By Stiles H.B. No. 2919
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the powers and the board of directors of the Lower
1-3 Neches Valley Authority.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 3, Chapter 63, Acts of the 43rd
1-6 Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933 (Article 8280-103, Vernon's
1-7 Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 3. The management and control of all the affairs of
1-9 such district shall be vested in a Board of Directors, consisting
1-10 of nine (9) members, all of whom shall be freehold property
1-11 taxpayers and legal voters of the State of Texas. The governor
1-12 [Texas Water Development Board] shall appoint, with the advice and
1-13 consent of the senate, the directors of the district. Directors of
1-14 the district hold office for staggered terms of six years. Five
1-15 directors shall be residents of Jefferson County, two of Hardin
1-16 County, and two of Tyler County. The directors shall hold office
1-17 after their appointment and qualification until their successors
1-18 shall be appointed and qualify, unless sooner removed by [majority
1-19 vote of] the governor [Texas Water Development Board]. Should any
1-20 vacancy occur in the Board of Directors, the vacancy shall be
1-21 filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as provided for
1-22 appointments for a full term. The directors appointed shall within
1-23 fifteen (15) days after their appointment qualify by taking the
1-24 official oath and filing a good and sufficient bond with the
2-1 secretary of state [Texas Water Development Board]; the official
2-2 bond of each director, to be in the sum of Five Thousand Dollars
2-3 ($5,000), shall be payable to the district, shall be conditioned
2-4 upon the faithful performance of their duties as such directors,
2-5 and shall be subject to approval by the secretary of state [Texas
2-6 Water Development Board]. The directors shall employ a [A director
2-7 may be employed as] general manager [and] at such compensation as
2-8 may be fixed by the majority of the [other] directors[, and when so
2-9 employed he shall continue to perform the duties of a director, but
2-10 shall receive no compensation as such director].
2-11 SECTION 2. Section 13(one), Chapter 63, Acts of the 43rd
2-12 Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933 (Article 8280-103, Vernon's
2-13 Texas Civil Statutes), is redesignated as Section 13A.
2-14 SECTION 3. Chapter 63, Acts of the 43rd Legislature, 1st
2-15 Called Session, 1933 (Article 8280-103, Vernon's Texas Civil
2-16 Statutes), is amended by adding Section 13B to read as follows:
2-17 Sec. 13B. (a) The district may sponsor and participate in an
2-18 economic development program within the areas served by the
2-19 district intended to strengthen the economic base and further the
2-20 economic development of the state. The program may not be outside
2-21 the areas served by the district unless the district has entered
2-22 into an interlocal agreement with an entity under Subsection (c) of
2-23 this section.
2-24 (b) Each program must be established by formal action of the
2-25 Board of Directors of the district. The Board of Directors shall:
2-26 (1) establish the goals of the program;
2-27 (2) impose requirements on persons participating in
3-1 and receiving the benefits of the program; and
3-2 (3) provide restrictions, procedures, and budget
3-3 limits that the Board of Directors determines are necessary to
3-4 ensure that the governmental purposes of this section and the
3-5 program are achieved.
3-6 (c) A program under this section may involve grants or loans
3-7 of money, services, or equipment to a person engaged in an economic
3-8 development activity, including a public fire-fighting
3-9 organization, governmental body, nonprofit corporation, local or
3-10 regional development council, or other nonprofit or noncommercial
3-11 organization. The district may provide assistance to a for-profit
3-12 entity if the assistance is necessary or appropriate to carry out
3-13 an economic development program consistent with the purposes of
3-14 this section.
3-15 (d) The district may employ staff and expend its resources
3-16 to further an economic development program under this section,
3-17 except that the district may not use money received from an ad
3-18 valorem tax or a general appropriation to further a program. The
3-19 district may apply for and receive money, grants, or other
3-20 assistance from any source to carry out an economic development
3-21 program under this section.
3-22 (e) The district and any other public or private person may
3-23 enter into an agreement with respect to an economic development
3-24 program.
3-25 (f) If the district provides scholarships, grants, loans, or
3-26 financial assistance to a public fire-fighting organization, the
3-27 district shall adopt guidelines to determine:
4-1 (1) eligibility for the assistance;
4-2 (2) the amount of loans, grants, or other assistance
4-3 the district may make available to a fire-fighting organization;
4-4 and
4-5 (3) the type of equipment, education, or training for
4-6 which the assistance may be used.
4-7 (g) A determination by the Board of Directors that a program
4-8 is intended and expected to carry out the program's stated purposes
4-9 is conclusive with respect to whether the purposes of this section
4-10 are satisfied.
4-11 (h) In this section, an economic development program
4-12 includes a community assistance program, privatization program, or
4-13 any other program designed to:
4-14 (1) encourage economic diversification;
4-15 (2) maintain or expand employment;
4-16 (3) train persons;
4-17 (4) eliminate conditions detrimental to the public
4-18 health, safety, or welfare;
4-19 (5) improve the quality or quantity of services
4-20 essential for the development of viable communities and economic
4-21 growth, including services related to:
4-22 (A) education;
4-23 (B) transportation;
4-24 (C) public safety;
4-25 (D) recreation;
4-26 (E) health care;
4-27 (F) water and wastewater treatment; or
5-1 (G) rural water and sewer development; or
5-2 (6) contribute to the health and development of a
5-3 community to improve the attractiveness of the community to public
5-4 and private enterprises.
5-5 SECTION 4. The legislature finds that the economic
5-6 development programs authorized by Section 13B, Chapter 63, Acts of
5-7 the 43rd Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933 (Article 8280-103,
5-8 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as added by this Act, are a
5-9 specific public purpose and governmental function of the Lower
5-10 Neches Valley Authority in accordance with:
5-11 (1) Section 52-a, Article III, Texas Constitution; and
5-12 (2) to the extent that the programs provide assistance
5-13 to public fire-fighting organizations, Section 51-a-1, Article III,
5-14 Texas Constitution.
5-15 SECTION 5. The changes in law made by Section 1 of this Act
5-16 relating to appointment of directors to the board of the Lower
5-17 Neches Valley Authority apply only to appointments made on or after
5-18 the effective date of that section and do not affect the
5-19 entitlement of a director serving on the board on May 1, 1997, to
5-20 continue to hold office for the remainder of the term for which the
5-21 person was appointed. The governor shall appoint directors to the
5-22 board as vacancies occur after the effective date of Section 1 of
5-23 this Act.
5-24 SECTION 6. Except as provided by Section 7, this Act takes
5-25 effect September 1, 1997.
5-26 SECTION 7. Section 3, Chapter 63, Acts of the 43rd
5-27 Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933 (Article 8280-103, Vernon's
6-1 Texas Civil Statutes), as amended by this Act, takes effect
6-2 immediately.
6-3 SECTION 8. The importance of this legislation and the
6-4 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-5 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-6 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-7 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
6-8 and that this Act take effect and be in force according to its
6-9 terms, and it is so enacted.