This website will be unavailable from Thursday, May 30, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, June 3, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.
78R16882 QS-D
By: Lucio, et al. S.B. No. 1902
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1902:
By: Puente C.S.S.B. No. 1902
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation, administration, powers, duties,
operation, and financing of the Rio Grande Regional Water Authority
and to the powers and duties of the Rio Grande watermaster and the
delivery of water down the banks and bed of the Rio Grande;
authorizing the issuance of bonds.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
ARTICLE I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
SECTION 1.01. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
(1) "Authority" means the Rio Grande Regional Water
Authority.
(2) "Board" means the board of directors of the
authority.
(3) "Bond" includes a note.
(4) "Commission" means the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
(5) "Director" means a member of the board.
SECTION 1.02. CREATION. (a) A conservation and
reclamation district, to be known as the Rio Grande Regional Water
Authority is created.
(b) The authority is created under and is essential to
accomplish the purposes of Section 59, Article XVI, Texas
Constitution.
(c) The authority is a governmental agency and a political
subdivision of this state.
SECTION 1.03. PURPOSE OF AUTHORITY. The authority is
created to supplement, and not to replace, the services, regulatory
powers, and authority of irrigation districts, water development
supply corporations, counties, municipalities, and other political
subdivisions within their respective boundaries and corporate
limits.
SECTION 1.04. FINDING OF BENEFIT AND PUBLIC PURPOSE.
(a) The authority is created to serve a public use and benefit.
(b) All of the land and other property included within the
boundaries of the authority will be benefited by the improvement
projects and the services that are to be accomplished by the
authority under powers conferred by Section 59, Article XVI, Texas
Constitution, and other powers granted under this Act.
SECTION 1.05. BOUNDARIES. The boundaries of the authority
are coextensive with the boundaries of Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr,
Webb, Willacy, and Zapata counties, except that the authority does
not include the area within the corporate limits of the city of
Laredo.
SECTION 1.06. WATER RIGHTS NOT AFFECTED. This Act does not
affect any existing rights, or existing priorities in the rights,
to water from the source of supply. The formation of a contract for
the purchase of water with the authority is not an abandonment or
waiver of those rights or priorities and is not an abandonment of
the original point of diversion from the source of supply.
SECTION 1.07. AUTHORITY PROHIBITED FROM CONDEMNING WATER
RIGHTS. The authority is prohibited from condemning water rights.
ARTICLE II. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SECTION 2.01. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a) The board consists
of 15 directors.
(b) Nine directors are appointed by the governor, with the
advice and consent of the senate, as follows:
(1) six directors who represent irrigation districts;
(2) one director who represents independent
irrigation water rights holders and holds a certificate of
adjudication for at least 500 acre-feet irrigation water rights;
(3) one director who represents water utilities; and
(4) one director who represents municipalities.
(c) One director is appointed from each of the six counties
in the authority by majority vote of the commissioners court of that
county. In January of a year in which a director's term expires,
the commissioners court of the appropriate county shall appoint a
director for a two-year term beginning February 1 of that year. A
director appointed as provided by this subsection must:
(1) be a registered voter;
(2) reside in the county from which the director is
appointed; and
(3) be certified to the board by the county judge of
the county from which the director is appointed.
(d) Directors appointed under Subsection (b) of this
section shall be appointed to ensure that at all times:
(1) at least one director is a qualified voter of each
county in the authority; and
(2) not more than three directors are qualified voters
of the same county.
(e) Initial directors serve until permanent directors are
appointed.
(f) Permanent directors appointed under Subsection (b) of
this section serve staggered four-year terms. Permanent directors
appointed under Subsection (c) of this section serve staggered
two-year terms.
(g) Except as provided by Subsection (c), each director must
be a qualified voter of the state residing within the boundaries of
the authority.
SECTION 2.02. INITIAL DIRECTORS. (a) In appointing the
initial directors of the board, the governor shall appoint four
directors to terms expiring February 1, 2005, and five directors to
terms expiring February 1, 2007.
(b) In appointing the initial directors of the board, the
commissioners courts of Webb, Cameron, and Starr counties shall
appoint directors to terms expiring February 1, 2004, and the
commissioners courts of Hidalgo, Zapata, and Willacy counties shall
appoint directors to terms expiring February 1, 2005.
SECTION 2.03. VACANCY. (a) The governor shall fill a
vacancy that occurs in the office of a director appointed by the
governor.
(b) The commissioners court of a county shall fill a vacancy
that occurs in the office of a director appointed from that county.
(c) A person appointed to a vacant position serves for the
unexpired part of the term.
SECTION 2.04. OATH AND BOND REQUIREMENT FOR DIRECTOR.
(a) Each director, not later than 15 days after the date of
appointment, must qualify by taking the constitutional oath of
office and by filing a good and sufficient bond with the secretary
of state.
(b) The bond is subject to approval by the secretary of
state and must be:
(1) in the amount of $1,000;
(2) payable to the authority; and
(3) conditioned on the faithful performance of the
duties as a director.
SECTION 2.05. DIRECTOR COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT OF
EXPENSES. (a) A director is not entitled to any compensation for
service on the board.
(b) A director is entitled to receive reimbursement for
actual and necessary expenses incurred in connection with service
on the board or attendance at board meetings or other board
business.
SECTION 2.06. OFFICERS. (a) The board shall elect from
among its members a president, a vice president, and a
secretary-treasurer.
(b) The president is the chief executive officer of the
authority.
(c) The vice president shall act as president if the
president is absent or unable to act.
(d) The secretary-treasurer shall act as secretary of the
board. The board shall select a temporary secretary if the
secretary-treasurer is absent or unable to act.
SECTION 2.07. MEETINGS. (a) The president shall preside
at all meetings of the board.
(b) The board shall set, by order entered in the minutes of
its proceedings, a specified time for the regular meetings of the
board. The board may meet for a specific occasion if called by
order of the president, vice president, or a majority of the
directors.
(c) The board shall hold its meetings at its office unless
the board directs otherwise for a specific occasion.
SECTION 2.08. EMPLOYEES. The authority may hire employees
to obtain any service or material required by the authority.
SECTION 2.09. DUTIES OF GENERAL MANAGER. The board may
employ a general manager for the authority and may delegate to the
general manager full authority to manage and operate the affairs of
the authority subject only to the orders of the board.
SECTION 2.10. COMPENSATION OF EMPLOYEES. The board shall
set the reasonable compensation to be paid to the general manager
and other employees of the authority.
SECTION 2.11. SURETY BOND. A bond required to be given by a
director, officer, or employee of the authority must be executed by
a surety company authorized to do business in this state, as surety
on the bond.
SECTION 2.12. CONFLICT OF INTEREST. The board shall comply
with Chapter 171, Local Government Code, relating to conflicts of
interest with a business entity in which a board member has a
substantial interest.
SECTION 2.13. REGULAR OFFICE OF AUTHORITY. The board shall
establish and maintain a regular office for conducting authority
business within the authority's territory.
SECTION 2.14. RECORDS. The secretary-treasurer of the
board shall keep a record of all proceedings and orders of the
board.
ARTICLE III. POWERS AND DUTIES
SECTION 3.01. POWER UNDER CONSTITUTION AND OTHER LAW. The
authority has all of the rights, powers, privileges, authority,
functions, and duties, except as limited by this Act, of a
conservation and reclamation district under the constitution and
other laws of this state, including those:
(1) expressly authorized or implied by Section 59,
Article XVI, Texas Constitution, for a conservation and reclamation
district; and
(2) given by general law, including Chapters 49, 51,
and 54, Water Code.
SECTION 3.02. AD VALOREM TAX PROHIBITED. Notwithstanding
Section 3.01 of this Act, the authority may not impose an ad valorem
tax.
SECTION 3.03. NONCONTRACTUAL FEES PROHIBITED.
Notwithstanding Section 3.01 of this Act, the authority may impose
a fee on a public or private entity only if:
(1) a contractual relationship exists between the
authority and the entity; and
(2) the authority expressly authorizes the fee.
SECTION 3.04. STATE SUPERVISION AND APPROVAL. The
authority is subject to the commission's continuing supervision
under Chapters 5 and 12, Water Code.
SECTION 3.05. ADDITIONAL POWERS RELATING TO ACQUISITION OR
OPERATION OF PROPERTY. (a) In this section, "property" includes a
right, including a water right, land, tenement, easement,
improvement, reservoir, dam, canal, lateral, plant, work, and
facility.
(b) The authority may investigate, plan, acquire,
construct, maintain, or operate any property the authority
considers necessary or proper for the accomplishment of the
purposes of the authority, including water treatment, wastewater
treatment, water conveyance, and desalination of water.
(c) The power described by Subsection (b) of this section
includes the power to acquire property inside or outside the
authority that is incidental or helpful to carrying out the
authority's purposes under this Act.
SECTION 3.06. ADDITIONAL POWERS RELATING TO CONTRACT,
LEASE, AGREEMENT, OR CONVEYANCE. (a) The authority may enter into
a contract, lease, or other agreement necessary or convenient to
carry out a power given to the authority by this Act.
(b) The authority may enter into a contract, lease, or
agreement with any person, including:
(1) an individual or artificial entity;
(2) a corporation, including a municipal corporation
and a public or private corporation; and
(3) a government or governmental agency, including the
United States and this state, or a political subdivision of this
state.
(c) The authority may enter into an international
cooperation agreement to accomplish the purposes of this Act or any
other law as provided by Chapter 792, Government Code.
(d) The authority may:
(1) convey or cause to be conveyed any of its property
to the United States;
(2) enter into a lease, regardless of whether it
includes a privilege of purchase, with the United States relating
to any property and obligating the authority to pay rent under the
lease from the income or other revenue of the property;
(3) apply for, accept, receive, and administer gifts,
grants, loans, and other funds available from any source; and
(4) participate with the commission in an action
authorized under Section 5.127, Water Code, as added by Chapter
728, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001.
(e) A contract, lease, or agreement under this section must
be approved by resolution of the board.
(f) This section does not authorize the assumption by the
authority of any obligation requiring a payment from taxes.
(g) The property to which Subsection (d) of this section
applies includes a right, land, tenement, easement, improvement,
reservoir, dam, canal, plant, lateral, work, and facility.
SECTION 3.07. COURT-APPOINTED RECEIVER. The authority may
serve as the court-appointed receiver in a matter determined by a
court concerning the disposition of assets of any district
authorized by Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution.
ARTICLE IV. GENERAL FINANCIAL MATTERS
SECTION 4.01. PROCEDURE FOR PAYMENT. A warrant for the
payment of money by the authority may be drawn and signed by the
president and the secretary-treasurer if the account under which
the payment is to be made results from a contract made by the board
and is ordered paid by the board.
SECTION 4.02. RECORDS RELATING TO MONEY. The
secretary-treasurer shall:
(1) receive and give a receipt for all money received
by the authority; and
(2) keep records of all money received and spent by the
authority.
SECTION 4.03. FILING OF AUDIT. In addition to copies of the
annual audit of the authority that are filed as required by Section
49.194, Water Code, a copy shall be filed with the depository of the
authority and the office of the auditor.
ARTICLE V. BONDS
SECTION 5.01. BOND PROVISIONS. (a) For the purpose of
providing funds for purchasing or otherwise providing works,
plants, facilities, or appliances necessary to the accomplishment
of the purposes authorized by this Act, and for the purpose of
carrying out any other power conferred by this Act, the authority
may borrow money and issue negotiable bonds.
(b) A bond issued under this section may be:
(1) sold for cash, at a public or private sale, at a
price determined by the board;
(2) issued on terms determined by the board in
exchange for property of any kind or any interest in property that
the board determines necessary or convenient for any corporate
purpose; or
(3) issued to refund bonds issued at any time under
this Act.
(c) The issuance of bonds must be authorized by resolution
of the board, and the bonds must mature, serially or otherwise, in
not more than 50 years from their date of issuance.
(d) A resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds may
contain provisions that become part of the contract between the
authority and the purchasers and subsequent holders of the bonds:
(1) reserving the right to redeem the bonds at the time
or times, in the amounts, and at the prices provided;
(2) providing for the setting aside of sinking funds
or reserve funds and the regulation and disposition of those funds;
(3) pledging, to secure the payment of the principal
of and interest on the bonds and the sinking fund or reserve fund
payments agreed to be made with respect to the bonds, all or any
part of the gross or net revenues subsequently received by the
authority with respect to the property to be acquired or
constructed with the bonds or with proceeds of the bonds, or all or
any part of the gross or net revenues subsequently received by the
authority from any source;
(4) prescribing the purposes to which the bonds or any
bonds later issued, or the proceeds of the bonds, may be applied;
(5) agreeing to set and collect rates and charges
sufficient to produce revenues that are adequate to pay the items
specified in any resolution or resolutions authorizing any bonds,
and prescribing the use and disposition of all revenues;
(6) prescribing limitations on the issuance of
additional bonds and on all agreements that may be made with the
purchasers and successive holders of the bonds;
(7) relating to the construction, extension,
improvement, operation, maintenance, depreciation, replacement,
and repair of the properties of the authority and the carrying of
insurance on all or any part of the property covering loss or damage
or loss of use and occupancy resulting from specified risks;
(8) fixing the procedure, if any, by which, if the
authority desires, the terms of any contract with the holders of
bonds may be amended or abrogated and setting the amount of bonds
the holders of which must consent to amendment or abrogation, and
the manner in which the consent shall be evidenced;
(9) providing for the execution and delivery by the
authority to a bank or trust company authorized by law to accept
trusts, or to the United States or any office or agency of the
United States, of indentures or agreements authorized to be made
with or for the benefit of the holders of the bonds and other
provisions that may be contained in the indentures or agreements;
or
(10) making any other provisions, not inconsistent
with provisions of this Act, that the board may approve.
SECTION 5.02. DEED OF TRUST OR MORTGAGE LIEN. Bonds, within
the discretion of the board, may be additionally secured by a deed
of trust or mortgage lien on physical properties of the authority,
and all franchises, easements, water rights and appropriation
permits, leases, contracts, and all rights appurtenant to the
properties, vesting in the trustee power to sell the properties for
the payment of the indebtedness, power to operate the properties,
and all other powers and authority for the further security of the
bonds.
SECTION 5.03. ELECTION FOR REVENUE BONDS NOT REQUIRED. The
authority may issue bonds payable solely from revenues without an
election.
SECTION 5.04. LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORITY TO ISSUE BONDS. The
authority may not issue bonds or create indebtedness that would in
any way be payable from ad valorem taxes levied by the authority on
property within the authority.
SECTION 5.05. BONDS EXEMPT FROM TAXATION. Bonds and the
interest on bonds issued under this Act are exempt from taxation,
except inheritance taxes, by this state or by any municipal
corporation, county, or other political subdivision or taxing
district of this state.
SECTION 5.06. FULL AUTHORITY. The authority set out in this
Act for the authorization and issuance of bonds is in addition to,
and not in lieu of, the authority otherwise established under
general law and may not be construed as a limitation on, or a
modification of, general law providing for authorization and
issuance of bonds, notes, and other forms of obligations. Nothing
in this Act may be construed as affecting any existing contract,
bond, note, or other obligation of the authority or any indenture,
covenant, mortgage, or other agreement relating to them.
ARTICLE VI. RIO GRANDE WATERMASTER
SECTION 6.01. Subchapter G, Chapter 11, Water Code, is
amended by adding Section 11.3271 to read as follows:
Sec. 11.3271. POWERS AND DUTIES OF RIO GRANDE WATERMASTER;
DELIVERY OF WATER DOWN BANKS AND BED OF RIO GRANDE. (a) This
section applies only to the watermaster with jurisdiction over the
Rio Grande and the water division for which that watermaster is
appointed.
(b) The watermaster shall divide the water of the streams or
other sources of supply of the division in accordance with the
adjudicated water rights.
(c) The watermaster shall regulate or cause to be regulated
the controlling works of reservoirs and diversion works in time of
water shortage, as is necessary because of the rights existing in
the streams of the division, or as is necessary to prevent the waste
of water or its diversion, taking, storage, or use in excess of the
quantities to which the holders of water rights are lawfully
entitled.
(d) The watermaster may regulate the distribution of water
from any system of works that serves users whose rights have been
separately determined.
(e) The watermaster's duties do not include activities that
relate to other programs of the commission, except as provided by
this section. The watermaster's duties shall include activities
that relate to situations of imminent threat to public health and
safety or the environment. The commission shall adopt rules:
(1) defining situations of imminent threat under this
section; and
(2) addressing the watermaster's duties in response to
terrorism.
(f) The watermaster may store in a reservoir for release at
a later time water in transit that is being conveyed down the banks
and bed of the Rio Grande under a permit issued by the commission
and in accordance with rules prescribed by the commission. In this
section, "water in transit" means privately owned water, not
including state water, that a person has pumped from an underground
reservoir and that is in transit between the point of discharge into
the river and the place of use or the point of diversion by a person
who has contracted with the owner of the water to purchase the
water. The contract must specify that the contract is for the
purchase and delivery of a specified amount of water less the
carriage losses incurred in transit, as described and measured
according to commission rules.
(g) The watermaster may store water under Subsection (f)
only if the storage does not hinder the ability of any other holders
of Rio Grande surface water rights to store the maximum authorized
capacity in a reservoir as specified by commission rules and
relevant permits, certified filings, or certificates of
adjudication.
(h) Before granting a permit to convey water down the banks
and bed of the Rio Grande, the commission shall adopt rules that
provide for the methods and procedures by which the watermaster
shall account for any discharge, delivery, conveyance, storage,
diversion, or associated loss of water conveyed down the banks and
bed of the Rio Grande. A permit to convey water down the banks and
bed of the Rio Grande may not allow the permit holder to share in any
beneficial state water inflows into the Rio Grande. The permit
holder is entitled to convey only the amount of water specified in
the permit, less the carriage losses incurred in transit, as
described and measured according to commission rules. A rule
adopted by the commission under this subsection must be consistent
with the Treaty Relating to the Utilization of the Waters of the
Colorado and Tijuana Rivers, and of the Rio Grande (Rio Bravo) from
Fort Quitman, Texas, to the Gulf of Mexico, concluded by the United
States and the United Mexican States on February 3, 1944, and with
any minute order adopted by the International Boundary and Water
Commission.
(i) In considering an application for a permit to convey
water down the banks and bed of the Rio Grande, the commission shall
consider the quality of the water to be conveyed. The commission
may not issue a permit if it determines that the water to be
conveyed would degrade the water quality of the Rio Grande.
(j) Notwithstanding any other law, the watermaster is the
official recorder for all instruments, including deeds, deeds of
trust, financing statements, security agreements, and liens, that
the commission authorizes or requires to be filed in connection
with water rights relating to water in the lower, middle, or upper
basin of the Rio Grande that are subject to a permit, certified
filing, or certificate of adjudication. An instrument shall be
filed with the watermaster under this subsection in the same manner
as required by other law for the same type of instrument. The
filing of an instrument under this subsection results in the same
legal and administrative status and consequences as a filing under
other law for the same type of instrument. An instrument filed
under this subsection shall be construed by a court, financial
institution, or other affected person in the same manner as an
instrument of the same type that is filed under other law. The
watermaster may charge and collect a fee for the recordation of
instruments under this subsection in the same amount as the fee
collected by the county clerk of Cameron County for the recordation
of similar instruments. The commission by rule shall prescribe the
procedures necessary for the proper implementation of this
subsection, including reasonable transition provisions, if
appropriate.
(k) This section does not apply to the Rio Grande above the
Fort Quitman Dam.
ARTICLE VII. EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION
SECTION 7.01. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
September 1, 2003.
SECTION 7.02. As soon as practicable after September 1,
2003, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall adopt
rules necessary for the implementation of Section 11.3271, Water
Code, as added by this Act, and shall expedite any application for a
permit for the delivery of water down the banks and bed of the Rio
Grande under Section 11.042, Water Code.