeding that provided under Section 49.060, Water Code
[general law of the State of Texas and reimbursement for actual and
necessary expenses incurred:
[(1) for each day he spends attending meetings of the
board; and
[(2) for each day he spends attending to the business
of the authority which is authorized by the board].
(c) In all areas of conflict with this section, Section
49.060, Water Code, takes precedence.
SECTION 7. Subchapter 2, Chapter 427, Acts of the 44th
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, is amended by adding
Sections 2.06A and 2.08A to read as follows:
Sec. 2.06A. PUBLIC TESTIMONY. (a) 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.
(b) At each regular meeting of the board, the board shall
include public testimony as a meeting agenda item and allow members
of the public to comment on other agenda items and other matters
under the jurisdiction of the authority. The board may not
deliberate on or decide a matter not included in the meeting agenda,
except that the board may discuss including the matter on the agenda
for a subsequent meeting.
Sec. 2.08A. SEPARATION OF POLICY AND MANAGEMENT
RESPONSIBILITIES. The board shall develop and implement policies
that clearly separate the policymaking responsibilities of the
board and the management responsibilities of the executive director
and the staff of the authority.
SECTION 8. Sections 3.02, 3.05, and 3.08, Chapter 427, Acts
of the 44th Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, are amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 3.02. (a) Subject to the provisions of the
constitution and statutes of the state and the continuing right of
supervision of the state through the commission, the Nueces River
Authority has and may exercise authority and power over the storm
water and floodwater of the Nueces River Basin, subject to the
applicable provisions of Chapters 5, 11, and 12 [6], Water Code[, as
amended].
(b) Subject to Chapters 5, 11, and 12 [6], Water Code, [as
amended,] the authority may exercise the powers of control and
employment of the state's water in the manner and for the particular
purposes as follows:
(1) to provide for the control and coordination of
water use in the Nueces River Basin as a unit;
(2) to provide by adequate organization and
administration for the preservation of the rights of the people of
the different sections of the river basin in the beneficial use of
water;
(3) to provide for conserving storm, flood, and
unappropriated flow water of the Nueces River Basin, including the
storing, controlling, transporting, treating, and distributing of
such water, and the prevention of the escape of any such water
without the maximum of public service and for the prevention of
devastation of land from recurrent overflows, and the protection of
life and property in the river basin from uncontrolled floodwater;
(4) to provide for the conservation of water essential
for domestic and other water uses of the people of the Nueces River
Basin, including all necessary water supplies for cities, towns,
and industrial districts;
(5) to provide for the irrigation of land in the Nueces
River Basin where irrigation is required for agricultural purposes
or may be deemed helpful to more profitable agricultural production
and for the equitable distribution of storm, flood, and
unappropriated flow water to the regional potential requirements
for all uses; all plans and all works provided by the authority and
all works which may be provided under authorization of the
authority should have primary regard to the necessary and potential
needs for water, by or within the respective areas constituting the
watershed of the Nueces River and its tributary streams;
(6) to provide for the encouragement and development
of drainage systems and provisions for drainage of land in the
valleys of the Nueces River and its tributary streams needing
drainage for profitable agricultural and livestock production and
industrial activities and drainage of other land in the watershed
area of the authority requiring drainage for the most advantageous
use;
(7) to provide for the conservation of all soils
against destructive erosion, thereby preventing the increased
flood menace incident thereto;
(8) to control and make available for employment,
flood, storm, and unappropriated flow water as may be authorized by
the commission, in the development of commercial and industrial
enterprises in all sections of the watershed area of the authority;
(9) to provide as set forth by Chapters 5, 11, and 12
[6], Water Code, [as amended,] for the control, storing, and
employment of flood, storm, and unappropriated flow water in the
development and distribution of hydroelectric power, where this use
may be economically coordinated with other and superior uses, and
subordinated to the uses declared by law to be superior; and
(10) to provide in the manner set forth in Chapters 5,
11, and 12 [6], Water Code, [as amended,] for each and every purpose
and use for which flood, storm, and unappropriated flow water when
controlled and conserved may be utilized in the performance of a
useful service as contemplated and authorized by the provisions of
the constitution and statutes.
(c) Subject to Chapters 5, 11, and 12 [6], Water Code, [as
amended,] the authority may control, store, and preserve the water
of the Nueces River and its tributaries within the boundaries of the
authority for any useful purpose, and may use, distribute, and sell
the water for any beneficial purpose inside and outside the
authority, and may acquire water and water rights inside and
outside the authority.
Sec. 3.05. (a) The authority has and may exercise all of
the powers vested in river authorities under Chapters 5, 7, 17, 26,
and 30, [Chapter 21 of the] Water Code, [as amended,] and Chapter
366, Health and Safety Code [25 of the Water Code, as amended].
(b) The authority is authorized to perform the licensing and
other functions authorized to be delegated to local governments by
the commission [quality board] in connection with the regulation of
private sewage facilities under Chapter 366, Health and Safety
[Section 21.083, Water] Code.
(c) The authority may serve as the entity to provide
regional or area-wide waste collection, treatment, and disposal
services, as provided in Subchapter C [D], Chapter 26 [21], Water
Code.
Sec. 3.08. In the manner provided by Chapters 5, 11, and 12
[6], Water Code, the [as amended, the authority shall apply for any
permits, licenses, franchises, and other grants of authority it may
require from the commission. The] authority may apply for any
permits, licenses, franchises, and other grants of authority it may
require from the commission [quality board], the development board,
or any other federal, state, or local governmental agencies in
exercising its powers and accomplishing the purposes under this
Act.
