Bill Text: TX HB1535 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Relating to the San Antonio River Authority, following recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; altering the terms of office of the members of the board of directors of the authority.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2023-05-24 - See remarks for effective date [HB1535 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB1535-Enrolled.html

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H.B. No. 1535

AN ACT
relating to the San Antonio River Authority, following
recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; altering the
terms of office of the members of the board of directors of the
authority.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1-a(a), Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The District 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 District were a state agency scheduled to
be abolished September 1, 2035 [2023], and every 12th year after
that year.
SECTION 2. Section 3, Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 3. POWERS OF THE DISTRICT. The District is hereby
invested with all of the powers of the State of Texas under Article
16, Section 59, of the Constitution of the State of Texas to
effectuate the construction, maintenance and operation of
navigable canals or waterways, to effectuate flood control, to
effectuate the conservation and use, for all beneficial purposes,
of ground, storm, flood and unappropriated flow waters in the
District, to effectuate irrigation, to effectuate soil
conservation, to effectuate sewage treatment, to effectuate
pollution prevention, to encourage and develop parks, recreational
facilities and to preserve fish, to effectuate forestation and
reforestation, and to do all things as are required therefor,
subject only to: (i) declarations of policy by the Legislature of
the State of Texas as to the use of water; (ii) continuing
supervision and control by the State Board of Water Engineers and
any board or agency which may thereafter succeed to its duties;
(iii) the provisions of Section 4, page 212, Acts of the
Thirty-fifth Legislature, 1917, as subsequently amended (codified
under Article 7471, Vernon's Civil Statutes of the State of Texas),
prescribing the priorities of uses for water; and (iv) the rights
heretofore or hereafter legally acquired in water by municipalities
and other users. Subject to the foregoing, it shall be the duty of
the District to exercise for the greatest practicable measure of
the conservation and beneficial utilization of all ground, storm,
flood and unappropriated flow waters of the District, in the manner
and for the particular purposes specified hereinafter in this
Section 3 and elsewhere in this Act the following powers, rights,
privileges and functions, to wit:
(a) Navigation:
(1) To promote, construct, maintain and operate, and/or to
make practicable, promote, aid and encourage, the construction,
maintenance and operation of navigable canals or waterways and all
navigational systems or facilities auxiliary thereto using the
natural bed and banks of the San Antonio River to its junction with
the Guadalupe River where practicable and thence traversing such
route as may be found by the District to be most feasible and
practicable to connect with the Intracoastal Canal and/or with any
new canal to be constructed and/or with any harbor at or near San
Antonio Bay or the Gulf of Mexico, and also using such new
correlated artificial waterways, together with all locks and other
works, structures and artificial facilities as may be necessary and
convenient for the construction, maintenance and operation of said
navigable canals or waterways and all navigational systems or
facilities auxiliary thereto. The District is empowered to
construct, or cause to be constructed, said system of artificial
waterways, canals, locks, works and other facilities so as to
connect the watershed area of the San Antonio River, including
navigation to or at a point near the City of San Antonio, with the
Intracoastal Canal and/or with any new canal to be constructed
and/or with any harbor at or near San Antonio Bay or the Gulf of
Mexico;
(2) To control, develop, store and use the natural flow and
floodwaters of the San Antonio River and its tributaries for the
purpose of operating and maintaining said navigable canals or
waterways and all navigational systems or facilities auxiliary
thereto, provided, however, that such navigational use shall be
subordinate to consumptive use of water, and navigation shall be
incidental thereto;
(3) In the case of the construction of said navigable canals
or waterways and all navigational systems or facilities auxiliary
thereto by the Federal Government or otherwise, the District shall
have the power to construct, maintain and operate lateral
connecting canals and turning basins to serve local needs, and
shall also have the power to provide, construct, acquire, purchase,
take over, lease from others, lease to others, and to maintain and
operate, develop, regulate and/or by franchise control wharves,
docks, warehouses, grain elevators, bunkering facilities, belt or
terminal railroads, floating plants, lighterage, towing
facilities, and all other facilities incident to or in aid of the
efficient operation and development of said canals or waterways and
all navigational systems or facilities auxiliary thereto, and any
ports incident thereto, whether the same be upon land or upon water;
(4) In the event the construction and/or maintenance and
operation of said navigable canals or waterways and all
navigational systems or facilities auxiliary thereto is taken over
by the Federal Government or any agency of the Federal Government,
then and in such event the District shall be fully authorized to
make and enter into any such contracts as may be lawfully required
by the Federal Government, including such assignments and transfers
of property and rights of property and easements and privileges and
any and all other lawful things and acts may be necessary and
required in order to meet the requirements of the Federal
Government or any agency of the Federal Government in taking over
the construction and/or maintenance and operation of said navigable
canals or waterways and all navigational systems or facilities
auxiliary thereto;
(5) The District may grant a franchise or right to any
person or body politic or corporate for the use of said navigable
canals or waterways and all navigational systems or facilities
auxiliary thereto or any facility thereof in aiding navigation and
no person or body politic or corporate may provide, maintain or
operate any facility of aid of navigation in any way connected with
said navigable canals or waterways and all navigational systems or
facilities auxiliary thereto and intended for use by the public
within the meaning and intent of this Act, except by and under the
franchise granted by this District, in the form of an ordinance as
provided by this Act, which franchise may be for any term not to
exceed fifty (50) years. Such ordinance granting franchise may
contain provisions for the payment of reasonable fees, and/or other
charges to be paid to the District, and shall contain provisions
adequate to regulate the fees, tolls, rates or exactions to be
demanded for the use of, or service to be rendered by any means or
facility to be provided or operated under any such franchise, to the
end that the same will be uniform, reasonable, and without
discrimination against any person, both as to charges and the
conditions of use or service, and such ordinance shall contain all
provisions reasonably required to procure service adequate to serve
the public necessity and convenience. The District may grant a
franchise for the design, construction, repair, enlargement,
alteration, maintenance, operation of, and service from, or use of
any facility to be provided for use in aid of navigation on said
navigable canals or water ways and all navigational systems or
facilities auxiliary thereto, whether upon land, or in or upon
water. The right hereby granted shall include the right to require
uniform and adequate analytic accounting systems and forms,
periodic verified reports based thereon, and the right of audit by
the District, and other reasonable regulations designed to protect
the public. In order to procure observance of the conditions of a
franchise granted hereunder, and/or compliance with the rules and
regulations established by ordinance of the District (to be adopted
and promulgated as elsewhere is provided in this Act) hereunder,
such ordinance may provide reasonable and commensurate penalties as
provided by Section 49.004, Water Code [fixed by General Law in
Texas, and not to exceed the limit for penalties as fixed elsewhere
in this Act]. The forfeiture or suspension of a franchise granted
under this Act, where not otherwise provided in any such franchise,
may be only because of discrimination in rendering service,
affording use, or in taking or demanding a toll, rate or charge.
