Bill Text: TX SB606 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Enrolled

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

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2019-05-07 - Effective on 9/1/19 [SB606 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-SB606-Enrolled.html

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S.B. No. 606

AN ACT
relating to the Lower Colorado River Authority, following
recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 8503.0021(a), Special District Local
Laws Code, 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 not include the management of the
generation or transmission of electricity under the wholesale
electricity operation of the authority and the authority's
affiliated nonprofit corporations. 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 2. Chapter 8503, Special District Local Laws Code,
is amended by adding Sections 8503.0065, 8503.0105, 8503.0106,
8503.0107, and 8503.0108 to read as follows:
Sec. 8503.0065. 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 results of the most recent formal audit of the
authority;
(4) 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
(5) 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 general manager of the authority shall create a
training manual that includes the information required by
Subsection (b). 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 has received and reviewed the training manual.
Sec. 8503.0105. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT POLICY. The board shall
develop and implement a policy that provides a structure for public
engagement in regard to water supply projects. The policy must
include a clear and detailed description of how the authority will
seek to actively engage stakeholders, including the possible use
of:
(1) advisory committees;
(2) community panels;
(3) town hall meetings; and
(4) other strategies on a recurring basis.
Sec. 8503.0106. 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 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 authority shall make information available to the
public, including on the authority's website, 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.
(d) The authority shall develop a standard form and a
procedure for submitting complaints to the authority and shall make
that form and procedure available on the authority's website. The
authority shall also make available on its website clear
information about what a person making a complaint should expect
after the complaint is filed, including timelines for response and
resolution.
Sec. 8503.0107. PUBLIC TESTIMONY. (a) In this section,
"committee-of-the-whole" means a committee of the board in which
every director is a member of the committee, regardless of whether
all members are present at a particular meeting of the
committee-of-the-whole.
(b) 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.
(c) At each regular meeting of the board and each meeting as
a committee-of-the-whole, the board shall include public testimony
as a meeting agenda item and allow members of the public to comment
on every agenda item and other matters under the jurisdiction of the
authority. The board may not deliberate or decide a matter not
included in the meeting agenda except to discuss including the
matter on the agenda for a subsequent meeting.
Sec. 8503.0108. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEDURES.
(a) The board shall develop a policy to encourage the use of
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);
(2) provide training as needed to implement the
procedures for alternative dispute resolution; and
(3) collect data concerning the effectiveness of those
procedures.
SECTION 3. Notwithstanding Section 8503.0065, Special
District Local Laws Code, as added by this Act, a person serving on
the board of directors of the Lower Colorado River Authority may
vote, deliberate, and be counted as a director in attendance at a
meeting of the board until December 1, 2019.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 606 passed the Senate on
April 15, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 606 passed the House on
April 26, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 137, Nays 0, two
present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor