By Saunders, Dukes, Black, Uher, Kuempel H.B. No. 1981
74R5677 JJT-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to community assistance and economic development program
1-3 activities of certain river authorities; validating certain actions
1-4 and instruments of the river authorities.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Section 3, Chapter 245, Acts of the 67th
1-7 Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article 717p, Vernon's Texas
1-8 Civil Statutes), as added by Section 2, Chapter 1140, Acts of the
1-9 71st Legislature, Regular Session, 1989, is amended to read as
1-10 follows:
1-11 Sec. 3. (a) This section applies only to a <Any> river
1-12 authority that <which> is engaged in the distribution and sale of
1-13 electric energy to the public.
1-14 (b) A river authority may sponsor and participate in an
1-15 economic development program intended to strengthen the economic
1-16 base and further the economic development of the state. The
1-17 program may be within the territorial boundaries of the river
1-18 authority or within the river authority's electric or water service
1-19 areas.
1-20 (c) Each program must be established by formal action of the
1-21 governing body of the river authority. The governing body of the
1-22 river authority shall:
1-23 (1) establish the goals of the program;
1-24 (2) impose requirements on persons participating in
2-1 and receiving the benefits of the program; and
2-2 (3) provide restrictions, procedures, and budget
2-3 limits the governing body determines are necessary to ensure that
2-4 the governmental purposes of this section and the program are
2-5 achieved.
2-6 (d) A program under this section may involve grants or loans
2-7 of money, services, or property to a person engaged in an economic
2-8 development activity, including a public fire-fighting
2-9 organization, governmental body, nonprofit corporation, local or
2-10 regional development council, or other nonprofit or noncommercial
2-11 organization.
2-12 (e) The river authority may employ staff and expend its
2-13 resources to further an economic development program except the
2-14 river authority may not use money received from an ad valorem tax
2-15 or a general appropriation to further a program. The river
2-16 authority may apply for and receive money, grants, or other
2-17 assistance from any source to carry out an economic development
2-18 program under this section.
2-19 (f) The river authority and any other public or private
2-20 person may enter an agreement with respect to an economic
2-21 development program.
2-22 (g) A river authority that provides scholarships, grants,
2-23 loans, or financial assistance to a public fire-fighting
2-24 organization shall adopt guidelines for the determination of:
2-25 (1) eligibility for the assistance;
2-26 (2) the amount of loans, grants, or other assistance
2-27 the river authority may make available to a fire-fighting
3-1 organization; and
3-2 (3) the types of equipment, facilities, education, or
3-3 training for which the assistance may be used.
3-4 (h) A determination by the governing body of the river
3-5 authority that a program is intended and expected to carry out the
3-6 program's stated purposes is conclusive with respect to whether the
3-7 purposes of this section are satisfied.
3-8 (i) In this section, an economic development program
3-9 includes any program designed to:
3-10 (1) encourage economic diversification;
3-11 (2) contribute to the health and development of a
3-12 community to improve the attractiveness of the community to public
3-13 and private enterprises; or
3-14 (3) improve the quality or quantity of services
3-15 essential for the development of viable communities and economic
3-16 growth, including services related to:
3-17 (A) education;
3-18 (B) transportation;
3-19 (C) public safety;
3-20 (D) recreation;
3-21 (E) health care;
3-22 (F) training;
3-23 (G) community planning; or
3-24 (H) employment <employ staff and expend
3-25 resources to encourage economic development>.
3-26 (j) A river authority may not use an economic development
3-27 program authorized by this section to:
4-1 (1) promote fuel switching or the substitution of
4-2 electric power for another fuel or energy source; or
4-3 (2) provide an economic or other incentive to use
4-4 electric power to preferentially market the use of electric power
4-5 over another fuel or energy source.
4-6 (k) Subsection (j) does not limit a power granted a river
4-7 authority by any other law, including other sections of this Act.
4-8 (l) For purposes of this section, an economic development
4-9 program does not include the promotion of retail wheeling of
4-10 electric power and energy.
4-11 SECTION 2. The legislature finds that the economic
4-12 development programs authorized by Section 3, Chapter 245, Acts of
4-13 the 67th Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article 717p, Vernon's
4-14 Texas Civil Statutes), as amended by this Act, are a specific
4-15 public purpose and governmental function of the specified river
4-16 authorities in accordance with:
4-17 (1) Section 52-a, Article III, Texas Constitution; and
4-18 (2) to the extent that the programs provide assistance
4-19 to public fire-fighting organizations, Section 51-a-1, Article III,
4-20 Texas Constitution.
4-21 SECTION 3. All proceedings, governmental acts, resolutions,
4-22 orders, bonds, contracts, and instruments relating to economic
4-23 development programs, as defined by Section 3, Chapter 245, Acts of
4-24 the 67th Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article 717p, Vernon's
4-25 Texas Civil Statutes), as amended by this Act, of a river authority
4-26 engaged in the distribution and sale of electric energy to the
4-27 public that were adopted, approved, executed, issued, or ratified
5-1 by the river authority before the effective date of this Act are
5-2 validated, ratified, approved, and confirmed.
5-3 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
5-4 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-5 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-6 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-7 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
5-8 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
5-9 passage, and it is so enacted.