Forfeiture or suspension of a franchise granted hereunder, unless
otherwise provided therein, shall be upon a decree of a District
Court within the County in which this District may maintain its
general office. The District may likewise by ordinance establish
rules necessary or designed to protect the physical property owned
by it, or physical property owned or operated by another under a
franchise hereunder granted, and/or to effect the safety or
efficient use of the same, and in such ordinance may provide
reasonable and commensurate penalties for the violation thereof, as
provided by Section 49.004, Water Code [which penalties shall be
cumulative of other penalties provided by the General Law of Texas,
and not to exceed the limit for penalties as fixed elsewhere in this
Act];
(b) Flood Control and Flood Plain Management. To prevent
and aid in the prevention of damage to persons and property by the
overflow of any and all rivers, streams or tributaries thereof
within the District including the study and designation of flood
plains and the regulation thereof;
(c) Water Conservation, Storage, Procurement, Distribution
and Supply:
(1) To store and conserve to the greatest beneficial use the
storm, flood and unappropriated flow waters of any and all rivers,
streams or the tributaries thereof within the District, so as to
prevent the escape of any water without maximum beneficial use
either within or without the District;
(2) For the conservation of water for uses either within or
without the District, including providing water supply for cities
and towns, and the right to sell water and stand-by service to any
person, firm, or corporation, including cities and towns and other
public agencies within or without the District; provided that it is
the intent of this Act to establish a District that is concerned
primarily with the conservation, control, storage, distribution
and sale of water in bulk quantities in the public interest and only
incidentally with the retail sale of water insofar as it does not
compete with municipal water distributors and then only when
necessary or convenient as a service to the public;
(3) To acquire water appropriation permits either within or
without the District directly from the State Board of Water
Engineers or to purchase or otherwise acquire such permits or
certified filings either within or without the District from the
owners thereof;
(4) To purchase water, water supply facilities on
conservation storage capacity either within or without the District
from any person, firm, corporation, State agency or other public
agency, or from the United States or its agencies;
(5) To execute water supply contracts with users of water
within or without the District. Included in the services for which
the District may contract, and for which it may make charges, is
that of standby service as well as for the actual delivery of water;
(6) To provide water for the development of commercial and
industrial enterprises within or without the District;
(7) To bring water into the boundaries of the District;
(8) To construct, acquire, equip, to acquire storage rights
at, and operate and maintain dams and reservoirs, either within or
without the District, had in carrying out the powers conferred upon
the District, or to exercise such powers in conjunction with
others;
(9) To construct [contract], operate and maintain or
otherwise provide water supply lines, water purification and water
pumping systems and facilities either within or without the
District;
(10) Power to execute contracts with municipalities and
others involving the construction of reservoirs, dams, water supply
lines, water purification and pumping facilities, and the
furnishing of water supply service substantially in the manner
prescribed by Chapter 342, Acts of the Regular Session of the
Fifty-first Legislature, for Districts organized and created
pursuant to Article 16, Section 59, of the Constitution, extended
so as to permit such contracts with individuals, partnerships, and
all classes of corporations, and to permit the inclusion of
provisions for the operation, maintenance and ownership of such
properties, but the powers granted the District in this Subsection
are not to be considered a limitation on the powers, rights,
privileges and functions otherwise granted herein;
(11) To acquire from the United States Government, through
the Secretary of the Army or the Secretary of the Interior or any
other of its officials authorized to make such contracts, or from
the State of Texas or any agency thereof, or from any privately
financed reservoirs, unsold conservation storage capacity at any
dam within or without the District now constructed or to be
constructed either by or with the assistance of the United States
Government or the State of Texas, or by both. It may acquire
additional conservation storage capacity which may be provided at
any such dam;
(d) Irrigation: To provide water for irrigation of lands
within and without the District, and incident thereto, to
construct, operate and maintain supply lines and pumping systems
and facilities either within or without the District;
(e) Soil Conservation: For the conservation of soils and
other surface resources within the District against destructive
erosion, thereby preventing the increased flood menace incident
thereto, and for the prevention of sedimentation and siltation of
lands, channels and reservoirs, including the right either to act
as local sponsoring agent of upstream soil and water conservation
and flood prevention projects authorized by State or Federal
Agencies in conjunction with Soil Conservation Districts or to aid
and supplement the work of such upstream soil and water
conservation and flood prevention projects, all in furtherance of
the purposes of the District as provided by this Act ['Master Plan'
as defined in Section 4-a]. In connection therewith, the District
is authorized to make arrangements satisfactory to the Secretary of
Agriculture of the United States for defraying costs of operating
and maintaining such projects, in accordance with regulations
presented by the Secretary of Agriculture; provided, however, that
any portion of the total construction cost of any such project which
is allocable to flood control and/or soil conservation shall be
paid for or financed by funds which have their source in the county
in which each particular project is situated and which funds may be
of any kind or character, except taxes collected in accordance with
the provisions of Sections 15-a and 15-b of this Act;
(f) Sewage Treatment and Solid Waste Disposal. As a
necessary aid to the conservation, control, preservation,
purification and distribution of surface and ground waters within
the District, the District shall have the power to construct, own,
operate, maintain or otherwise provide, within the San Antonio
River Basin, sewage gathering, treatment and/or disposal services,
including solid waste disposal services, to charge for such
services, and to make contracts in reference thereto with counties,
municipalities and others. Provided, however, that the District
shall not exercise the powers hereinabove granted by this Section
3(f) within the boundaries of Kerr, Real, or Bandera Counties
unless the Commissioners Court of such county or counties shall
first have consented by a majority vote thereof to the exercise of
such power within such county or counties;
(g) Pollution Prevention. To provide for the study,
correcting and control of both artificial and natural pollution
including organic, inorganic and thermal, of all ground or surface
water within the San Antonio River Basin. In this connection, the
District is given the power by ordinance to promulgate rules and
regulations with regard to such pollution, both artificial and
natural, with the right of policing by said District to enforce such
rules and regulations and of providing reasonable and commensurate
penalties for the violation of any rules and regulations, as
provided by Section 49.004, Water Code [which penalties shall be
cumulative of any penalties fixed by General Law in Texas, and not
to exceed the limit for penalties as fixed elsewhere in this Act].
Provided, however, that no ordinance enacted pursuant to the powers
hereinabove given the District by this Section 3(g) shall be
promulgated in any county or counties outside the existing
boundaries of the District;
(h) Parks, Recreational Facilities and Preservation of
Fish: For the encouragement and development of parks, recreational
facilities and the preservation of fish, the District shall have
the power to acquire additional land adjoining any permanent work
of improvement constructed within the District for the purpose of
developing parks, or recreational facilities. The District may
negotiate contracts with any county, municipality, municipal
corporation, person, firm, corporation, non-profit organization,
or State or Federal agency for the operation and/or maintenance of
any such park, or recreational facility. The preservation of fish
shall be in accordance with rules and regulations, if any,
prescribed by the Game and Fish Commission of the State of Texas;
(i) Forestation and Reforestation: To forest and reforest
and to aid in foresting and reforesting of all areas within the
District;
(j) Contractual: To make contracts and to execute
instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers,
rights, privileges and functions conferred upon it by this Act,
with the United States, its agencies, counties, cities, all
municipal corporations, political subdivisions and districts, and
with private persons, partnerships, associations, nonprofit
organizations, and corporations. The District shall make and
execute such contracts and instruments in accordance with the
following procedures:
(1) Concerning any wholesale contract for the sale,
purchase, procurement, distribution and/or supply of water or
conservation storage capacity, or for the construction of a
navigable canal or waterway, or any contract authorized by Section
1, Chapter 84, page 140, Acts of the 52nd Legislature, 1951, as
subsequently amended (codified under Article 7048b, Vernon's Civil
Statutes of Texas), the Manager shall cause a notice describing the
general nature of such contract to be published once each week for
two (2) [three (3)] consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general
circulation in each county in the District within which such
contract is to have effect. Such contract may be considered and
acted upon at the regular meeting of the Board next following the
last date of publication or, without further notice, at any meeting
thereafter. The affirmative vote of a majority of the membership
[at least seven (7) members] of the Board shall be required for the
approval of confirmation or ratification of any such contract. [Of
those seven (7) affirmative votes, at least three (3) affirmative
votes shall be cast by Board members from Bexar County, at least one
(1) affirmative vote shall be cast by a Board member from Wilson
County, at least one (1) affirmative vote shall be cast by a Board
member from Karnes County, and at least one (1) affirmative vote
shall be cast by a Board member from Goliad County.] The District
may use any such contract as the sole basis, or as a supplement to
the basis, for securing its bonds;
(2) Concerning any construction, maintenance, operation or
repair contract, contract for the purchase of material, equipment
or supplies or any contract for services, not including any
purchase, procurement, or contract described by Section 49.278,
Water Code [other than professional services], if the contract will
require an estimated expenditure of more than the maximum amount
for which competitive bidding is required by Chapter 49, Water Code
[statute for any political subdivision of the state or if the
contract is for a term of two (2) years or more], the Board[, upon
the affirmative vote of a majority of a quorum present at any
regular or special meeting,] shall award such contract to the
lowest and best bidder after publication of a notice to bidders once
each week for two (2) [three (3)] consecutive weeks. The Board by
bylaw shall promulgate the procedures for the publication of notice
to bidders and related procedures and may, within the limitations
set forth in this section, from time to time prescribe the amount of
estimated expenditures to be subjected to competitive bidding. In
the event of an emergency, the authority may let such contracts as
are necessary to protect and preserve the public health and welfare
or the properties of the authority, without such bidding
procedures. Members of the Board of Directors shall be ineligible
to submit such bids. Any provision of this Subsection to the
contrary notwithstanding, the District may purchase surplus
property from the United States by negotiated contract and without
the necessity of advertising for bids. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this Act, the District may use any procurement method
under Chapter 49, Water Code, or other applicable general law.
