1-1 By: Davis of Dallas (Senate Sponsor - Cain) H.B. No. 1718
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 2, 2001;
1-3 April 3, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on State
1-4 Affairs; May 8, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote:
1-5 Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 8, 2001, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to the appointment of the directors of a regional tollway
1-9 authority.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Section 366.251, Transportation Code, is amended
1-12 to read as follows:
1-13 Sec. 366.251. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a) An authority is
1-14 governed by a board of directors.
1-15 (b) The commissioners court of each county of the authority
1-16 shall appoint one director to serve on the board. The governor
1-17 shall appoint one director [three directors] to serve on the board.
1-18 (c) In addition to directors appointed by a commissioners
1-19 court under Subsection (b), the commissioners courts of those
1-20 counties of the authority in which all or part of a turnpike
1-21 project is located and open for use by the traveling public shall
1-22 appoint two additional directors as follows:
1-23 (1) if the open turnpike project is located entirely
1-24 in one county, the commissioners court of that county shall appoint
1-25 the two additional directors;
1-26 (2) if the open turnpike project is located in two
1-27 counties of the authority, the commissioners court of each county
1-28 shall appoint one of the additional directors; or
1-29 (3) if the open turnpike project is located in more
1-30 than two counties, the commissioners court of each county in which
1-31 the project is located shall appoint one additional director on a
1-32 rotating basis and in accordance with a schedule agreed to and
1-33 approved by concurrent resolutions adopted by the commissioners
1-34 courts of at least three-fourths of the counties of the authority.
1-35 (d) Directors shall be divided into two groups. To the
1-36 greatest degree possible, each group shall contain an equal number
1-37 of directors. Directors shall serve terms of two years, except
1-38 that one group of directors of the initial board of an authority
1-39 shall serve for a term of one year.
1-40 (e) The [(d) Two directors appointed by the governor must
1-41 have resided in a county of the authority for at least one year
1-42 before the person's appointment. One] director appointed by the
1-43 governor must have resided in a county outside the authority that
1-44 is adjacent to a county of the authority for at least one year
1-45 before the person's appointment. Each director appointed by a
1-46 commissioners court under Subsection (b) must have resided in that
1-47 county for at least one year before the person's appointment. Each
1-48 director appointed by a commissioners court under Subsection (c)
1-49 must have resided in a county of the authority for at least one
1-50 year before the person's appointment.
1-51 (f) [(e)] All appointments to the board shall be made
1-52 without regard to disability, sex, religion, age, or national
1-53 origin. [In making appointments under this section, the governor
1-54 shall attempt to create a board that is representative of the
1-55 diversity of the authority.]
1-56 (g) [(f)] An elected official is not eligible to serve as a
1-57 director.
1-58 (h) [(g)] A vacancy in a position shall be filled promptly
1-59 by the entity that made the appointment.
1-60 (i) [(h)] Each director has equal status and may vote.
1-61 (j) [(i)] The board of an authority shall select one
1-62 director as the presiding officer of the board to serve in that
1-63 capacity until the person's term as a director expires. The board
1-64 shall elect one director as assistant presiding officer. The board
2-1 shall select a secretary and treasurer, neither of whom need be a
2-2 director.
2-3 (k) [(j)] The vote of a majority attending a board meeting
2-4 is necessary for any action taken by the board. If a vacancy
2-5 exists on a board, the majority of directors serving on the board
2-6 is a quorum.
2-7 SECTION 2. Section 366.254(a), Transportation Code, is
2-8 amended to read as follows:
2-9 (a) It is a ground for removal of a director from the board
2-10 if the director:
2-11 (1) did not have at the time of appointment the
2-12 qualifications required by Section 366.251(e) [366.251(d)];
2-13 (2) whether at the time of appointment or at any time
2-14 during the director's term, is ineligible under Section 366.251(g)
2-15 [366.251(f)] or 366.252 to serve as a director;
2-16 (3) cannot discharge the director's duties for a
2-17 substantial part of the term for which the director is appointed
2-18 because of illness or disability; or
2-19 (4) is absent from more than half of the regularly
2-20 scheduled board meetings that the director is eligible to attend
2-21 during a calendar year.
2-22 SECTION 3. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
2-23 (b) A director of a regional tollway authority appointed by
2-24 the governor, whose term expires on or before September 1, 2001,
2-25 continues to serve until that director's replacement is appointed
2-26 under Section 366.251, Transportation Code, as amended by this Act.
2-27 (c) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
2-28 Act, the commissioners court of the applicable county or counties
2-29 shall appoint one director to the board of directors of a regional
2-30 tollway authority under Section 366.251, Transportation Code, as
2-31 amended by this Act.
2-32 * * * * *