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House Bill 1832 |
House Author: Ritter |
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Effective: 5-21-11 |
Senate Sponsor: Williams |
House Bill 1832 updates and amends the law governing the Lower Neches Valley Authority. The bill clarifies the authority of the district over the Neches River basin and the adjoining Neches-Trinity coastal basin, rather than the valleys of the Neches River and its tributaries. The bill entitles a district director to receive a fee of office for each day of service approved by a vote of the board of directors and necessary to discharge the director's duties and requires the board of directors to set the fee in an amount not greater than the amount allowed under general law. The bill establishes that nothing in certain provisions, as amended by the bill, authorizing the district to control and use applicable waters in certain manners and for certain particular purposes is a limitation on the powers of the district expressed elsewhere in law.
The bill removes a provision making it a misdemeanor for a director, engineer, or employee to be directly or indirectly interested in any contract for the purchase or construction of any work by the district. The bill also removes, among other provisions, provisions and requirements relating to:
· the election of officers, the employment of a general manager, and the employment and compensation of employees necessary to properly construct, operate, and maintain certain works and carry out provisions governing the district
· officer and employee bonds
· a requirement that directors keep a true and full account of meetings and proceedings
· a complete book of accounts and an annual audit by a certified public accountant
· approval of construction contracts and warrants
· the prohibition on certain service charges being made on the revenues derived from district improvements and facilities as long as obligations issued remain outstanding and unpaid as to principal or interest
· the right of the district to sue and be sued
· the presentation and approval of plans and specifications before establishing a diversion point and constructing canals, pumping plants, and certain other works
· the issuance of obligations, including provisions providing for the creation of a sinking fund
· existing rights or existing priorities in the rights to water from the source of supply