(k) General:
(1) This District hereby is vested with such title and right
of control as the State has, or may have, in, to and concerning the
natural bed and banks of the San Antonio River in its entire length,
and all of its tributaries as are within the District, as said
District is defined in Section 2-a of this Act, and the District
hereby is further vested with such title and right of control as the
State has, or may have, in, to and concerning the natural bed and
banks of any other navigable stream or tributary thereof as may be
situated within the District, as said District is defined in
Section 2-a of this Act; which investment, however, shall be in
trust, and to authorize said District to make such uses, and/or
disposition of such lands and rights (and the proceeds, income,
revenues, or trading values thereof) as in actual experience may
prove to be reasonably required for, or in aid of, the
accomplishment of the purposes of this Act;
(2) To make preliminary investigations and surveys in the
manner and for the purposes specified in Chapters 49 and 51, Water
Code, and any other applicable general law [said Chapter 25]
(either independently at its own cost, or jointly with others, or to
contribute to the cost thereof when done by another), whereby to
procure cooperation by the Government of the United States of
America, to the end that any project lawfully within the purposes of
this Act may be approved for construction as a Federal project under
such contractual terms and conditions as may be demanded by the
Federal Congress;
(3) To expend all sums reasonably deemed to be necessary or
expedient for seeking cooperation in accomplishing the objects of
this Act from the Federal Government, and/or any and all other
persons, creatures, or entities, whether natural, or creatures of
law or contract;
(4) Subject to the provisions of this Act from time to time
to sell or otherwise dispose of any property of any kind, real,
personal, or mixed, or any interest therein, which shall not be
necessary to the carrying on of the business of the District;
(5) To overflow and inundate any public lands and public
property and to require the relocation of roads and highways in
manner and to the extent permitted to districts organized under
General Laws pursuant to Section 59 of Article 16 of the
Constitution of the State of Texas. In the event that the District,
in the exercise of the power of eminent domain or power of
relocation, or any other power granted hereunder, makes necessary
the relocation, raising, rerouting or changing the grade of, or
altering the construction of any railroad, or street railway, all
such necessary relocation, raising, rerouting, changing of grade or
alteration of construction shall be accomplished at the sole
expense of the District;
(6) To construct, extend, improve, maintain and
reconstruct, to cause to be constructed, extended, improved,
maintained, and reconstructed, and to use and operate, any and all
facilities of any kind necessary or convenient to the exercise of
such powers, rights, privileges, and functions;
(7) To sue and to be sued in its corporate name;
(8) To adopt, use, and alter a corporate seal;
(9) To adopt and to amend its bylaws for the management of
its affairs;
(10) To appoint officers, agents, employees and
professional consultants, none of whom shall have any interest,
direct or indirect, in any contracts awarded by the District;
(11) To prescribe the duties and fix the compensation of all
officers, agents, employees and professional consultants;
(12) To acquire by purchase, lease, gift, or in any other
lawful manner and to maintain, use, and operate any and all property
of any kind, real, personal or mixed, or any interest therein,
within and without the boundaries of the District, necessary or
convenient to the exercise of the powers, rights, privileges and
functions conferred upon it by this Act, in the manner provided by
general law with respect to condemnation or, at the option of the
District, in the manner provided by the statutes relative to
condemnation by Districts organized under general law pursuant to
Section 59 of Article 16 of the Constitution of the State of Texas;
(13) [To condemn lands used or dedicated for cemetery
purposes in the manner provided by the General Law of Texas where
reasonably necessary to effectuate the powers, rights, privileges
and functions of the District, provided, however, that, when such
power of condemnation is sought to be exercised with respect to any
Perpetual Care cemetery, as defined in Article 912a, Vernon's Civil
Statutes of the State of Texas, as to the condemnation of any such
Perpetual Care cemetery or portion thereof, jurisdiction is hereby
conferred for such purpose on the District Court or Courts of the
county in which such cemetery land or any part thereof may be
located, and such condemnation action shall likewise involve the
issue of the removal of the dedication thereof as such Perpetual
Care cemetery and the issue of the necessity for such taking;
[(14)] To borrow money for its corporate purposes and to
execute proper notes or other evidences of indebtedness, and
without limitation of the generality of the foregoing, to borrow
money and accept grants from the United States of America, and in
connection with any such loan or grant, to enter into such
agreements as the United States of America or such corporation or
agency may require; and to make and issue its negotiable bonds for
moneys borrowed in the manner and to the extent provided in Section
16. Nothing in this Act shall authorize the issuance of any bonds,
notes, or other evidences of indebtedness of the District, except
as specifically provided in this Act, and no issuance of bonds,
notes, or other evidences of indebtedness, except as specifically
provided in this Act, shall ever be authorized except by an Act of
the Legislature;
(14) [(15)] To obtain loans from and accept grants from the
United States and its agencies, and from the State of Texas, and its
agencies, and it shall have the right to participate in and be the
beneficiary of any plan which may be evolved by the State or Federal
Government for guaranteeing or otherwise subsidizing the
obligations of the District;
(15) [(16)] The District shall have the power to adopt and
promulgate by ordinance all reasonable rules and regulations for
purposes elsewhere provided in this Act and generally to secure and
protect any and all of its property and any and all of its works of
improvement, and to regulate residence, hunting, fishing, boating
and camping, and all recreational and business privileges on any
navigable river of the District, or any reservoir of the District,
or upon any land owned by the District. The District may prescribe
reasonable and commensurate penalties for the violation of any and
all such rules and regulations of the District, as provided by
Section 49.004, Water Code [which penalties shall be cumulative of
any penalties fixed by the General Law in Texas and shall not exceed
fines of more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200), or imprisonment for
not more than one hundred eighty (180) days, or may provide for both
such fine and imprisonment]. No rule or regulation which provides a
penalty for the violation thereof shall be in effect, as to
enforcement of the penalty, until five (5) days next after the
District may have caused a substantive statement of the particular
rule or regulation and the penalty for the violation thereof to be
published once a week for two (2) [three (3)] consecutive weeks in a
newspaper of general circulation in each county in which it is to be
effective. The substantive statement so to be published shall be as
condensed as is possible to afford an intelligent direction of the
mind to the act forbidden by the rule or regulation; one (1) notice
may embrace any number of regulations; there must be embraced in the
notice advice that breach of the particular regulation, or
regulations, will subject the violator to the infliction of a
penalty and there also shall be included in the notice advice that
the full text of the regulations sought to be enforced is on file in
the principal office of the District, where the same may be read by
any interested person. Five (5) days after the second [third]
publication of the notice hereby required, the advertised
regulation shall be in effect, and ignorance of any such regulation
shall not constitute a defense to a prosecution for the enforcement
of a penalty and, the rules and regulations authorized hereby,
after the required publication, shall judicially be known to the
courts [and shall be considered of a nature like unto that of valid
penal ordinance of a city of the State]. Section 49.004, Water
Code, governs costs incurred by the District before the court in any
suit by the District to enforce its rules or regulations [The
District shall be primarily liable for any court costs incurred
hereunder, and the cost to maintain any offender committed for
imprisonment hereunder. Any fine imposed in any such proceeding
and paid in money shall be payable to this District and applied as
its Board may direct];
(16) [(17)] To designate an official newspaper of the
District in each county in the District, each of which newspapers
shall be a newspaper having general circulation in the county in
which it is situated;
(17) [(18)] To acquire such rights-of-way as are necessary
to construct, operate and maintain such roads as are necessary for
ingress and egress to any work of improvement or to any park,
recreational facility, or fish or wildlife preserve or reserve;
(18) [(19)] To grant concessions and franchises upon the
premises of any works of improvement or any park, recreational
facility or fish or wildlife preserve or reserve to any person or
corporation;
(19) [(20)] When germane to the accomplishment and the
purposes of this Act, and not otherwise adequately provided by
Chapter 49 or 51, Water Code [Chapter 25], or provided elsewhere in
this Act, the Directors of the District shall have the power to
adopt and promulgate ordinances, which may be done by a majority of
the membership of the Board [(except as specifically provided
elsewhere in this Act) of those Directors present at any meeting
held in compliance with the provisions of the bylaws at which there
must be present a majority of the Board, constituting a quorum]. No
notice shall be required before the passage of such ordinance,
except such notices of special or regular meetings of the Board as
may be provided elsewhere in this Act. After having adopted such
ordinances, the Directors shall cause the same to be filed and
recorded in the official records of the Authority. The Directors
may, if they deem necessary and proper, in addition to filing and
recording same in the official records of the Authority, either
caused certified copies of same to be forthwith filed of record in
the office of the County Clerk of each county situated in whole or
in part within the District within which such ordinance is intended
to have application and/or to be published once or more each week
for two (2) [three (3)] or more consecutive weeks in a newspaper or
newspapers of general circulation in each county within the
District within which ordinance is intended to have application,
following either or all of which methods of recording and/or
publication the ordinance shall be in full force and effect; and
thereafter all courts and persons shall be held to have knowledge
thereof, just as though the same had been embraced in the body of
this Act and the County Clerk in any county is authorized and
directed to file and record all certified copies of such county and
to charge therefor the same fees as is provided for recording deeds
of conveyance. And the powers of said District to adopt ordinances
shall include, among other things as follows: in any case in which
Chapters 49 and 51, Water Code, do [said Chapter 25 does] not
provide a specific power or right germane to, or appropriate, or
adequate to accomplish an object of this Act, and such specific
power has been, or hereafter may, conferred by law on Counties,
Cities, Water Improvement Districts, Water Control and Improvement
Districts, Drainage Districts, Navigation Districts, Canal
Corporations, Channel and Dock Corporations, Deep Water
Corporations, Railway Corporations, Terminal Railway Corporations,
Telegraph and Telephone Corporations, or other like creatures of
the law, then to the extent [intent] required to make adequate
hereto the powers and rights of this District, it may by ordinance
adopt and have as part of the law of its being so much of the power
and right of any of the herein designated creatures of the law as
will enable it effectively to accomplish that purpose of this Act.
The adoption of a power or mode of procedure hereunder shall not be
held to include any incidental limitation which would impede the
lawful accomplishment of the purposes of this Act. As to this,
there shall be no limit hereof save such as would violate the
provisions of the Constitution of the United States and the State of
Texas concerning the rights of others;
(20) [(21)] This District shall have all such powers and
rights, and regulations for government and procedure, as are
contained in Chapters 49 and 51, Water Code, and any other
applicable general law [said Chapter 25], which shall be cumulative
of those provided by this Act, and those rules for procedure which
may be provided by ordinances adopted by the District under other
provisions of this Act.
SECTION 3. Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1937, is amended by adding Section 5 to read as
follows:
Sec. 5. PARTNERSHIP WITH NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION. (a) In
this section, "affiliated nonprofit organization" means a
nonprofit organization:
(1) created by the District; or
(2) for which the District, the Board, or the
District's employees have a right to appoint one or more of the
members of the governing body of the nonprofit organization.
(b) The District may contract or otherwise coordinate with a
nonprofit organization, including an affiliated nonprofit
organization, to accomplish the purposes of the District.
(c) Members of the Board may not constitute a majority of
the board of directors or other governing body of an affiliated
nonprofit organization. Employees of the District may not serve on
the board of directors or other governing body of an affiliated
nonprofit organization.
(d) The Board shall develop a policy regarding fund-raising
activities of any nonprofit organizations that enter into a
partnership with the District. The policy must:
(1) include acceptable and prohibited fund-raising
activities;
(2) specify how fund-raising is conducted and
supervised; and
(3) include criteria for seeking and selecting
corporate sponsors to ensure that sponsorships serve the public
interest and are consistent with the purposes of the District.
(e) A memorandum of understanding between the District and
an affiliated nonprofit organization entered into under this
section must include the policy developed by the Board under
Subsection (d) of this section.
SECTION 4. Section 9, Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 9. GOVERNING BODY OF THE DISTRICT; QUALIFICATIONS OF
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD; VACANCIES; TERM OF OFFICE. The government and
control of the District shall be vested in a Board of Directors
consisting of 12 [twelve (12)] members, 6 [six (6)] of whom shall be
elected from Bexar County, 2 [two (2)] of whom shall be elected from
Wilson County, 2 [two (2)] of whom shall be elected from Karnes
County, and 2 [two (2)] of whom shall be elected from Goliad County.
Each director shall serve for a term of four [six (6)] years, and
shall hold office until the director's [his] successor has been
elected and has qualified by taking the oath of office. Before
entering upon the duties of the member's [his] office, each member
of the Board shall take the Constitutional Oath of Office and the
same shall be filed in written form with the Secretary of the Board.
Vacancies occurring on the Board from any county shall be filled by
appointment by the Governor of the State, with the advice and
consent of the Senate, for such unexpired term. Any person over the
age of 21 [twenty-one (21)] years, residing within the District and
within the county from which the person [he] is elected or
appointed, and possessing the qualifications of a juror shall be
eligible to be elected or appointed and to serve as a director.
SECTION 5. Section 10, Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 10. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS. All elections within the
District shall be carried out in accordance with rules set forth in
the bylaws and the Election Code, and the results of all elections
shall be canvassed by the Board of Directors of the District at the
regular meeting next following each biennial election. All
elections shall be held on the uniform election date in November
[third Saturday in January] of each odd-numbered year and at the
polling places designated by the Board of Directors of the
District. The terms of office of Directors elected at each election
after the said first election shall commence on the first day of
January [February] following their election. In all elections the
following rules shall apply:
(a) Those persons seeking to have their names placed on the
official ballot shall make application to the Secretary of the
Board in accordance with rules prescribed by the Board either in the
ordinance calling the election or in the bylaws.
(b) The Secretary of the Board shall make up the official
ballot for each county from the names of candidates who have filed
applications, and the placing of the names of the candidates on the
ballots shall be determined by lot. The drawing of lots for the
placing of the names of the candidates on the ballots shall be by
the Secretary of the Board, and all candidates, or their designated
representatives, may be present at such drawing.
(c) The Directors from Wilson, Karnes, and Goliad Counties
shall be elected at large from each county. Four (4) Directors from
Bexar County shall be elected from single-member districts and two
(2) Directors shall be elected at large. The four (4) single-member
districts shall be coterminous with and bear the same number as the
Bexar County Commissioners Precincts. A candidate for a
single-member district position must live in the district the
candidate seeks to represent.
(d) The candidates receiving the greatest number of votes,
that is a plurality, shall be declared elected. Should there be a
tie in the votes received, the winner of the election shall be
determined by the majority of the Board. The two (2) at-large
Directors of Bexar County shall be elected simultaneously by
plurality, and the two (2) candidates receiving the greatest number
of votes shall be declared elected.
(e) Directors of the District serving from single-member
districts at the time new single-member districts are adopted shall
serve for the remainder of the terms to which they were elected
regardless of the redistricting.
SECTION 6. Section 13, Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 13. ORGANIZATION AND MEETINGS OF THE BOARD; OFFICERS;
QUORUM. There [At the first regular meeting of the Board held in
the month of February of each odd-numbered year, there] shall be
appointed by a majority vote of the Board of Directors from its
membership a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Secretary and a
Treasurer, and any other officers or assistant officers the Board
considers necessary. Assistant officers[, if deemed proper, an
Assistant Secretary and an Assistant Treasurer, who] need not be
members of the Board of Directors and [who] may be granted limited
powers in the bylaws. The officers so appointed shall serve for a
term of two (2) years and until their successors have been
appointed, except that assistant officers [the Assistant Secretary
and the Assistant Treasurer], if such officers are appointed, shall
hold office at the pleasure of the Board. A quorum at all meetings
of the Board of Directors shall consist of not less than seven (7)
members. [A quorum at all meetings of the Executive Committee shall
consist of not less than three (3) members.] Regular and special
meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held as provided by
general law and the bylaws, and notice of such meetings shall be
given as required by general law and the bylaws. [The Board shall
meet periodically with the Texas Water Commission.] All meetings
of the Board shall be open to the public.
SECTION 7. Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1937, is amended by adding Sections 13-a, 13-b,
13-c, and 13-d to read as follows:
Sec. 13-a. TRAINING FOR BOARD MEMBERS. (a) A person who is
elected or appointed to and qualifies for office as a member of the
Board may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member 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 the District's operations;
(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
District;
(3) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
authority of the Board;
(4) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
District;
(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
District or the Texas Ethics Commission.
(c) A person elected or 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 Manager of the District shall create a training
manual that includes the information required by Subsection (b) of
this section. The Manager of the District shall distribute a copy
of the training manual annually to each member of the Board. Each
member of the Board shall sign and submit to the Manager of the
District a statement acknowledging that the member received and
reviewed the training manual.
Sec. 13-b. POLICIES TO SEPARATE POLICY-MAKING AND STAFF
FUNCTIONS. The Board shall develop and implement policies that
clearly separate the policy-making responsibilities of the Board
and the management responsibilities of the Manager and the staff of
the District.
Sec. 13-c. PUBLIC TESTIMONY AT BOARD MEETINGS. 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 District.
Sec. 13-d. COMPLAINT INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS. (a) The
District shall maintain a system to promptly and efficiently act on
complaints filed with the District. The District 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 District shall make information available
describing its procedures for complaint investigation and
resolution.
(c) The District shall periodically notify the complaint
parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition
unless the notice would jeopardize an investigation.
SECTION 8. Section 14, Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 14. POWERS OF THE BOARD AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE; BONDS
REQUIRED. The Board of Directors shall be responsible for the
management and control of all affairs of the District. In
connection therewith, the Board of Directors shall have the power:
(a) To exercise all the powers, rights, privileges and
functions conferred by law upon the District;
(b) To adopt all such bylaws as are not inconsistent with
the law[. The bylaws may provide for the designation by the Board
of an Executive Committee of five (5) members upon whom the
District's Manager may call for policy decisions and advice
concerning matters which arise between meetings of the Board and
which may authorize, on behalf of the District, the execution of any
contract involving the expenditure of an amount no greater than
Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000)];
(c) To appoint and fix the salary of a Manager, who shall be
the chief executive officer of the District. The Manager shall
employ and supervise, subject to policies promulgated by the Board,
all employees, agents, accountants, attorneys, engineers and
others rendering professional services necessary and required to
accomplish the purposes of this Act. The Manager may execute, on
behalf of the District, without specific authorization of the
Board, any contract not subject to competitive bidding. The
Manager may execute on behalf of the District and with specific
authorization of the Board, any other contract.
Except as specifically provided elsewhere in this Act, all
the powers, rights, privileges and functions of the District may be
exercised by a majority of the membership of the Board [those
Directors present at any meeting of the Board (or of the Executive
Committee if the sum involved is no greater than Twenty Thousand
Dollars ($20,000) held in compliance with the provisions of the
bylaws at which meeting there must be present a majority of the
Board (or of the Executive Committee), constituting a quorum].
Said Board of Directors shall have all such additional powers
as may be conferred on this District by the other provisions of this
Act, Chapters 49 and 51, Water Code, and any other general law
applicable to river authorities or water control and improvement
districts [and said Chapter 25], and of said Article 16, Section 59,
of the Constitution of the State of Texas; provided, however, that
members of the Board shall be ineligible to engage in any
transaction for gain or profit with the District.
The Directors and all officers of the District who are not
Directors shall, within fifteen (15) days after their election or
appointment, file a good and sufficient bond with the Secretary of
the Board; the official bond of each Director and Officer shall be
in the sum of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000), shall be payable to
the District, shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of
their duties as such Directors or Officers, and shall be subject to
approval by the Secretary of the Board.
SECTION 9. Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1937, is amended by adding Section 14-b to read as
follows:
Sec. 14-b. FISCAL YEAR. The District's fiscal year ends on
September 30 of each year.
SECTION 10. Section 15-a, Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 15-a. TAXATION. Subject to the limitation as to the
maximum rate of tax as prescribed in this Section, the District may
levy and collect throughout the territory of the District such ad
valorem taxes as are voted at an election or elections called by the
Board for that purpose and conducted throughout the territory of
the District. The maximum rate of tax which can be levied and
collected for any year shall be two cents (2¢) on the One Hundred
Dollars ($100) of taxable property based on its assessed valuation,
in accordance with the following conditions and procedures:
(a) The Board of Directors of the District may, by
ordinance, call an election to submit to the voters for approval
such taxation; provided that a public hearing to discuss the
proposed tax issue shall be held in each county in the District,
said public hearing to be held not less than ten (10) days nor more
than twenty-five (25) days prior to the scheduled date of any such
election, and said hearings shall be called by the Board of
Directors of the District and notice of the time, day, date, place
and purpose of said meeting shall be given by publishing said notice
in at least one (1) newspaper of general circulation in each county
where the meeting is to be held at least ten (10) days prior to such
hearing;
(b) [Only qualified electors, owning taxable property
within the boundaries of the District and who have duly rendered
their property for taxation shall be entitled to vote in any such
election. An elector otherwise qualified must vote in the county of
his residence and at the polling place designated for the precinct
of his residence.] The order [ordinance] calling the election
shall specify the polling place or places in each of the several
counties. The notice of election will be sufficient as to any
county within the District if it states that the election is to be
held throughout the territory comprising the District and if it
specifies the polling place or places in such county. But it shall
not be necessary to publish such details except in the county in
which they are applicable;
(c) Returns of the election shall be made to the Board, and
the Board shall canvass the returns of the election and adopt an
ordinance declaring the results thereof. The Board may levy taxes
within the maximum rate thus voted if a majority of the votes cast
throughout the District are in favor of the levy of the tax and if a
majority of the votes cast in any three (3) counties in the District
are in favor of the levy of the tax;
(d) The rate of tax shall be uniform throughout the
territory comprising the District, and shall be certified by the
Chairman and the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the District
to the Tax Assessor and the Tax Collector of each included county;
(e) After an election has resulted favorably to the levy of
a tax, the Board of Directors may borrow money payable therefrom and
may evidence such loan by a negotiable note given in the name of the
District;
(f) Any taxes thus collected shall be used for the purpose
of general administration[, preparation of the Master Plan provided
for in Section 4-a,] and for [other] planning and other services
with respect to any of the purposes, rights, privileges and
functions of the District; provided, however, that none of the
taxes thus collected shall be used to pay for or finance the
construction of any dams, reservoirs, levees, channels, pipelines
or other major physical works of the District, or pay for the cost
of any right-of-way acquisitions, or the expenses of right-of-way
acquisition, or damages awarded by any Court under Article 1,
Section 17, of the Constitution of the State of Texas. It is the
intent of this Act that any taxes thus collected will enable the
District to accomplish its purposes, including [develop a Master
Plan for] the maximum development of the soil and water resources of
the District, it [is] being hereby found and determined that the
benefits to be realized from such maximum development can be
obtained only through area-wide participation and planning. It is
the intent of this Act that the construction of any dams,
reservoirs, levees, channels, pipelines or other major physical
works of the District shall be paid for or financed by revenue bonds
of the District to be redeemed either by the sale of services or by
taxes to be levied by a county or municipality and paid over to the
District as an independent contractor of said county or
municipality. It is likewise the intent of this Act that any taxes
thus collected may be used to pay for the operation, repair and/or
maintenance of any flood control, soil conservation, watershed
protection and/or erosion structures or works of improvement
constructed in cooperation with the Federal Government; provided,
however, that any such operation, repair and/or maintenance costs
shall be paid for out of taxes thus collected in the county in which
the particular structure or work of improvement is situated. It is
further the intent of this Act that the taxes authorized by this
Section 15-a thus collected shall not be pledged to the redemption
of any bonds of the District.
SECTION 11. Section 18(b), Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows:
(b) Disposition of Property. Nothing in this Act shall be
construed as authorizing the District, or any receiver of its
properties, or any court, to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of any
of its property of any kind, real, personal or mixed, or any
interest therein, unless such sale, lease or other disposition has
been generally authorized by this Act or a general law applicable to
the District; provided, however, that the District may sell or
otherwise dispose of any property of any kind or any interest in
property that is not necessary to carry on the business of the
Authority provided that the Board, by a majority vote of a quorum
present at any regular or special meeting, determines that the
property is not convenient to the business of the Authority and is
surplus. The Board shall cause a notice of such proposed sale to be
published once each week for two (2) [three (3)] consecutive weeks
in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or counties in
which said property or interest therein is situated if the
appraised value of said property or interest therein is in excess of
Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000) and if the said property or interest
therein is not partial or total consideration in a transaction for
the exchange of properties.
SECTION 12. Sections 1(c), 4-a, and 14-a, Chapter 276, Acts
of the 45th Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, are repealed.
SECTION 13. (a) The change in law made by this Act to the
terms of the directors of the San Antonio River Authority applies
only to the term of a director who is appointed or elected on or
after the effective date of this Act.
(b) The two at-large director positions for Bexar County
shall be scheduled for election on the November uniform election
date in 2023. The person who receives the highest number of votes
shall be elected to the first at-large Bexar County director
position and shall serve a four-year term beginning January 1,
2024, and ending December 31, 2027. An election shall be scheduled
for that position on the November uniform election date in 2027 and
every four years thereafter. The person who receives the second
highest number of votes shall be elected to the second at-large
Bexar County director position and shall serve a two-year term
beginning January 1, 2024, and ending December 31, 2025. An
election shall be scheduled for that position on the November
uniform election date in 2025 and every four years thereafter for a
four-year term beginning on January 1 of the year following each
election.
(c) The following director positions shall be scheduled for
election on the November uniform election date in 2025 and every
four years thereafter, and the directors elected to each position
shall serve four-year terms beginning January 1 of the year
following each election:
(1) the single-member district director elected from
Bexar County commissioners court precinct 1;
(2) the single-member district director elected from
Bexar County commissioners court precinct 2;
(3) the at-large director position for Karnes County
for which an election was held, or scheduled to be held but canceled
because of an unopposed candidate, in November 2019;
(4) the at-large director position for Goliad County
for which an election was held, or scheduled to be held but canceled
because of an unopposed candidate, in November 2019; and
(5) the at-large director position for Wilson County
for which an election was held, or scheduled to be held but canceled
because of an unopposed candidate, in November 2019.
(d) The following director positions shall be scheduled for
election on the November uniform election date in 2027 and every
four years thereafter, and the directors elected to those director
positions shall serve four-year terms beginning January 1 of the
year following each election:
(1) the single-member district director elected from
Bexar County commissioners court precinct 3;
(2) the single-member district director elected from
Bexar County commissioners court precinct 4;
(3) the at-large director position for Karnes County
for which an election was held, or scheduled to be held but canceled
because of an unopposed candidate, in November 2021;
(4) the at-large director position for Goliad County
for which an election was held, or scheduled to be held but canceled
because of an unopposed candidate, in November 2021; and
(5) the at-large director position for Wilson County
for which an election was held, or scheduled to be held but canceled
because of an unopposed candidate, in November 2021.
(e) The members of the board of directors serving in the
director positions described by Subsections (b), (c), and (d) of
this section on the effective date of this Act shall continue to
serve until their successors have been elected and qualified.
(f) Notwithstanding Section 13-a, Chapter 276, Acts of the
45th Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, as added by this Act, a
person serving on the board of directors of the district may vote,
deliberate, and be counted as a director in attendance at a meeting
of the board until December 1, 2023.
SECTION 14. (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 15. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, this Act takes effect immediately if it receives a
vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
(b) Section 14-b, Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1937, as added by this Act, takes effect January 1,
2025.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1535 was passed by the House on April
26, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 147, Nays 1, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1535 was passed by the Senate on May
10, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor