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INTRODUCED
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HOUSE COMMITTEE
SUBSTITUTE
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SECTION 1. Section
5007.002(a), Special District Local Laws Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(a) That, effective June
6, 1927, the Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation District of
Harris County, Texas, in Harris County, as hereinafter described by metes
and bounds, is hereby created and established under authority of Article 3,
Section 52, of the Constitution of the State of Texas, for the purpose of
the development of deep water navigation and the improvement of rivers,
bays, creeks, streams, and canals within or adjacent to the authority,
including the Houston Ship Channel and dredge material management areas,
and to construct and maintain canals or waterways to permit navigation or
in aid thereof and for the purpose of and authority to acquire, purchase,
undertake, construct, maintain, operate, develop, and regulate wharves,
docks, warehouses, grain elevators, bunkering facilities, belt railroads,
floating plants, lighterage, lands, dredge material management areas,
towing facilities, and all other facilities or aids incident to or
necessary to the operation or development of ports or waterways within the
authority and extending to the Gulf of
Mexico,
as provided in Chapter 9 of
the Revised Statutes of 1925; and all orders of the Commissioners' Court of
Harris County, Texas, and of the Navigation Commissioners, heretofore made
in respect to the creation of such authority and the authorization and
issuance of the bonds of said authority are hereby in all things ratified,
confirmed, and validated.
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SECTION 1. Section
5007.002(a), Special District Local Laws Code, is amended to read as
follows:
(a) That, effective June
6, 1927, the Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation District of
Harris County, Texas, in Harris County, as hereinafter described by metes
and bounds, is hereby created and established under authority of Article 3,
Section 52, of the Constitution of the State of Texas, for the purpose of
the development of deep water navigation and the improvement of rivers,
bays, creeks, streams, and canals within or adjacent to the authority,
including the Houston Ship Channel and dredge material management areas,
and to construct and maintain canals or waterways to permit navigation or
in aid thereof and for the purpose of and authority to acquire, purchase,
undertake, construct, maintain, operate, develop, and regulate wharves,
docks, warehouses, grain elevators, bunkering facilities, belt railroads,
floating plants, lighterage, lands, dredge material management areas,
towing facilities, and all other facilities or aids incident to or
necessary to the operation or development of ports or waterways within the
authority, including the Houston Ship
Channel and dredge material management areas [and extending to the Gulf of Mexico],
as provided in Chapter 9 of the Revised Statutes of 1925; and all orders of
the Commissioners' Court of Harris County, Texas, and of the Navigation
Commissioners, heretofore made in respect to the creation of such authority
and the authorization and issuance of the bonds of said authority are
hereby in all things ratified, confirmed, and validated.
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SECTION 2. Sections
5007.004(a), (b), and (c), Special District Local Laws Code, are amended to
read as follows:
(a) That all right, title
and interest of the State of Texas, to all lands hereinafter in this
section described, to wit:
All islands and lands owned
by the State of Texas, many of which are subject to overflow, known as
Barnes Island, Alexander Island, Goat Island, Diamond Island and Hog Island
in San Jacinto River above Lynchburg, and certain accretions formed by
dredged material excavated from the channel and forming land attached to or
near said Alexander Island, Hog Island between Goose Creek and Morgan
Point, Atkinson Island, and all the submerged lands lying and being
situated under the waters of Buffalo Bayou, San Jacinto River, White Oak
Bayou, Bray's Bayou, Simms Bayou, Vince [Vinces] Bayou,
Hunting Bayou, Greens Bayou, Carpenters Bayou, Old River, Lost River, Goose
Creek and Cedar Bayou, and all other streams within the authority tributary
to the Houston Ship Channel, so far up said streams as the State may own
same, together with all lands lying and being situated under the waters of
Old River, Burnett's Bay, Crystal Lake, Scott's Bay, Peggy's Lake, Black
Duck Bay, Tabbs Bay and San Jacinto Bay, and all other tidal flats or
overflow land adjacent to or appurtenant to the above mentioned streams
within the limits above mentioned except Mitchell's Bay and any area
between said bay and the Houston Ship Channel, as now or hereafter located,
is [hereby] granted to the authority effective June 14, 1927,
or its successors, for public purposes and for the development of commerce
only, in accordance with the following provisions and stipulations herein
contained; provided that inasmuch as it is the purpose of this section to
grant said lands to the public agency which is developing the Port of
Houston, upon the creation by legislation of other public agency which
shall supersede the authority as the public agency developing the Port of
Houston, the title to said lands shall be transferred from the authority to
such public agency, either municipal or State, so provided, such public
agency being referred to herein as the successors of the authority.
(b) The authority, or its
successors, is hereby granted the right, power and authority to authorize,
establish, construct, purchase, own, maintain, equip, regulate, operate and
lease wharves, piers, docks, dry docks, marine ways and all other
structures and appliances for facilitating or accommodating commerce or
navigation, and to dredge out channels, slips and turning basins, and to
fill in space between the main land and islands and to fill areas for
wharves, piers, docks, dry docks, marine ways and for all other structures
and appliances for facilitating and accommodating commerce and navigation,
having first secured a permit from the Government of the United States of
America as required by federal law [therefor], and to
construct, or cause or authorize to be constructed on said wharves, piers,
docks, dry docks, marine ways and other structures and appliances for
facilitating and accommodating commerce and navigation, or on lands so
filled in, any and all elevators, warehouses, bunkers, railway terminals
and sidetracks, or any other facilities or aids whatsoever to navigation or
commerce. Said lands shall be used by the authority, or its successors,
solely for the establishment, improvement and conduct of a [an]
harbor and ship channel and for the construction, maintenance and
operation [thereon] of any facilities or aids whatsoever related
to the same, and the authority, or its successors, shall not at any time,
grant, convey, give or alien said lands or any part thereof, to any
individual, firm or corporation for any purpose whatsoever; provided, that
the authority, or its successors, may grant franchises thereon for limited
periods of time for wharves, and other public uses and purposes, and may
lease said lands and facilities or any part thereof for limited
periods for purposes consistent with this chapter, but no wharves, piers or
structures of any kind shall be constructed on said lands by anyone save
the authority, except under a franchise or lease granted by the
authority and in a manner first prescribed by and approved of by the
authority or its successors.
(c) For the purpose of
carrying out the provisions of this section, the authority, or its
successors, is hereby granted the right, power and authority to abate and
remove any and all encroachments or structures of any kind now or hereafter
existing on said property, save such as may have been constructed under
permit from the [United States War Department, or other] proper
Federal authority, and shall have the right to bring such suit or suits as
may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section to the same
extent and as fully and completely as the right to bring such a suit or
suits existed in the State prior to the passage hereof.
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SECTION 2. Sections
5007.004(b) and (c), Special District Local Laws Code, are amended to read
as follows:
No
equivalent provision.
(b) The authority, or its
successors, is hereby granted the right, power and authority to authorize,
establish, construct, purchase, own, maintain, equip, regulate, operate and
lease wharves, piers, docks, dry docks, marine ways and all other
structures and appliances for facilitating or accommodating commerce or
navigation, and to dredge out channels, slips and turning basins, and to
fill in space between the main land and islands and to fill areas for
wharves, piers, docks, dry docks, marine ways and for all other structures
and appliances for facilitating and accommodating commerce and navigation,
having first secured a permit from the Government of the United States of
America as required by Federal law [therefor], and to
construct, or cause or authorize to be constructed on said wharves, piers,
docks, dry docks, marine ways and other structures and appliances for
facilitating and accommodating commerce and navigation, or on lands so
filled in, any and all elevators, warehouses, bunkers, railway terminals
and sidetracks, or any other facilities or aids whatsoever to navigation or
commerce. Said lands shall be used by the authority, or its successors,
solely for the establishment, improvement and conduct of a [an]
harbor and ship channel and for the construction, maintenance and
operation [thereon] of any facilities or aids whatsoever related
to the same, and the authority, or its successors, shall not at any time,
grant, convey, give or alien said lands or any part thereof, to any
individual, firm or corporation for any purpose whatsoever; provided, that
the authority, or its successors, may grant franchises thereon for limited
periods of time for wharves, and other public uses and purposes, and may
lease said lands and facilities or any part thereof for limited
periods for purposes consistent with this chapter, but no wharves, piers or
structures of any kind shall be constructed on said lands by anyone save
the authority, except under a franchise or lease granted by the
authority and in a manner first prescribed by and approved of by the
authority or its successors.
(c) For the purpose of
carrying out the provisions of this section, the authority, or its
successors, is hereby granted the right, power and authority to abate and
remove any and all encroachments or structures of any kind now or hereafter
existing on said property, save such as may have been constructed under
permit from the [United States War Department, or other] proper
Federal authority, and shall have the right to bring such suit or suits as
may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section to the same
extent and as fully and completely as the right to bring such a suit or
suits existed in the State prior to the passage hereof.
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SECTION 3. The heading to
Section 5007.006, Special District Local Laws Code, is amended.
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SECTION 3. Same as introduced
version.
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SECTION 4. Sections
5007.006(d), (e), (g), (j), (m), and (r), Special District Local Laws Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(d) Such obligations shall
not constitute an indebtedness or pledge of the credit of the authority,
and the holders thereof shall never have the right to demand payment
thereof out of any funds raised or to be raised by taxation, and such
obligations shall contain a recital to that effect. All obligations issued
hereunder shall be in registered or coupon form, and if in coupon form may
be registerable as to principal only, or as to both principal and interest,
shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed the amount allowed by law,
payable annually or semiannually, and shall be in such denominations and
shall mature serially or at one time not more than forty (40) years from
their date in such manner as may be provided by the port commission.
Principal of and interest on such obligations shall be made payable at any
place or places within or without the State of Texas, and in the discretion
of the port commission such obligations may be made callable and/or
refundable at the option of the port commission prior to maturity at such
premium or premiums as the port commission shall determine. Such
obligations shall be signed by the manual or facsimile signatures of the chair
of the port commission [Chairman] and the executive
director [of the port commission] as may be provided in the
proceedings authorizing said obligations, and the interest coupons attached
thereto may also be executed by the facsimile signatures of such officers.
Such obligations shall be sold in such manner and at such times as the port
commission shall determine to be expedient and necessary to the interests
of the authority, provided, that in no event shall such obligations be sold
for a price which will result in an interest yield therefrom of more than
the amount allowed by law computed to maturity according to standard bond
tables in general use by banks and insurance companies. Any premium or
premiums provided for the call or refunding of any bonds issued pursuant to
this Section shall not be included in the computation of the maximum interest
yield on such bonds. In the event of the officers whose signatures are on
such obligations or coupons shall cease to be such officers before the
delivery of such obligations to the purchaser, such signature or
signatures, nevertheless, shall be valid and sufficient for all purposes.
All obligations issued hereunder shall constitute negotiable instruments
under Chapter 3, Business & Commerce Code.
(e) Any obligations issued
hereunder may be issued payable from and secured by the pledge of all the revenues
derived from the operation of the improvements and facilities of the
authority, exclusive of any revenues derived from taxation or assessments,
or may be payable from and secured by the pledge of only such revenues as
may be derived from the operation of the improvements and facilities
acquired or improved with the proceeds of the sale of such
obligations, or may be payable from and secured by the pledge of a
specified part of the revenues derived from the operation of the
improvements and facilities of the authority, all as may be provided in the
proceedings authorizing the issuance of such obligations.
(g) The authority may adopt
plans for the construction or refinancing of a facility [grain
elevator or elevators], to be paid for by the issuance and sale of
obligations payable from and secured by a pledge of revenues to be derived
from the operation of the facility [said grain elevator] and
further secured by a trust indenture, or by a deed of trust on the physical
properties of such improvement; and during the time any such improvement is
encumbered by the pledge of such revenues and the lien upon its physical
properties, in the proceedings authorizing the bonds or the indenture, may
vest its management and control in a Board of Trustees, to be named in such
resolution or indenture, consisting of not less than five (5) nor more than
nine (9) members. The compensation of the members of such Board of
Trustees shall be fixed by such resolution or indenture, but shall never
exceed one percent (1%) of the gross receipts of such improvement in any
one (1) year. The terms of office of the members of such Board of
Trustees, their powers and duties, including the power to fix fees and
charges for the use of such improvements, and the manner of exercising same,
the manner of the selection of their successors, and all matters pertaining
to their duties and the organization of such Board of Trustees shall be
specified in such resolution or indenture. Any such Board of Trustees may
adopt bylaws regulating the procedure of the Board and fixing the duties of
its officers, but the bylaws shall not contain any provision in conflict
with the covenants and provisions contained in the resolution authorizing
the bonds or the indenture. In all matters wherein the resolution or
indenture are silent as to the powers, duties, obligations and procedure of
the Board, the laws and rules governing the port commission shall control
the Board of Trustees in so far as applicable. The Board may be created by
the resolution or indenture, and in that event shall have all or any of the
powers and authority which could be exercised by the port commission in so
far as the management and operation of any such improvement is concerned.
By the terms of any such resolution or indenture the port commission may
make provision for later supplementing such resolution or indenture so as
to vest the management and control of the facility [such grain
elevator] in a Board of Trustees having the powers, rights and duties
herein conferred or imposed.
(j) As additional security
for the payment of any obligations issued hereunder, the port commission
may in its discretion have executed in favor of the holders of such
obligations an indenture or deed of trust mortgaging and encumbering all or
any part of the physical properties comprising the improvements and
facilities the net revenues of which are pledged to the payment of such
obligations, including the lands upon which said improvements and
facilities are located, and may provide in such mortgage or encumbrance for
a grant to any purchaser or purchasers at foreclosure sale thereunder of a
franchise or lease to operate such improvements, facilities and
properties for a term of not over fifty (50) years from the date of such
purchase, subject to all laws regulating same then in force. Any such
indenture or deed of trust may contain such terms and provisions as the
port commission shall deem proper and shall be enforceable in the manner
provided by the laws of Texas for the enforcement of other mortgages and
encumbrances. Under any such sale ordered pursuant to the provisions of
such mortgage or encumbrance, the purchaser or purchasers at such sale, and
his or their successors or
assigns, shall be vested with a permit or franchise conforming to the provisions
stipulated in the indenture or deed of trust to maintain and operate the
improvements, facilities and properties purchased at such sale with like
powers and privileges as may theretofore have been enjoyed by the authority
in the operation of said improvements, facilities and properties. The
purchaser or purchasers of such improvements, facilities and properties at
any such sale, and his or their
successors and assigns, may operate said improvements, facilities and
properties as provided in the last above sentence or may at their option
remove all or any part or parts of said improvements, facilities and
properties for diversion to other purposes.
The provisions of [Sections
61.164, 61.165, and 61.168, Water Code, and Chapter 134, Acts 1935, 44th Legislature,
Regular Session, as amended, and] any statute not included in this
chapter that relates [other Statutes relating] to the
authorization or execution of mortgages and encumbrances or the granting of
franchises or leases shall not be applicable to the authorization or
execution of any mortgage or encumbrance entered into pursuant to the
provisions of this chapter, nor to the granting of any franchise or
lease hereunder. Any obligations issued pursuant to the provisions of
this chapter and additionally secured by an indenture or deed of trust as
provided by this subsection, whether such obligations are notes or
certificates of indebtedness or otherwise, and the record relating to their
issuance, may, at the option of the port commission, be submitted to the
Attorney General of Texas for his
examination and approval, as in the case of bonds, and after the Attorney
General has approved the same, such obligations shall be registered by the
Comptroller of Public Accounts of Texas; and after such obligations have
been approved by the Attorney General and registered by the Comptroller,
they shall thereafter be incontestable for any cause except for forgery or
fraud.
(m) The authority, in
addition to the other powers hereinabove set out, shall have general power
and authority to make and enter into all contracts, leases and agreements
necessary or convenient to the carrying out of any of the powers granted in
this chapter, which contracts, leases or agreements may be entered into
with any person, real or artificial, any corporation, municipal, public or
private, and the government or governmental agency, including those of the
United States and the State of Texas. Except as provided by Chapter 60,
Water Code, any [Any and all] contracts, leases or agreements
entered into pursuant hereto shall be approved by action [resolution
or order] of the port commission, and shall be executed by the chair
of the port commission [Chairman] and attested by the executive
director [thereof].
(r) This Section, without
reference to other Statutes of the State of Texas, shall constitute full
authority for the authorization and issuance of obligations hereunder and
for the accomplishment of all things herein authorized to be done, and no
proceedings relating to the authorization or issuance of such obligations
or the doing of such things shall be necessary except such as are herein
required, and no [neither the Bond and Warrant Law of 1931 or any
other] provisions of the Laws of the State of Texas[,] pertinent
to the authorization or issuance of obligations, the operation and
maintenance of ports, canals and waterways, the granting of franchise,
permits, or leases, the right to elections or referendum petitions, shall
in anywise impede or restrict the carrying out of the acts authorized to be
done hereunder or acts done pursuant hereto.
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SECTION 4. Sections
5007.006(d), (e), (g), (j), (m), and (r), Special District Local Laws Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(d) Such obligations shall
not constitute an indebtedness or pledge of the credit of the authority,
and the holders thereof shall never have the right to demand payment
thereof out of any funds raised or to be raised by taxation, and such
obligations shall contain a recital to that effect. All obligations issued
hereunder shall be in registered or coupon form, and if in coupon form may
be registerable as to principal only, or as to both principal and interest,
shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed the amount allowed by law,
payable annually or semiannually, and shall be in such denominations and
shall mature serially or at one time not more than forty (40) years from
their date in such manner as may be provided by the port commission.
Principal of and interest on such obligations shall be made payable at any
place or places within or without the State of Texas, and in the discretion
of the port commission such obligations may be made callable and/or
refundable at the option of the port commission prior to maturity at such
premium or premiums as the port commission shall determine. Such
obligations shall be signed by the manual or facsimile signatures of the chair
of the port commission [Chairman] and the executive
director [of the port commission] as may be provided in the
proceedings authorizing said obligations, and the interest coupons attached
thereto may also be executed by the facsimile signatures of such officers.
Such obligations shall be sold in such manner and at such times as the port
commission shall determine to be expedient and necessary to the interests
of the authority, provided, that in no event shall such obligations be sold
for a price which will result in an interest yield therefrom of more than
the amount allowed by law computed to maturity according to standard bond
tables in general use by banks and insurance companies. Any premium or
premiums provided for the call or refunding of any bonds issued pursuant to
this Section shall not be included in the computation of the maximum
interest yield on such bonds. In the event of the officers whose
signatures are on such obligations or coupons shall cease to be such
officers before the delivery of such obligations to the purchaser, such
signature or signatures, nevertheless, shall be valid and sufficient for
all purposes. All obligations issued hereunder shall constitute negotiable
instruments under Chapter 3, Business & Commerce Code.
(e) Any obligations issued
hereunder may be issued payable from and secured by the pledge of all the
revenues derived from the operation of the improvements and facilities of
the authority, exclusive of any revenues derived from taxation or
assessments, or may be payable from and secured by the pledge of only such
revenues as may be derived from the operation of the improvements and facilities
acquired or improved with the proceeds of the sale of such
obligations, or may be payable from and secured by the pledge of a
specified part of the revenues derived from the operation of the
improvements and facilities of the authority, all as may be provided in the
proceedings authorizing the issuance of such obligations.
(g) The authority may adopt
plans for the construction or refinancing of a facility [grain
elevator or elevators], to be paid for by the issuance and sale of
obligations payable from and secured by a pledge of revenues to be derived
from the operation of the facility [said grain elevator] and
further secured by a trust indenture, or by a deed of trust on the physical
properties of such improvement; and during the time any such improvement is
encumbered by the pledge of such revenues and the lien upon its physical
properties, in the proceedings authorizing the bonds or the indenture, may
vest its management and control in a Board of Trustees, to be named in such
resolution or indenture, consisting of not less than five (5) nor more than
nine (9) members. The compensation of the members of such Board of
Trustees shall be fixed by such resolution or indenture, but shall never
exceed one percent (1%) of the gross receipts of such improvement in any
one (1) year. The terms of office of the members of such Board of
Trustees, their powers and duties, including the power to fix fees and
charges for the use of such improvements, and the manner of exercising
same, the manner of the selection of their successors, and all matters
pertaining to their duties and the organization of such Board of Trustees
shall be specified in such resolution or indenture. Any such Board of
Trustees may adopt bylaws regulating the procedure of the Board and fixing
the duties of its officers, but the bylaws shall not contain any provision
in conflict with the covenants and provisions contained in the resolution
authorizing the bonds or the indenture. In all matters wherein the
resolution or indenture are silent as to the powers, duties, obligations
and procedure of the Board, the laws and rules governing the port
commission shall control the Board of Trustees in so far as applicable.
The Board may be created by the resolution or indenture, and in that event
shall have all or any of the powers and authority which could be exercised
by the port commission in so far as the management and operation of any
such improvement is concerned. By the terms of any such resolution or
indenture the port commission may make provision for later supplementing
such resolution or indenture so as to vest the management and control of the
facility [such grain elevator] in a Board of Trustees having the
powers, rights and duties herein conferred or imposed.
(j) As additional security
for the payment of any obligations issued hereunder, the port commission
may in its discretion have executed in favor of the holders of such
obligations an indenture or deed of trust mortgaging and encumbering all or
any part of the physical properties comprising the improvements and
facilities the net revenues of which are pledged to the payment of such
obligations, including the lands upon which said improvements and
facilities are located, and may provide in such mortgage or encumbrance for
a grant to any purchaser or purchasers at foreclosure sale thereunder of a
franchise or lease to operate such improvements, facilities and
properties for a term of not over fifty (50) years from the date of such
purchase, subject to all laws regulating same then in force. Any such
indenture or deed of trust may contain such terms and provisions as the
port commission shall deem proper and shall be enforceable in the manner
provided by the laws of Texas for the enforcement of other mortgages and
encumbrances. Under any such sale ordered pursuant to the provisions of
such mortgage or encumbrance, the purchaser or purchasers at such sale, and
the purchaser's or purchasers' [his or their] successors or
assigns, shall be vested with a permit or franchise conforming to the
provisions stipulated in the indenture or deed of trust to maintain and
operate the improvements, facilities and properties purchased at such sale
with like powers and privileges as may theretofore have been enjoyed by the
authority in the operation of said improvements, facilities and
properties. The purchaser or purchasers of such improvements, facilities
and properties at any such sale, and the
purchaser's [his or their]
successors and assigns, may operate said improvements, facilities and
properties as provided in the last above sentence or may at their option
remove all or any part or parts of said improvements, facilities and
properties for diversion to other purposes. The provisions of [Sections
61.164, 61.165, and 61.168, Water Code, and Chapter 134, Acts 1935, 44th
Legislature, Regular Session, as amended, and] any statute not
included in this chapter that relates [other Statutes relating]
to the authorization or execution of mortgages and encumbrances or the
granting of franchises or leases shall not be applicable to the
authorization or execution of any mortgage or encumbrance entered into
pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, nor to the granting of any
franchise or lease hereunder. Any obligations issued pursuant to
the provisions of this chapter and additionally secured by an indenture or
deed of trust as provided by this subsection, whether such obligations are
notes or certificates of indebtedness or otherwise, and the record relating
to their issuance, may, at the option of the port commission, be submitted
to the Attorney General of Texas for the
attorney general's [his]
examination and approval, as in the case of bonds, and after the Attorney
General has approved the same, such obligations shall be registered by the
Comptroller of Public Accounts of Texas; and after such obligations have
been approved by the Attorney General and registered by the Comptroller,
they shall thereafter be incontestable for any cause except for forgery or
fraud.
(m) The authority, in
addition to the other powers hereinabove set out, shall have general power
and authority to make and enter into all contracts, leases and agreements
necessary or convenient to the carrying out of any of the powers granted in
this chapter, which contracts, leases or agreements may be entered into
with any person, real or artificial, any corporation, municipal, public or
private, and the government or governmental agency, including those of the
United States and the State of Texas. Except as provided by Chapter 60,
Water Code, any [Any and all] contracts, leases or agreements
entered into pursuant hereto shall be approved by action [resolution
or order] of the port commission, and shall be executed by the chair
of the port commission [Chairman] and attested by the executive
director [thereof].
(r) This Section, without
reference to other Statutes of the State of Texas, shall constitute full
authority for the authorization and issuance of obligations hereunder and for
the accomplishment of all things herein authorized to be done, and no
proceedings relating to the authorization or issuance of such obligations
or the doing of such things shall be necessary except such as are herein
required, and no [neither the Bond and Warrant Law of 1931 or any
other] provisions of the Laws of the State of Texas[,] pertinent
to the authorization or issuance of obligations, the operation and
maintenance of ports, canals and waterways, the granting of franchise,
permits, or leases, the right to elections or referendum petitions, shall
in anywise impede or restrict the carrying out of the acts authorized to be
done hereunder or acts done pursuant hereto.
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SECTION 5. Sections
5007.007(a-1), (n), (o), (p), and (q), Special District Local Laws Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a-1) The authority is
empowered and authorized to exercise, in addition to all powers conferred
by this section, all powers conferred upon the authority by the law or laws
under which it was organized, and, in addition, shall have all of the
powers and jurisdiction conferred upon Districts originally organized under
Article XVI, Section 59, of the Constitution of the State of Texas, including
[and particularly] Subchapters B, H, and K, Chapter 60, Water Code,
and Sections 60.034 through 60.042, 61.075, 61.076, 61.082, 61.112, 61.115
through 61.117, 61.151 through 61.168, 61.172 through 61.174, and 61.176,
Water Code, as amended, and Articles 8248, 8249, 8250, 8251, 8252, 8253,
8254, 8255, 8256, 8257, and 8258, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925, as
amended, as well as Chapter 6, Acts, 1941, Forty-seventh Legislature, Page
8, as amended; Chapter 176, Acts, 1955, Fifty-fourth Legislature, Page 554;
Chapter 217, Acts, 1949, Fifty-first Legislature, Page 407; provided, that
if there is any conflict or inconsistency between said laws or any of them,
and this chapter, then to the extent of conflict or inconsistency, the
provisions of this chapter shall govern.
(n) The port commission
shall provide all necessary additional books for the use of the tax
assessor-collector [Assessor and Collector of taxes] and the
Clerk of the Commissioners Court of Harris County, Texas. The tax
assessor-collector [Tax Assessor] of [said] Harris County
shall be charged with the assessment of all property for taxation within
the authority and when ordered to do so by the Commissioners Court of
Harris County shall assess all property within the authority and list the
same for taxation in the books or rolls furnished the tax assessor-collector
[him] for said purposes, and return said books or rolls at the same
time when the tax assessor-collector [he] returns the other
books or rolls of the State and County Taxes for correction and approval to
the Commissioners Court of said County, and if said Court shall find said
books or rolls correct they shall approve the same, and in all matters
pertaining to the assessment of property for taxation in the authority, the
tax assessor-collector [Tax Assessor] and appraisal review
board [Board of Equalization] of said County shall be authorized
to act and shall be governed by the laws of Texas for assessing and
equalizing property for State and County Taxes, except as herein provided.
All taxes authorized to be levied by this chapter shall be a lien upon the
property upon which said taxes are assessed, and said taxes may be paid and
shall mature and be paid at the time provided by the laws of this State for
the payment of State and County Taxes; and all the penalties provided by
the laws of this State for the nonpayment of State and County Taxes shall
apply to all taxes authorized to be levied by this chapter. The tax
assessor-collector [Tax Collector] of Harris County shall be
charged with the assessment rolls of the authority, and is required to make
collection of all taxes levied and assessed against the property in said
County and promptly pay over the same to the Treasurer of the authority.
The tax assessor-collector [Tax Assessor-Collector] shall
receive compensation for [such] services [such compensation
as the port commission and said Commissioners Court shall agree upon;]
and such compensation shall be paid as provided by law [to the
Officers' Salary Fund of the County]. The bond of the tax
assessor-collector [such Assessor-Collector] shall stand as
security for the proper performance of the [his] duties as tax assessor-collector [Tax
Assessor-Collector] of the authority; or, if in the judgment of the
port commission it be necessary, an additional bond payable to the
authority may be required, and in all matters pertaining to the collection
of taxes levied under the provisions of this chapter, the tax
assessor-collector [Tax Collector] shall be authorized to act
and shall be governed by the laws of the State of Texas for the collection
of State and County Taxes, except as herein provided; and suits may be
brought for the collection of said taxes and the enforcement of the tax
liens created by this chapter. It shall be the duty of the tax
assessor-collector [Tax Collector] to make a certified list of
all delinquent property upon which the navigation tax has not been paid,
and return the same to the County Commissioners Court, which shall proceed
to have the same collected by the sale of such delinquent property in the
same manner, both by suit and otherwise, as now or may be provided for the
sale of property for the collection of State and County Taxes; and, at the
sale of any property for any delinquent tax, the port commission may become
the purchasers of the same for the benefit of the authority. Should the
tax assessor-collector [said Tax Assessor and Collector] fail or
refuse to comply with the order of said Commissioners Court requiring the
tax assessor-collector [him] to assess and list for taxation all
the property in the authority, or fail or refuse to give such additional
bond or security as herein provided, the tax assessor-collector [he]
shall be suspended from further discharge of the tax
assessor-collector's [his] duties by the Commissioners Court of
said County, and the tax assessor-collector [he] shall be
removed from office in the mode prescribed by law for the removal of county
officers.
(o) The County Treasurer of
Harris County shall be treasurer of the authority, and [it] shall [be
his duty to] open an account of all moneys received by the treasurer
[him] belonging to the authority and all amounts paid out by the
treasurer [him]. The treasurer [He] shall deposit
the funds of the authority in such depository or depositories as may be
designated by the port commission in the manner provided by law [for the
selection of a county depository, and such depository so selected shall be
the depository of the authority for a period of two (2) years and until its
successor is selected and qualified]. Should the port commission fail
or refuse to select a depository such depository shall be selected in like
manner by the Commissioners Court. The treasurer [The depository
of the authority on April 29, 1957, shall continue to be the depository of
the authority until its successor is selected and qualified as herein
provided. He] shall pay out no money except upon the conditions
provided for in this chapter and under other law[,] and [he]
shall carefully preserve on file all orders for the payment of money; and,
as often as required by the [said] Commissioners Court, [he]
shall render a correct account to them of all matters pertaining to the
financial condition of the authority. The treasurer [County
Treasurer] shall execute a good and sufficient bond, payable to the [port
commissioners and to their successors in office for the benefit of the]
authority in an amount to be fixed by the port commission, such bond to be
conditioned for the faithful performance of the [his] duties as
treasurer of the authority
and to be approved by the port commission; provided whenever any bonds are
issued by the authority, [the County Treasurer] before
receiving the proceeds of sale thereof the treasurer shall execute
additional good and sufficient bond payable to the port commission in an
amount to be fixed by the port commission, which bond shall likewise be
conditioned and approved as aforesaid, but such additional bond shall not
be required after the treasurer [such Treasurer] shall have
properly disbursed the proceeds of such bond issue; and the treasurer
[County Treasurer] shall be allowed such compensation for [his]
services performed as treasurer of the authority as may be
determined by the port commission[, and such compensation shall be paid
to the Officers' Salary Fund of the County].
(p) The authority shall
acquire, purchase, lease, maintain, repair and operate facilities and
equipment for preventing, detecting, controlling and fighting fires on or
adjacent to the waterways, channels and turning basins within its
jurisdiction, including the Houston Ship Channel, and for the
protection of life and property from damage by fire and explosion.
The authority shall
promulgate and enforce ordinances, rules and regulations for the promotion
of the safety of life and property on or adjacent to the waterways,
channels and turning basins within its jurisdiction, including the
Houston Ship Channel, from damages by fire and explosion thereon in the
manner provided by Subchapter D, Chapter 60, Water Code. The powers and
functions herein authorized may be exercised both within and without the
corporate limits of any city, town or village situated within the
boundaries of the authority. This chapter shall be cumulative of all other
laws on the subject but in the event of conflict between this chapter and any
law of this state or any charter provision or ordinance of any such city,
town or village relating to the subject matter of this chapter, the
provisions of this chapter shall control.
(q) The authority is
authorized to acquire, purchase, construct, enlarge, extend, repair,
maintain, operate, or develop traffic control facilities and everything
appurtenant thereto, together with all other facilities or aids incident to
or useful in the operation or development of the [authority's] ports
and waterways within the authority's jurisdiction, including the Houston
Ship Channel, or in aid of navigation and commerce thereon. [The
traffic control facilities shall be financed out of available revenue and
shall not utilize bond revenue funds.]
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SECTION 5. Sections
5007.007(a-1), (n), (o), (p), and (q), Special District Local Laws Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a-1) The authority is
empowered and authorized to exercise, in addition to all powers conferred
by this section, all powers conferred upon the authority by the law or laws
under which it was organized, and, in addition, shall have all of the
powers and jurisdiction conferred upon Districts originally organized under
Article XVI, Section 59, of the Constitution of the State of Texas, including
[and particularly] Subchapters B, H, and K, Chapter 60, Water Code,
and Sections 60.034 through 60.042, 61.075, 61.076, 61.082, 61.112, 61.115
through 61.117, 61.151 through 61.168, 61.172 through 61.174, and 61.176,
Water Code, as amended, and Articles 8248, 8249, 8250, 8251, 8252, 8253,
8254, 8255, 8256, 8257, and 8258, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925, as
amended, as well as Chapter 6, Acts, 1941, Forty-seventh Legislature, Page
8, as amended; Chapter 176, Acts, 1955, Fifty-fourth Legislature, Page 554;
Chapter 217, Acts, 1949, Fifty-first Legislature, Page 407; provided, that
if there is any conflict or inconsistency between said laws or any of them,
and this chapter, then to the extent of conflict or inconsistency, the
provisions of this chapter shall govern.
(n) The port commission
shall provide all necessary additional books for the use of the tax
assessor-collector [Assessor and Collector of taxes] and the
Clerk of the Commissioners Court of Harris County, Texas. The tax
assessor-collector [Tax Assessor] of [said] Harris County
shall be charged with the assessment of all property for taxation within
the authority and when ordered to do so by the Commissioners Court of
Harris County shall assess all property within the authority and list the
same for taxation in the books or rolls furnished the tax
assessor-collector [him] for said purposes, and return said
books or rolls at the same time when the tax assessor-collector [he]
returns the other books or rolls of the State and County Taxes for
correction and approval to the Commissioners Court of said County, and if
said Court shall find said books or rolls correct they shall approve the
same, and in all matters pertaining to the assessment of property for
taxation in the authority, the tax assessor-collector [Tax
Assessor] and appraisal review board [Board of Equalization]
of said County shall be authorized to act and shall be governed by the laws
of Texas for assessing and equalizing property for State and County Taxes,
except as herein provided. All taxes authorized to be levied by this
chapter shall be a lien upon the property upon which said taxes are
assessed, and said taxes may be paid and shall mature and be paid at the
time provided by the laws of this State for the payment of State and County
Taxes; and all the penalties provided by the laws of this State for the
nonpayment of State and County Taxes shall apply to all taxes authorized to
be levied by this chapter. The tax assessor-collector [Tax
Collector] of Harris County shall be charged with the assessment rolls
of the authority, and is required to make collection of all taxes levied
and assessed against the property in said County and promptly pay over the
same to the Treasurer of the authority. The tax assessor-collector
[Tax Assessor-Collector] shall receive compensation for [such]
services [such compensation as the port commission and said
Commissioners Court shall agree upon;] and such compensation shall be
paid as provided by law [to the Officers' Salary Fund of the
County]. The bond of the tax assessor-collector [such
Assessor-Collector] shall stand as security for the proper performance
of the [his] duties of
the tax assessor-collector [as
Tax Assessor-Collector] of the authority; or, if in the judgment of the
port commission it be necessary, an additional bond payable to the
authority may be required, and in all matters pertaining to the collection
of taxes levied under the provisions of this chapter, the tax
assessor-collector [Tax Collector] shall be authorized to act
and shall be governed by the laws of the State of Texas for the collection
of State and County Taxes, except as herein provided; and suits may be
brought for the collection of said taxes and the enforcement of the tax
liens created by this chapter. It shall be the duty of the tax
assessor-collector [Tax Collector] to make a certified list of
all delinquent property upon which the navigation tax has not been paid,
and return the same to the County Commissioners Court, which shall proceed
to have the same collected by the sale of such delinquent property in the
same manner, both by suit and otherwise, as now or may be provided for the
sale of property for the collection of State and County Taxes; and, at the
sale of any property for any delinquent tax, the port commission may become
the purchasers of the same for the benefit of the authority. Should the
tax assessor-collector [said Tax Assessor and Collector] fail or
refuse to comply with the order of said Commissioners Court requiring the
tax assessor-collector [him] to assess and list for taxation all
the property in the authority, or fail or refuse to give such additional
bond or security as herein provided, the tax assessor-collector [he]
shall be suspended from further discharge of the tax
assessor-collector's [his] duties by the Commissioners Court of
said County, and the tax assessor-collector [he] shall be
removed from office in the mode prescribed by law for the removal of county
officers.
(o) The County Treasurer of
Harris County shall be treasurer of the authority, and [it] shall [be
his duty to] open an account of all moneys received by the treasurer
[him] belonging to the authority and all amounts paid out by the
treasurer [him]. The treasurer [He] shall deposit
the funds of the authority in such depository or depositories as may be
designated by the port commission in the manner provided by law [for the
selection of a county depository, and such depository so selected shall be
the depository of the authority for a period of two (2) years and until its
successor is selected and qualified]. Should the port commission fail
or refuse to select a depository such depository shall be selected in like
manner by the Commissioners Court. The treasurer [The depository
of the authority on April 29, 1957, shall continue to be the depository of
the authority until its successor is selected and qualified as herein
provided. He] shall pay out no money except upon the conditions
provided for in this chapter and under other law[,] and [he]
shall carefully preserve on file all orders for the payment of money; and,
as often as required by the [said] Commissioners Court, [he]
shall render a correct account to them of all matters pertaining to the
financial condition of the authority. The treasurer [County
Treasurer] shall execute a good and sufficient bond, payable to the [port
commissioners and to their successors in office for the benefit of the]
authority in an amount to be fixed by the port commission, such bond to be
conditioned for the faithful performance of the [his] duties of the
[as] treasurer of the authority and to be approved by the
port commission; provided whenever any bonds are issued by the authority,
[the County Treasurer] before receiving the proceeds of sale thereof
the treasurer shall execute additional good and sufficient bond
payable to the port commission in an amount to be fixed by the port
commission, which bond shall likewise be conditioned and approved as
aforesaid, but such additional bond shall not be required after such Treasurer shall have properly disbursed
the proceeds of such bond issue; and the treasurer [County
Treasurer] shall be allowed such compensation for [his] services
performed as treasurer of the authority as may be determined by the
port commission[, and such compensation shall be paid to the Officers'
Salary Fund of the County].
(p) The authority shall
acquire, purchase, lease, maintain, repair and operate facilities and
equipment for preventing, detecting, controlling, responding to, and fighting fires, explosions, and hazardous material incidents
on or adjacent to the waterways, channels and turning basins within its
jurisdiction, including the Houston Ship Channel, and for the
protection of life and property from damage by fire, [and]
explosion, and hazardous material
incidents. The authority shall promulgate and enforce
ordinances, rules and regulations for the promotion of the safety of life
and property on or adjacent to the waterways, channels and turning basins
within its jurisdiction, including the Houston Ship Channel, from damages
by fire, explosion, and hazardous
material incidents [and explosion thereon] in the manner
provided by Subchapter D, Chapter 60, Water Code. The powers and functions
herein authorized may be exercised both within and without the corporate
limits of any city, town or village situated within the boundaries of the
authority. This chapter shall be cumulative of all other laws on the
subject but in the event of conflict between this chapter and any law of
this state or any charter provision or ordinance of any such city, town or
village relating to the subject matter of this chapter, the provisions of
this chapter shall control.
(q) The authority is
authorized to acquire, purchase, construct, enlarge, extend, repair,
maintain, operate, or develop traffic control facilities and everything
appurtenant thereto, together with all other facilities or aids incident to
or useful in the operation or development of the [authority's] ports
and waterways within the authority's jurisdiction, including the Houston
Ship Channel, or in aid of navigation and commerce thereon. [The
traffic control facilities shall be financed out of available revenue and
shall not utilize bond revenue funds.]
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SECTION 6. Section 5007.010,
Special District Local Laws Code, is amended.
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SECTION 6. Same as introduced
version.
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SECTION 7. Subchapter B,
Chapter 5007, Special District Local Laws Code, is amended.
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SECTION 7. Same as introduced
version.
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SECTION 8. Section 5007.218,
Special District Local Laws Code, is amended.
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SECTION 8. Same as introduced
version.
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SECTION 9. Subchapter B,
Chapter 5007, Special District Local Laws Code, is amended by adding
Section 5007.229 to read as follows:
Sec. 5007.229. NOTICE OF
MEETINGS. Section 551.054(b), Government Code, does not apply to the
authority.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 10. 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, 2017.
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SECTION 9. Same as introduced
version.
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