1-1 By: Stiles (Senate Sponsor - Galloway) H.B. No. 2919
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 23, 1997;
1-3 April 24, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Natural Resources; May 15, 1997, reported favorably by the
1-5 following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 15, 1997, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to the powers and the board of directors of the Lower
1-9 Neches Valley Authority.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Section 3, Chapter 63, Acts of the 43rd
1-12 Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933 (Article 8280-103, Vernon's
1-13 Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
1-14 Sec. 3. The management and control of all the affairs of
1-15 such district shall be vested in a Board of Directors, consisting
1-16 of nine (9) members, all of whom shall be freehold property
1-17 taxpayers and legal voters of the State of Texas. The governor
1-18 [Texas Water Development Board] shall appoint, with the advice and
1-19 consent of the senate, the directors of the district. Directors of
1-20 the district hold office for staggered terms of six years. Five
1-21 directors shall be residents of Jefferson County, two of Hardin
1-22 County, and two of Tyler County. The directors shall hold office
1-23 after their appointment and qualification until their successors
1-24 shall be appointed and qualify, unless sooner removed by [majority
1-25 vote of] the governor [Texas Water Development Board]. Should any
1-26 vacancy occur in the Board of Directors, the vacancy shall be
1-27 filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as provided for
1-28 appointments for a full term. The directors appointed shall within
1-29 fifteen (15) days after their appointment qualify by taking the
1-30 official oath and filing a good and sufficient bond with the
1-31 secretary of state [Texas Water Development Board]; the official
1-32 bond of each director, to be in the sum of Five Thousand Dollars
1-33 ($5,000), shall be payable to the district, shall be conditioned
1-34 upon the faithful performance of their duties as such directors,
1-35 and shall be subject to approval by the secretary of state [Texas
1-36 Water Development Board]. The directors shall employ a [A director
1-37 may be employed as] general manager [and] at such compensation as
1-38 may be fixed by the majority of the [other] directors[, and when so
1-39 employed he shall continue to perform the duties of a director, but
1-40 shall receive no compensation as such director].
1-41 SECTION 2. Section 13(one), Chapter 63, Acts of the 43rd
1-42 Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933 (Article 8280-103, Vernon's
1-43 Texas Civil Statutes), is redesignated as Section 13A.
1-44 SECTION 3. Chapter 63, Acts of the 43rd Legislature, 1st
1-45 Called Session, 1933 (Article 8280-103, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-46 Statutes), is amended by adding Section 13B to read as follows:
1-47 Sec. 13B. (a) The district may sponsor and participate in an
1-48 economic development program within the areas served by the
1-49 district intended to strengthen the economic base and further the
1-50 economic development of the state. The program may not be outside
1-51 the areas served by the district unless the district has entered
1-52 into an interlocal agreement with an entity under Subsection (c) of
1-53 this section.
1-54 (b) Each program must be established by formal action of the
1-55 Board of Directors of the district. The Board of Directors shall:
1-56 (1) establish the goals of the program;
1-57 (2) impose requirements on persons participating in
1-58 and receiving the benefits of the program; and
1-59 (3) provide restrictions, procedures, and budget
1-60 limits that the Board of Directors determines are necessary to
1-61 ensure that the governmental purposes of this section and the
1-62 program are achieved.
1-63 (c) A program under this section may involve grants or loans
1-64 of money, services, or equipment to a person engaged in an economic
2-1 development activity, including a public fire-fighting
2-2 organization, governmental body, nonprofit corporation, local or
2-3 regional development council, or other nonprofit or noncommercial
2-4 organization. The district may provide assistance to a for-profit
2-5 entity if the assistance is necessary or appropriate to carry out
2-6 an economic development program consistent with the purposes of
2-7 this section.
2-8 (d) The district may employ staff and expend its resources
2-9 to further an economic development program under this section,
2-10 except that the district may not use money received from an ad
2-11 valorem tax or a general appropriation to further a program. The
2-12 district may apply for and receive money, grants, or other
2-13 assistance from any source to carry out an economic development
2-14 program under this section.
2-15 (e) The district and any other public or private person may
2-16 enter into an agreement with respect to an economic development
2-17 program.
2-18 (f) If the district provides scholarships, grants, loans, or
2-19 financial assistance to a public fire-fighting organization, the
2-20 district shall adopt guidelines to determine:
2-21 (1) eligibility for the assistance;
2-22 (2) the amount of loans, grants, or other assistance
2-23 the district may make available to a fire-fighting organization;
2-24 and
2-25 (3) the type of equipment, education, or training for
2-26 which the assistance may be used.
2-27 (g) A determination by the Board of Directors that a program
2-28 is intended and expected to carry out the program's stated purposes
2-29 is conclusive with respect to whether the purposes of this section
2-30 are satisfied.
2-31 (h) In this section, an economic development program
2-32 includes a community assistance program, privatization program, or
2-33 any other program designed to:
2-34 (1) encourage economic diversification;
2-35 (2) maintain or expand employment;
2-36 (3) train persons;
2-37 (4) eliminate conditions detrimental to the public
2-38 health, safety, or welfare;
2-39 (5) improve the quality or quantity of services
2-40 essential for the development of viable communities and economic
2-41 growth, including services related to:
2-42 (A) education;
2-43 (B) transportation;
2-44 (C) public safety;
2-45 (D) recreation;
2-46 (E) health care;
2-47 (F) water and wastewater treatment; or
2-48 (G) rural water and sewer development; or
2-49 (6) contribute to the health and development of a
2-50 community to improve the attractiveness of the community to public
2-51 and private enterprises.
2-52 SECTION 4. The legislature finds that the economic
2-53 development programs authorized by Section 13B, Chapter 63, Acts of
2-54 the 43rd Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933 (Article 8280-103,
2-55 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as added by this Act, are a
2-56 specific public purpose and governmental function of the Lower
2-57 Neches Valley Authority in accordance with:
2-58 (1) Section 52-a, Article III, Texas Constitution; and
2-59 (2) to the extent that the programs provide assistance
2-60 to public fire-fighting organizations, Section 51-a-1, Article III,
2-61 Texas Constitution.
2-62 SECTION 5. The changes in law made by Section 1 of this Act
2-63 relating to appointment of directors to the board of the Lower
2-64 Neches Valley Authority apply only to appointments made on or after
2-65 the effective date of that section and do not affect the
2-66 entitlement of a director serving on the board on May 1, 1997, to
2-67 continue to hold office for the remainder of the term for which the
2-68 person was appointed. The governor shall appoint directors to the
2-69 board as vacancies occur after the effective date of Section 1 of
3-1 this Act.
3-2 SECTION 6. Except as provided by Section 7, this Act takes
3-3 effect September 1, 1997.
3-4 SECTION 7. Section 3, Chapter 63, Acts of the 43rd
3-5 Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1933 (Article 8280-103, Vernon's
3-6 Texas Civil Statutes), as amended by this Act, takes effect
3-7 immediately.
3-8 SECTION 8. The importance of this legislation and the
3-9 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-10 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-11 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-12 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-13 and that this Act take effect and be in force according to its
3-14 terms, and it is so enacted.
3-15 * * * * *