Bill Text: TX HB1555 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Relating to the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, following the recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; altering terms of the board of directors; specifying grounds for the removal of a member of the board of directors.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 4-2)

Status: (Passed) 2023-05-24 - Effective on 9/1/23 [HB1555 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB1555-Enrolled.html

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H.B. No. 1555

AN ACT
relating to the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, following the
recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; altering terms
of the board of directors; specifying grounds for the removal of a
member of the board of directors.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1A(a), Chapter 5, page 1062, Special
Laws, Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1A. (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 8, Chapter 5, page 1062, Special Laws,
Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is amended to
read as follows:
Section 8. The [It shall not be necessary for the Board of
Directors to call or hold a hearing on the adoption of a plan of
taxation, but the] ad valorem plan of taxation shall be used by the
District.
SECTION 3. Section 9, Chapter 5, page 1062, Special Laws,
Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is amended by
amending Subsections (b), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (f) to
read as follows:
(b) Directors are appointed by the Governor. The Governor
shall designate a Director as the president of the Board to serve in
that capacity at the pleasure of the Governor. Directors are
appointed for staggered terms of four [six (6)] years with either
four or five [three] Directors' terms expiring on February 1 of each
odd-numbered year. The Governor shall fill a vacancy on the Board
by appointment for the unexpired term.
(c) The Board of Directors shall elect from its number a
[president, a] vice president and a secretary of the Board of
Directors and of the District, and such other officers as in the
judgment of the Board are necessary. The president, as designated
by the Governor, shall be chief executive officer of the District
and the presiding officer of the Board, and shall have the same
right to vote as any other Director. The vice president shall
perform all duties and exercise all power conferred by this Act or
the general law upon the president when the president is absent or
fails or declines to act. The secretary shall keep and sign the
minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors; and in the
secretary's [his] absence at any board meeting, a secretary pro tem
shall be named for that meeting who may exercise all the duties and
powers of the secretary for such meeting, sign the minutes thereof,
and attest all orders passed or other action taken at such meeting.
The secretary shall be the custodian of all minutes and records of
the District.
(d) The Board shall appoint a general manager of the
District and all necessary engineers, attorneys, auditors, and
other employees.
(f) The Board shall develop and implement policies that
clearly separate the policy-making responsibilities of the Board
and the management responsibilities of the general manager and the
staff of the District.
SECTION 4. Chapter 5, page 1062, Special Laws, Acts of the
46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is amended by adding
Sections 9A, 9B, 9C, and 9D to read as follows:
Sec. 9A. (a) It is a ground for removal from the Board that
a Director:
(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
qualifications required by Section 9(a) of this Act;
(2) does not maintain during service on the Board the
qualifications required by Section 9(a) of this Act;
(3) is ineligible for directorship under Chapter 171,
Local Government Code;
(4) cannot, because of illness or disability,
discharge the Director's duties for a substantial part of the
Director's term; or
(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
scheduled Board meetings that the Director is eligible to attend
during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote
of the Board.
(b) The validity of an action of the Board is not affected by
the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a Director
exists.
(c) If the general manager has knowledge that a potential
ground for removal exists, the general manager shall notify the
President of the Board of the potential ground. The President shall
then notify the Governor and the Attorney General that a potential
ground for removal exists. If the potential ground for removal
involves the President, the general manager shall notify the next
highest ranking Director, who shall then notify the Governor and
the Attorney General that a potential ground for removal exists.
Sec. 9B. (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 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 District 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 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 general manager of the District shall create a
training manual that includes the information required by
Subsection (b) of this section. The general manager shall
distribute a copy of the training manual annually to each Director.
Each Director shall sign and submit to the general manager a
statement acknowledging that the Director received and has reviewed
the training manual.
Sec. 9C. (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.
Sec. 9D. 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.
SECTION 5. Section 7, Chapter 5, page 1062, Special Laws,
Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is repealed.
SECTION 6. At the first meeting of the board of the Upper
Guadalupe River Authority that follows the effective date of this
Act, the six directors of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority whose
terms do not expire on February 1, 2025, shall draw lots to
determine which director will serve a term that expires on February
1, 2025, and which five directors will serve terms that expire on
February 1, 2027. The three directors with terms expiring on
February 1, 2025, will serve terms that expire on that date.
SECTION 7. Notwithstanding Section 9B, Chapter 5, page
1062, Special Laws, Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session,
1939, as added by this Act, a person serving on the board of
directors of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority may vote,
deliberate, and be counted as a director in attendance at a meeting
of the board until December 1, 2023.
SECTION 8. (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 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1555 was passed by the House on April
26, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 3, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1555 was passed by the Senate on May
10, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor