Bill Text: TX SB626 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Relating to the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority; following the recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission.

Sponsorship: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 5-2)

Status: (Passed) 2019-05-07 - Effective on 9/1/19 [SB626 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-SB626-Enrolled.html

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S.B. No. 626

AN ACT
relating to the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority; following the
recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1A(a), Chapter 75, Acts of the 43rd
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933, 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, 2031 [2019], and every 12th year after
that year.
SECTION 2. Section 2, Chapter 75, Acts of the 43rd
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 2. Except as expressly limited by this Act, the
District shall have and is hereby authorized to exercise all
powers, rights, privileges, and functions conferred by General Law,
now in force or hereafter enacted, upon any District or Districts
created pursuant to Section 59, of Article 16, of the Constitution
of the State of Texas (excluding underground water conservation
districts), and the same are adopted by reference. Without
limitation of the generality of the foregoing, the District shall
have and is hereby authorized to exercise the following powers,
rights, privileges, and functions;
(a) to control, store and preserve, within or adjoining the
boundaries of the District, the waters of any rivers and streams,
including the waters of the Guadalupe and Blanco Rivers and their
tributaries, for all useful purposes, and to use, distribute and
sell the same, within the boundaries of the District, for any such
purposes;
(b) to conserve, preserve and develop underground waters
within the boundaries of the District (subject to any applicable
regulation by the State or any political subdivision) for all
useful purposes, and to use, distribute and sell the same, within
the boundaries of the District for any such purposes;
(c) to acquire water, water supply facilities and
conservation storage capacity within or without the District from
any person, including the State or any of its agencies and
subdivisions and the United States of America and any of its
agencies and subdivisions;
(d) to use, distribute and sell, without the boundaries of
the District, any waters which may be controlled, stored,
preserved, conserved, developed or acquired by the District, if the
Board hereinafter referred to determines that adequate provision
can be made to continue to serve the water requirements within the
boundaries of the District, provided the District shall not enter
into any agreement which contemplates or results in the removal
from the watershed of the Guadalupe and Blanco Rivers and their
tributaries of any surface water of the District necessary to
supply the reasonably foreseeable future water requirements for
municipal uses during the next ensuing fifty-year period within
such watershed, except on a temporary, interim basis;
(e) to develop and generate water power and electric energy
within the boundaries of the District and to distribute and sell
water power and electric energy, within or without the boundaries
of the District;
(f) to prevent or aid in the prevention of damage to person
or property from the waters of the Guadalupe and Blanco Rivers and
their tributaries;
(g) to forest and reforest and to aid in the foresting and
reforesting of the watershed area of the Guadalupe and Blanco
Rivers and their tributaries and to prevent and to aid in the
prevention of soil erosion and floods within said watershed area;
(h) to develop the navigation of inland waters within the
boundaries of the District and any facilities in aid thereof;
(i) to develop the reclamation and drainage of overflowed
lands and other lands needing drainage within the boundaries of the
District and any facilities in aid thereof (but not to reclaim or
drain coastal wetlands or inland marshes);
(j) to develop the collection, transportation, treatment,
disposal and handling of any waste as such term may be defined by
General Law and any facilities in aid thereof (but only with the
consent of a city if sanitary sewer facilities for the collection,
treatment and disposal of sewage are to be constructed or acquired
within its corporate limits);
(k) to conserve and develop waters and lands for recreation
purposes and any facilities in aid thereof;
(l) to acquire by purchase, lease, gift or in any other
manner (otherwise than by condemnation) and to maintain, use and
operate any and all property of any kind, real, personal, or mixed,
or any interest therein, within or 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;
(m) to acquire by condemnation any and all property of any
kind, real, personal or mixed, or any interest therein, within or
without the boundaries of the District (other than such property or
any interest therein without the boundaries of the District as may
at the time be owned by any body politic) 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;
(n) subject to the provisions of this Act from time to time
sell, lease, 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 or the
sale, lease, or disposition of which, in the judgment of the Board
hereinafter referred to, is necessary or convenient to the exercise
of the powers, rights, privileges and functions conferred upon the
District by this Act or by General Law;
(o) to overflow and inundate any public lands and public
property and to require the relocation of roads, pipelines,
transmission lines, railroads, cemeteries and highways in the
manner and to the extent permitted to Districts organized under
General Law pursuant to Section 59, of Article 16, of the
Constitution of the State of Texas; provided that if the District
requires the relocation, raising, lowering, rerouting, or change in
grade or alteration in the construction of any railroad,
transmission lines, conduits, poles, properties, or facilities, or
pipelines in the exercise of the power of eminent domain or any
other power, all of the relocation, raising, lowering, rerouting or
changes in grade or alteration of construction shall be the sole
expense of the District. The term 'sole expense' means the actual
cost of relocation, raising, lowering, rerouting, or change in
grade or alteration of construction to provide comparable
replacement without enhancement of facilities, after deducting the
net salvage value derived from the old facility;
(p) 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;
(q) to sue and to be sued in its corporate name;
(r) to adopt, use and alter a corporate seal;
(s) to invest and re-invest its funds;
(t) to make by-laws for the management and regulation of its
affairs;
(u) to appoint officers, agents, and employees, to
prescribe their duties and to fix their compensation;
(v) 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 or General Law for such
term and with such provisions as the Board hereinafter referred to
may determine to be in the best interests of the District,
including, without in any way limiting the generality of the
foregoing, contracts with persons, including the State of Texas,
the United States of America and any corporation or agency thereof
and districts, cities, towns, persons, organizations,
associations, firms, corporations, entities or others, as such
Board may deem necessary or proper for, or in connection with, any
corporate purpose to provide for the construction, acquisition,
ownership, financing, operation, maintenance, sale, leasing to or
from, or other use or disposition of any facilities authorized to be
developed, preserved, conserved, acquired, or constructed under
this Act or General Law, including any improvements, structures,
facilities, equipment and all other property of any kind in
connection therewith and any lands, leaseholds, easements and any
interests in any of the foregoing;
(w) to authorize and allow any of such persons, including
the State of Texas, the United States of America and any corporation
or agency thereof and districts, agencies, cities, towns, persons,
organizations, associations, firms, corporations, entities or
others to participate with the District in the joint construction,
acquisition, ownership, financing, operation, and maintenance of
all of such improvements, structures, facilities, equipment and any
other property in connection therewith, and all such lands,
leaseholds, easements and interests therein as the Board
hereinafter referred to may determine is necessary or proper for,
or in connection with, any corporate purpose, and to allow such
persons to receive such portion of the revenues derived therefrom
as such Board shall deem just, equitable and proper;
(x) to borrow money for its corporate purposes and, without
limitation of the generality of the foregoing, to borrow money and
accept grants from persons, including the State of Texas, the
United States of America, or from any corporation or agency created
or designated by the State of Texas or the United States of America,
and, in connection with any such loan or grant, to enter into such
agreements as the State of Texas or the United States of America or
such corporations or agency may require; and to make and issue its
negotiable bonds or notes for moneys borrowed, in the manner and to
the extent provided in this Act, and to refund or refinance any
outstanding bonds or notes and to make and issue its negotiable
bonds or notes therefor in the manner and to the extent provided in
this Act. 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 of the District
shall ever be authorized except by this Act or General Law;
(y) nothing herein shall be construed as conferring any
water rights on the District, or as fixing any priority of rights,
but said District shall obtain its water rights by application to
and permit from the Texas [Water Rights] Commission on
Environmental Quality as provided by General Statute; and nothing
herein shall be construed as authorizing the District to make any
regulation of the withdrawal of underground waters. To the extent
the provisions of General Law which are adopted by reference in this
Act may be in conflict with the express provisions of this Act, the
provisions of this Act shall prevail unless the General Law is made
cumulative. The rights, powers, privileges, authority, and
functions granted to the District under this Act, and the District
itself, are expressly subject to Chapters 5, 7, 11, 12, 17, 26, and
30 [5, 6, and 21], Water Code, and Chapter 366, Health and Safety
Code.
SECTION 3. Section 4, Chapter 75, Acts of the 43rd
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 4. (a) The powers, rights, privileges and functions of
the District shall be exercised by a board of nine (9) directors
(herein called the Board), which is a state board of a state agency
as contemplated by Section 30a of Article XVI, Constitution of
Texas. Each member of the Board shall be a freehold property
taxpayer of the State of Texas and shall reside in one of the
counties which is included within the boundaries of the District,
but only one director shall be appointed from any county. The
directors shall be appointed by the Governor from nominations
furnished him by the Texas [Water Rights] Commission on
Environmental Quality and the appointments confirmed by the Senate
as in other cases of appointments by the Governor. Of the directors
first appointed, three (3) shall hold office for a term expiring
February 1, 1937, three (3) for a term expiring February 1, 1939,
and three (3) for a term expiring February 1, 1941. Thereafter,
directors shall hold office for a term of six (6) years. Each
director shall hold office until the expiration of the term for
which he was appointed and thereafter, until his successor shall
have been appointed and qualified unless sooner removed as in this
Act provided. Any director may be removed by the authority which
appointed him for inefficiency, neglect of duty or misconduct in
office, after at least ten (10) days' written notice of the charge
against him and an opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel
at public hearing. A vacancy resulting from the death, resignation
or removal of any director shall be filled by the authority which
appointed him for the unexpired term. Each director shall qualify
by taking the official oath of office prescribed by General
Statute.
[(a) Each director shall receive Twenty-five Dollars ($25)
per day, or such amount as may hereafter be prescribed by general
law, for each day spent in attending meetings of the Board, and any
other business of the District that the Board thinks necessary,
plus actual traveling and other expenses.]
(b) Until the adoption of by-laws fixing the time and place
of regular meetings and the manner in which special meetings may be
called, meetings of the Board shall be held at such times and places
as five (5) of the directors may designate in writing. Five (5)
directors shall constitute a quorum at any meeting and, except as
otherwise provided, in this Act or in the by-laws, all action may be
taken by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors present
at any such meeting, except that no contracts which involve any
amount greater than $100,000 [Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000)] or
which is to run for a period longer than a year, and no bonds, notes
or other evidence of indebtedness and no amendment of the by-laws
shall be valid unless authorized or ratified by the affirmative
vote of at least five (5) directors.
SECTION 4. Chapter 75, Acts of the 43rd Legislature, 1st
Called Session, 1933, is amended by adding Section 4A to read as
follows:
Sec. 4A. (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 District operations;
(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
District;
(3) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
District;
(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
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 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 has received and reviewed the training manual.
SECTION 5. Section 5, Chapter 75, Acts of the 43rd
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 5. The Governor shall designate a member of the Board
as the presiding officer of the Board to serve in that capacity at
the pleasure of the Governor. The Board shall select a Secretary
who shall keep true and complete records of all proceedings of the
Board. Until the appointment of a Secretary, or in the event of his
absence or inability to act, a secretary pro tem shall be selected
by the Board. The Board shall also select a General Manager, who
shall be the chief executive officer of the District, and a
treasurer. All such officers shall have such powers and duties,
shall hold office for such term and be subject to removal in such
manner as may be provided in the by-laws. The Board shall fix the
compensation of such officers. The Board may appoint such
officers, agents and employees, fix their compensation and term of
office and the method by which they may be removed, and delegate to
them such of its power and duties as it may deem proper.
SECTION 6. Chapter 75, Acts of the 43rd Legislature, 1st
Called Session, 1933, is amended by adding Section 5A to read as
follows:
Sec. 5A. The Board shall develop and implement policies
that clearly separate the policymaking responsibilities of the
Board and the management responsibilities of the general manager
and the staff of the District.