SECTION 9. Section 3.15(i), Chapter 427, Acts of the 44th
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, is amended to read as
follows:
(i) The provisions of this section do not prohibit the
authority from purchasing or acquiring land or interests in land
from any person, or from acquiring, constructing, or improving
pollution control or waste collection and disposal facilities in
accordance with Chapter 30 [25], Water Code, [as amended,] the
Clean Air Financing Act (Chapter 4477-5a, Vernon's Texas Civil
Statutes), or other applicable statutes, or purchasing or acquiring
surplus property from any governmental entity by negotiated
contract and without necessity for advertising for bids.
SECTION 10. Subchapter 3, Chapter 427, Acts of the 44th
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, is amended by adding Section
3.18A to read as follows:
Sec. 3.18A. ALTERNATIVE RULEMAKING AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION
PROCEDURES. (a) The board shall develop a policy to encourage the
use of:
(1) negotiated rulemaking procedures under Chapter
2008, Government Code, for the adoption of authority rules; and
(2) appropriate alternative dispute resolution
procedures under Chapter 2009, Government Code, to assist in the
resolution of internal and external disputes under the authority's
jurisdiction.
(b) The authority's procedures relating to alternative
dispute resolution must conform, to the extent possible, to any
model guidelines issued by the State Office of Administrative
Hearings for the use of alternative dispute resolution by state
agencies.
(c) The authority shall:
(1) coordinate the implementation of the policy
adopted under Subsection (a) of this section;
(2) provide training as needed to implement the
procedures for negotiated rulemaking or alternative dispute
resolution; and
(3) collect data concerning the effectiveness of those
procedures.
SECTION 11. Sections 3.22A and 3.23, Chapter 427, Acts of
the 44th Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, are amended to read
as follows:
Section 3.22A. CONSERVATION PROGRAM. The board shall adopt
and implement a program of water conservation that incorporates the
practices, techniques, and technologies that will reduce the
consumption of water, reduce the loss or waste of water, improve the
efficiency in the use of water, or increase the recycling and reuse
of water so that a water supply is made available for future or
alternative uses and that the commission and development board
determine [Texas Department of Water Resources determines] will
meet reasonably anticipated local needs and conditions.
Sec. 3.23. The authority has and may exercise all the powers
vested in political subdivisions under Chapters 5, 16, and 17
[Chapter 11], Water Code, [as amended,] including [without
limitation] the powers necessary to enable the authority to
participate in:
(1) [the] programs administered by the development
board for:
(A) the acquisition and development of
facilities; [,]
(B) the sale or lease of facilities; and [,]
(C) financial assistance to political
subdivisions; [,] and
(2) other programs as are now or may hereafter be
authorized.
SECTION 12. Subchapter 3, Chapter 427, Acts of the 44th
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, is amended by adding
Sections 3.27 and 3.28 to read as follows:
Sec. 3.27. COMPLAINTS. (a) The authority shall maintain a
system to promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the
authority. The authority shall maintain information about the
parties to and subject matter of the complaint, a summary of the
results of the review or investigation of the complaint, and the
disposition of the complaint.
(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.
Sec. 3.28. FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN. (a) The authority
shall adopt and promptly publish on the authority's Internet
website a written, five-year strategic plan that:
(1) sets the authority's goals for the following five
years;
(2) establishes the authority's mission; and
(3) describes the anticipated activities that the
authority will perform in the Nueces River Basin over the following
five years.
(b) The authority shall update the five-year strategic plan
regularly and publish the updated versions of the plan on the
authority's Internet website.
SECTION 13. Section 5.01(a), Chapter 427, Acts of the 44th
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, is amended to read as
follows:
(a) For the purpose of carrying out any power or authority
conferred by this Act, including [the expense of] preparing the
master plan and [the] payment of engineering and related [other]
expenses [in connection with this], the authority may issue its
bonds in three general classes:
(1) bonds secured by ad valorem taxes;
(2) bonds secured by a pledge of all or part of the
revenues accruing to the authority, including without limitation
those received from sale of water or other products, rendition of
service, tolls, charges, and from all other sources other than ad
valorem taxes;
(3) bonds secured by a combination pledge of all or
part of the revenues described in Subdivision (2) of this
subsection, and taxes.
SECTION 14. Section 2, Chapter 699, Acts of the 64th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1975, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2. The rights, privileges, authority, and functions
herein granted to the authority and the authority itself are
expressly subject to Chapters 5, 7, 17 [6], and 26 [21], Water Code,
and Chapter 366, Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 15. Section 5.03, Chapter 427, Acts of the 44th
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, is repealed.
SECTION 16. (a) The term of the president of the board of
directors of the Nueces River Authority serving on the effective
date of this Act expires September 1, 2019. The director serving as
president on the effective date of this Act may continue to serve on
the board of directors until the expiration of that director's
term.
(b) Not later than September 2, 2019, the governor shall
designate a director as president of the board of directors of the
Nueces River Authority as required by Section 2.03(i), Chapter 427,
Acts of the 44th Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, as amended
by this Act.
SECTION 17. (a) Notwithstanding Section 2.03A, Chapter
427, Acts of the 44th Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, as
added by this Act, a person serving on the board of directors of the
Nueces River Authority may vote, deliberate, and be counted as a
director in attendance at a meeting of the board until December 1,
2019.
(b) This section expires January 1, 2020.
SECTION 18. (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 19. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.