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Senate Bill 341 |
Senate Author: Uresti et al. |
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Effective: See below |
House Sponsor: Menendez et al. |
Senate Bill 341 requires the board of directors of the Bexar Metropolitan Water District to hold an election in the district solely on the question of whether a majority of the voters voting in the water district support or oppose dissolving the district and disposing of the district's assets and obligations and sets out provisions relating to the order calling the election, notice requirements, and ballot language. The bill provides for an alternative election if any portion of the bill is in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 or United States Constitution.
Article 1 amends the law relating to the district to require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to begin an on-site evaluation of the district and sets out evaluation requirements. TCEQ is authorized to employ or contract with a person to carry out the duties relating to the evaluation and sets out applicable qualifications, and to employ or contract with additional people, with the district liable for compensation and expense reimbursement. At TCEQ's request, the state auditor is authorized to audit the district at the district's expense.
Until the date election results are certified to the secretary of state, the attorney general is prohibited from approving any public security of the district, with exception, unless certain conditions are met. Until such date, a contract or other agreement entered into, amended, or renewed to which the district is a party, with exception, is required to include a provision that the contract or other agreement is subject to review and termination by the system, which is defined as a water utility owned by a municipality with a population of more than one million in the area served by the district, and to termination at the system's sole discretion if the contract or other agreement is assumed by the system. Additionally, until such date, the district is prohibited from disposing of, selling, transferring, assigning, impairing, or restricting any of the district's rights or assets outside the normal and customary course of business. Article 1 has immediate effect.
Articles 2 and 2A establish provisions relating to the dissolution election and have immediate effect.
Article 3 takes effect on the date the dissolution election results are certified to the secretary of state if voters do not approve the dissolution. Article 3 increases from five to seven the number of district directors, changes the length of director terms and the directors election date, establishes that directors are elected from single-member districts rather than at large, limits the length of time a person may serve as director, requires directors elections to be conducted as provided by the Election Code, requires a person appointed to fill a board vacancy to hold office until an elected successor has qualified, requires a director to be a qualified voter of the single-member district from which the director is elected, and prohibits a payment to a director for fees of office from being made for a meeting that occurs in a different fiscal year from the one in which the payment is made.
Article 3 increases from five to seven the number of members of the Bexar Metropolitan Water District Oversight Committee by including one additional senator and one additional state representative on the committee. The oversight committee is required to provide a certain comprehensive report to the legislature on or before December 31, 2012, and is abolished January 1, 2013.
Article 3 sets out director eligibility requirements and establishes a cap on political contributions for a director and a candidate for the office of director. Article 3 limits a director's participation on the board until the director completes a training program on district management issues. Article 3 sets out the requirements for the training program. Article 3 establishes director prohibitions, requires a director to file an annual verified financial statement, provides for the recall of a director, requires all board reimbursements and expenditures to be approved by the board in a regularly scheduled meeting, and prohibits the board from selecting the same auditor to conduct a required annual audit for more than three consecutive audits.
Article 3 requires TCEQ to evaluate the condition of the district and determine whether the district has been sufficiently rehabilitated to enable the district to provide reliable, cost-effective, quality service to its customers. TCEQ is authorized to order the district to implement any part of a developed rehabilitation plan if TCEQ finds that the district has not been rehabilitated and to assess an administrative penalty against the district if the district fails to comply with a TCEQ order.
Article 4 takes effect on the date the dissolution election results are certified to the secretary of state if voters approve the dissolution. Article 4 establishes that on such date the term of each director expires and the system assumes control of the operation and management of the district. Article 4 requires TCEQ, in consultation with the oversight committee and by a certain deadline, to transfer or assign to the system all rights and duties of the district; files, records, and accounts of the district; and permits, approvals, and certificates necessary to provide water services. Article 4 requires TCEQ to enter an order dissolving the district after the transfer.
Article 4 requires the system to integrate the services and infrastructure of the district into the system in a reasonable and orderly manner not later than five years after the date the election results are certified, with a possible TCEQ extension of not more than three additional years. Article 4 requires the system, during the integration period, to provide an annual integration report to TCEQ and authorizes the system to operate the former district as a special project under the system's existing senior lien revenue bond ordinances. Article 4 requires the system to provide affordable and reliable water services to all of the former ratepayers of the district under the system's certificate of convenience and necessity once TCEQ has transferred the assets, obligations, and duties to the system. Article 4 requires the system, after the integration is complete, to provide water service to former ratepayers of the district in the same manner the system provides water service to other system ratepayers; establishes the conditions under which the integration is considered complete; and authorizes TCEQ to impose a penalty if the system fails to integrate the services and infrastructure of the district into the system. The system, during specified periods following the transfer of employment of an employee of the former district, is prohibited from terminating an employee of the former district, except for cause, if the employee meets certain conditions.
Article 4 requires the system to work cooperatively with the commissioners court of each county in which the former district was wholly or partly located to establish an advisory committee to advise the system regarding the integration of the services and infrastructure of the former district in specific areas or water systems located in the area outside the corporate boundaries of the largest municipality served by the system, and sets out related provisions.