SECTION 7. Section 11, Chapter 75, Acts of the 43rd
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 11. The District shall have power and is hereby
authorized to issue, from time to time, bonds or notes as herein
authorized for any corporate purpose. Such bonds or notes
(hereinafter called 'bonds') may either be (1) sold for cash, at
public or private sale, at such price or prices as the Board shall
determine, provided that the interest cost of the money received
therefor, computed to maturity, shall not exceed ten (10) percent
per annum, or (2) may be issued on such terms as the Board shall
determine in exchange for property of any kind, real, personal or
mixed or any interest therein which the Board shall deem necessary
or convenient for any such corporate purpose, or (3) may be issued
in exchange for like principal amounts of other obligations of the
District, matured or unmatured. The proceeds of sale of such bonds
shall be deposited in such bank or banks or trust company or trust
companies, and shall be paid out pursuant to such terms and
conditions, as may be agreed upon between the District and the
purchasers of such bonds. All such bonds shall be authorized by
resolution or resolutions of the Board concurred in by at least five
(5) of the members thereof, and shall bear such date or dates,
mature at such time or times, bear interest at such rate or rates
which may be fixed, variable, floating or otherwise (not exceeding
ten (10) per centum per annum), payable annually, semiannually or
otherwise, be in such denominations, be in such form, either coupon
or registered, carry such registration privileges as to principal
only or as to both principal and interest, and as to exchange of
coupon bonds for registered bonds or vice versa, and exchange of
bonds of one denomination for bonds of other denominations, be
executed in such manner and be payable at such place or places
within or without the State of Texas, as such resolution or
resolutions may provide. Any resolution or resolutions authorizing
any bonds may contain provisions, which shall be part of the
contract between the District and the holders thereof from time to
time.
(a) Reserving the right to redeem such bonds or requiring
the redemption of such bonds, at such time or times, in such amounts
and at such prices, not exceeding one hundred and five per centum
(105%) of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued interest, as
may be provided;
(b) Providing for the setting aside of sinking funds or
reserve funds and the regulation and disposition thereof;
(c) Pledging to secure the payment of the principal of and
interest on such bonds and of the sinking fund or reserve fund
payments agreed to be made in respect of such bonds all or any part
of the gross or net revenues thereafter received by the District in
respect of the property, real, personal or mixed, to be acquired
and/or constructed with such bonds or the proceeds thereof, or all
or any part of the gross or net revenues thereafter, received by the
District from whatever source derived;
(d) Prescribing the purposes to which such bonds or any
bonds thereafter to be issued, or the proceeds thereof, may be
applied;
(e) Agreeing to fix and collect rates and charges sufficient
to produce revenues adequate to pay the items specified in
subdivisions (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) of Section 9 hereof, and
prescribing the use and disposition of all revenues;
(f) Prescribing limitations upon the issuance of additional
bonds and subordinate lien bonds and upon the agreements which may
be made with the purchasers and successive holders thereof;
(g) With regard to the construction, extension,
improvement, reconstruction, operation, maintenance and repair of
the properties of the District and carrying of insurance upon all or
any part of said properties covering loss or damage or loss of use
and occupancy resulting from specified risks;
(h) Fixing the procedure, if any, by which, if the District
shall so desire, the terms of any contract with the holders of such
bonds may be amended or abrogated, the amount of bonds the holders
of which must consent thereto, and the manner in which such consent
may be given;
(i) For the execution and delivery by the District to a bank
or trust company authorized by law to accept trusts, or to the
United States of America or any officer or agency thereof, of [or]
indentures and agreements for the benefit of the holders of such
bonds setting forth any or all of the agreements herein authorized
to be made with or for the benefit of the holders of such bonds and
such other provisions as may be customary in such indentures or
agreements; and
(j) Such other provisions, not inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act, as the Board may approve.
(1) Any such resolution and any indenture or agreement
entered into pursuant thereto may provide that in the event that:
(a) default shall be made in the payment of the
interest on any or all bonds when and as the same shall become due
and payable, or;
(b) default shall be made in the payment of the
principal of any or all bonds when and as the same shall become due
and payable, whether at the maturity thereof, by call for
redemption or otherwise, or;
(c) default shall be made in the performance of
any agreement made with the purchasers or successive holders of any
bonds;
(2) And such default shall have continued such period,
if any, as may be prescribed by said resolution in respect thereof,
the trustee under the indenture or indentures entered into in
respect of the bonds authorized thereby, or, if there shall be no
such indenture, a trustee appointed in the manner provided in such
resolution or resolutions by the holders of twenty-five per centum
(25%) in aggregate principal amount of the bonds authorized thereby
and at that time outstanding, and upon the written request of the
holders of twenty-five per centum (25%) in aggregate principal
amount of the bonds authorized by such resolution or resolutions at
the time outstanding, shall, in his or its own name, but for the
equal and proportionate benefit of the holders of all the such
bonds; and with or without having possession thereof;
(a) by mandamus or other suit, action or
proceeding at law or in equity, enforce all rights of the holders of
such bonds;
(b) bring suit upon such bonds and/or the
appurtenant coupons;
(c) by action or suit in equity, require the
District to account as if it were the trustee of an express trust
for the bondholders;
(d) by action or suit in equity, enjoin any acts
or things which may be unlawful or in violation of the rights of the
holders of such bonds, and/or;
(e) after such notice to the District as such
resolution may provide, declare the principal of all of such bonds
due and payable, and if all defaults shall have been made good, then
with the written consent of the holders of twenty-five (25) per
centum in aggregate principal amount of such bonds at the time
outstanding, annul such declaration and its consequences;
provided, however, that the holders of more than a majority in
principal amount of the bonds authorized thereby and at the time
outstanding shall by [be] instrument or instruments in writing
delivered to such trustee have the right to direct and control any
and all action taken or to be taken by such trustee under this
paragraph. Any such resolution, indenture or agreement may provide
that in any such suit, action, or proceeding, any such trustee,
whether or not all of such bonds shall have been declared due and
payable, and with or without possession of any thereof, shall be
entitled as of right to the appointment of a receiver who may enter
and take possession of all or any part of the properties of the
District, and operate and maintain the same, and fix, collect, and
receive rates and charges sufficient to provide revenues adequate
to pay the items set forth in subparagraphs (a), (b), (c), (d) and
(e) of Section 9 hereof and the costs and disbursements of such
suit, action or proceeding, and to apply such revenues in
conformity with the provisions of this Act and the resolution or
resolutions authorizing such bonds. In any suit, action or
proceeding by any such trustee, the reasonable fees, counsel fees
and expenses of such trustee and of the receiver or receivers, if
any, shall constitute taxable disbursements and all costs and
disbursements allowed by the Court shall be a first charge upon any
revenues pledged to secure the payment of such bonds. Subject to
the provisions of the Constitution of the State of Texas, the courts
of the County of Comal shall have jurisdiction of any suit, action
or proceeding by any such trustee on behalf of the bondholders and
of all property involved therein. In addition to the powers
hereinabove specifically provided for, each such trustee shall have
and possess all powers necessary or appropriate [appropriated] for
the exercise of any thereof, or incident to the general
representation of the bondholders in the enforcement of their
rights.
(3) Pending the issuance of definitive bonds, the
District is authorized to make and issue interim bonds. The interim
bonds so issued will be taken up with the proceeds of the definitive
bonds, or the definitive bonds may be issued and delivered in
exchange for and in substitution of such interim bonds. After any
such exchange and substitution the District shall file proper
certificates with the Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State
of Texas as to such exchange, substitution and cancellation, and
such certificates shall be recorded by the Comptroller of Public
Accounts in the same manner as the record of proceedings
authorizing the issuance of the bonds. The District is also
authorized to make and issue temporary bonds for the purpose of
interim financing and to make agreements or other provision to
refinance such temporary bonds with bonds to provide permanent
financing at such time, in such manner and on such conditions as may
be determined by the Board.
(4) Before any bonds shall be sold by the District, a
certified copy of the proceedings for the issuance thereof,
including the form of such bonds, together with any other
information which the Attorney General of the State of Texas may
require, shall be submitted to the Attorney General, and if he shall
find that such bonds have been issued in accordance with law, and if
he shall approve such bonds, he shall execute a certificate to that
effect which shall be filed in the office of the Comptroller of the
State of Texas and be recorded in a record kept for that purpose. No
bonds shall be issued until the same shall have been registered by
the Comptroller, who shall so register the same if the Attorney
General shall have filed with the Comptroller his certificate
approving the bonds and the proceedings for the issuance thereof as
hereinabove provided.
(5) All bonds approved by the Attorney General as
aforesaid, and registered by the Comptroller as aforesaid, and
issued in accordance with the proceedings so approved shall be
valid and binding obligations of the District and shall be
incontestable for any cause from and after the time of such
registration.
(6) If any bonds recite that they are secured by a
pledge of the proceeds of a contract, lease, sale or other agreement
(herein called 'contract'), a copy of such contract and the
proceedings of the contracting parties will also be submitted to
the Attorney General. If such bonds have been authorized and such
contracts made in compliance with law, the Attorney General shall
approve the bonds and contracts, and the bonds shall then be
registered by the Comptroller of Public Accounts. When so
approved, such bonds and the contracts shall be valid and binding
and shall be incontestable for any cause from and after the time of
such registration.
(7) The District is authorized to make and issue bonds
or notes (herein called 'refunding bonds') for the purpose of
refunding or refinancing any outstanding bonds or notes authorized
and issued by the District pursuant to this Act or other law (herein
called 'bonds') and the interest and premium, if any, thereon to
maturity or on any earlier redemption date specified in the
resolution authorizing the issuance of the refunding bonds. Such
refunding bonds may be issued to refund more than one series of
outstanding bonds, may combine the pledges of the outstanding bonds
for the security of the refunding bonds or may be secured by other
or additional revenues. All provisions of this Act with reference
to the issuance of bonds, the terms and provisions thereof, their
approval by the Attorney General, and the remedies of the
bondholders shall be applicable to refunding bonds. Refunding
bonds shall be registered by the Comptroller upon surrender and
cancellation of the bonds to be refunded, but in lieu thereof, the
resolution authorizing the issuance of refunding bonds may provide
that they shall be sold and the proceeds thereof deposited at the
places at which the original bonds are payable, in which case the
refunding bonds may be issued in an amount sufficient to pay the
interest and premium, if any, on the original bonds to their
maturity date or specified earlier redemption date, and the
Comptroller will register them without concurrence, surrender and
cancellation of the original bonds. The District may also refund
any outstanding bonds in the manner provided by any applicable
General Law.
SECTION 8. Chapter 75, Acts of the 43rd Legislature, 1st
Called Session, 1933, is amended by adding Sections 23, 24, 25, and
26 to read as follows:
Sec. 23. (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 District's jurisdiction.
(b) The District'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 District 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 alternative dispute resolution; and
(3) collect data concerning the effectiveness of those
procedures.
Sec. 24. (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 District.
(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 District. 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. 25. (a) The District shall maintain a system to
promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the District.
The District 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 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.
Sec. 26. (a) In this section, "system" means a system for
the:
(1) provision of water to the public for human
consumption; or
(2) collection and treatment of wastewater.
(b) The District shall adopt an asset management plan by:
(1) preparing an asset inventory that identifies the
assets of each system and the condition of the assets;
(2) developing criteria to prioritize assets for
repair or replacement, including:
(A) the date by which the asset will need to be
repaired or replaced;
(B) the importance of the asset in providing safe
drinking water and complying with regulatory standards;
(C) the importance of the asset to the effective
operation of the system; and
(D) other criteria as determined by the District;
(3) estimating asset repair and replacement costs;
(4) identifying and evaluating potential financing
options; and
(5) prioritizing systems that are not in compliance
with federal or state regulatory standards, including water quality
standards.
(c) The District shall review and revise the asset
management plan annually to account for regulatory changes and
other developments.
(d) The Board shall approve the asset management plan
annually as part of its budgeting process.
(e) The findings of the asset management plan must be posted
on the District's publicly accessible Internet website.
SECTION 9. Section 8, Chapter 75, Acts of the 43rd
Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933, is repealed.
SECTION 10. (a) The term of the president of the board of
directors of the Guadalupe-Blanco 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 director's successor is
appointed and has qualified.
(b) Not later than September 2, 2019, the governor shall
designate a director as president of the board of directors of the
Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority as required by Section 5, Chapter
75, Acts of the 43rd Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933, as
amended by this Act.
SECTION 11. (a) Notwithstanding Section 4A(a), Chapter
75, Acts of the 43rd Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933, as added
by this Act, a person serving on the board of directors of the
Guadalupe-Blanco 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 12. The repeal by this Act of Section 8, Chapter 75,
Acts of the 43rd Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933, does not
apply to an offense committed before the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law as it existed on the date the offense was
committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed
before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
occurred before that date.
SECTION 13. (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 14. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 626 passed the Senate on
April 8, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 626 passed the House on
April 26, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 0, two
present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor