H.B. No. 3847
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the Riverbend Water Resources District.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 9601.001, Special District Local Laws
  Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (6) to read as follows:
               (6)  "Temporary administrator" means a person
  appointed under Subchapter B-1.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter A, Chapter 9601, Special District
  Local Laws Code, is amended by adding Section 9601.008 to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 9601.008.  MEMBER IMMUNITY.  A member has immunity from
  suit and immunity from liability in any action or proceeding
  brought by another member arising out of or relating to the changes
  in law made by the Act enacting this section.
         SECTION 3.  Section 9601.051, Special District Local Laws
  Code, is amended by amending Subsections (b) and (f) and adding
  Subsections (b-1), (b-2), and (g) to read as follows:
         (b)  The board consists of five directors, appointed as
  follows:
               (1)  two directors appointed by the City of Texarkana;
               (2)  one director appointed by the City of New Boston;
               (3)  one director appointed by the Red River
  Redevelopment Authority or its successor; and
               (4)  one director appointed by the members not named in
  Subdivisions (1) through (3), including any members added under
  Section 9601.005(b). 
         (b-1)  The governing body of each member required to [shall]
  appoint a director under Subsection (b)(1), (2), or (3) shall
  appoint the required number of directors to represent the member on
  the board.  The members not named in Subsections (b)(1) through (3)
  shall appoint a single director in the manner provided by
  Subsection (b-2) to represent those members on the board.  A [and
  shall promptly fill a] vacancy in a [that] board position shall be
  promptly filled in accordance with the [member's] policies,
  resolutions, and procedures of the applicable member or members.
         (b-2)  The members not named in Subsections (b)(1) through
  (3) may each nominate a person qualified to serve as a director.  
  The governing body of each of those members shall cast one vote for
  a candidate chosen from the list of nominees.  The nominee receiving
  a majority of the votes cast by the governing bodies of those
  members becomes the director representing those members on the
  board.
         (f)  A director may not serve more than two consecutive
  terms.  A former director may not serve again before the fourth
  anniversary of the last day of the director's previous term.
         (g)  The initial directors shall draw lots to achieve
  staggered terms, with three of the directors serving three-year
  terms and two of the directors serving four-year terms.
         SECTION 4.  Section 9601.052, Special District Local Laws
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 9601.052.  QUALIFICATIONS FOR OFFICE.  (a)  To be
  eligible to be appointed or to serve as a director, a person must be
  a resident, qualified voter of the district.
         (b)  A person is not eligible to be appointed or to serve as a
  director while the person:
               (1)  is serving as an elected official of a political
  subdivision or other governmental body; or
               (2)  is an employee of a member.
         SECTION 5.  Section 9601.057, Special District Local Laws
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 9601.057.  RECALL. (a)  A director appointed under
  Section 9601.051(b)(1), (2), or (3) may be recalled at any time by a
  two-thirds vote of the governing body of the member that appointed
  the director.
         (b)  A director appointed under Section 9601.051(b)(4) may
  be recalled by a two-thirds vote of the members that appoint a
  director under that section.
         SECTION 6.  Chapter 9601, Special District Local Laws Code,
  is amended by adding Subchapter B-1 to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER B-1. TEMPORARY ADMINISTRATOR
         Sec. 9601.071.  DEFINITION. In this subchapter,
  "commission" means the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
         Sec. 9601.072.  APPOINTMENT. On the effective date of the
  Act enacting this subchapter, Clyde M. Siebman is appointed as
  temporary administrator for the district, and the term of each
  person who is serving as a director expires on that date.
         Sec. 9601.073.  TERM. (a)  The temporary administrator
  shall serve until the 180th day after the date that a board
  conforming to the structure described by Section 9601.051(b), as
  amended by the Act enacting this subchapter, is appointed and the
  directors have qualified.
         (b)  The commission may extend the term of the temporary
  administrator if the commission determines, after consultation
  with each state senator and representative who represents a
  district that includes territory in the district, that an extension
  is necessary to manage the transition between boards.
         Sec. 9601.074.  POWERS AND DUTIES. (a)  The temporary
  administrator shall have the same powers and duties of the board,
  except that the temporary administrator may not issue bonds.
         (b)  The temporary administrator shall:
               (1)  complete an inventory of:
                     (A)  the contracts to which the district is a
  party, including an evaluation of the benefit to the district of
  each contract; and
                     (B)  district assets and liabilities;
               (2)  retrieve district assets that are in the
  possession or under the control of persons not authorized by the
  temporary administrator, including keys, passwords, books,
  records, and personal, real, and intangible property;
               (3)  work to secure and protect the assets of the
  district;
               (4)  obtain a financial audit of the district;
               (5)  determine the current operational, functional,
  and financial condition of the district;
               (6)  recruit a qualified executive director and other
  management personnel;
               (7)  provide oversight and supervision of the board;
               (8)  provide for a program to educate the incoming
  board and management personnel on laws applicable to the district,
  sound management strategies, negotiation skills, conflict of
  interest policies and law, financial integrity, and contracting
  issues;
               (9)  develop and implement strategies to carry out the
  purposes of the district and to provide a safe, secure, and
  plentiful supply of water for use within the northeast area of this
  state;
               (10)  review and accept new member petitions from
  political subdivisions; and
               (11)  at least every three months, report to the
  commission on the progress of the duties described by this section.
         (c)  In the period after the appointment of a new board and
  before the end of the temporary administrator's term, the temporary
  administrator shall work cooperatively with the board in performing
  the duties under Subsection (b).
         Sec. 9601.075.  PERSONNEL. The temporary administrator may
  employ persons to assist the temporary administrator in carrying
  out the duties assigned by this subchapter.
         Sec. 9601.076.  COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT. (a)  The
  temporary administrator and any person hired under Section 9601.075
  is entitled to reasonable compensation, based on the education,
  training, and experience of the person, and reimbursement of the
  reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in carrying out the
  duties assigned by this subchapter.
         (b)  The district shall pay the cost of compensation and
  reimbursement.
         (c)  The amount of compensation and reimbursement shall be
  determined by agreement of the temporary administrator and the
  board, except that before the appointment and qualification of the
  board as provided by Section 9601.051, as amended by the Act
  enacting this subchapter, the amount of compensation and
  reimbursement shall be determined by agreement of the temporary
  administrator and the executive director of the commission. In the
  event an agreement cannot be reached, the commission shall
  determine the compensation and reimbursement, after obtaining the
  approval of each state senator and representative who represents a
  district that includes territory in the district.
         Sec. 9601.077.  REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT. The commission
  may, after obtaining the consent of each state senator and
  representative who represents a district that includes territory in
  the district, remove the temporary administrator and:
               (1)  appoint a new temporary administrator; or
               (2)  return control of the district to the board.
         Sec. 9601.078.  IMMUNITY FROM SUIT. For acts or omissions
  undertaken in the course and scope of carrying out the duties
  assigned by this subchapter, the temporary administrator is
  entitled to the same immunity from suit and liability that applies
  to a state district judge acting in a judicial capacity.
         Sec. 9601.079.  EXPIRATION OF SECTIONS. Sections 9601.071
  through 9601.077 and this section expire September 1, 2013.
         SECTION 7.  Section 9601.104(a), Special District Local Laws
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A person, entity, public agency, [or a] county,
  municipality, or other political subdivision of this state or
  another state may enter into a contract or agreement with the
  district, on terms agreed to by the parties, for:
               (1)  the purchase or sale of water;
               (2)  waste collection, transportation, processing, or
  disposal; or
               (3)  any purpose relating to the district's powers or
  functions.
         SECTION 8.  Sections 9601.051(d) and 9601.059, Special
  District Local Laws Code, are repealed.
         SECTION 9.  Not sooner than the 150th day and not later than
  the 180th day after the effective date of this Act, the City of
  Texarkana, the City of New Boston, the Red River Redevelopment
  Authority or its successor, and the members described by Section
  9601.051, Special District Local Laws Code, as amended by this Act,
  shall appoint members, as appropriate, to the board of directors of
  the Riverbend Water Resources District.
         SECTION 10.  (a)  The legal notice of the intention to
  introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
  Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
  copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
  officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
  under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
  Government Code.
         (b)  The governor has submitted the notice and Act to the
  Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
         (c)  The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
  its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor,
  lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives
  within the required time.
         (d)  All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
  state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
  to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
  and accomplished.
         SECTION 11.  This Act takes effect immediately if it
  receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
  house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  
  If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
  effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 3847 was passed by the House on May 3,
  2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 142, Nays 0, 3 present, not
  voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 3847 was passed by the Senate on May
  17, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
  APPROVED:  _____________________
                     Date          
   
            _____________________
                   Governor