86R13171 SLB-D
 
  By: Lozano H.B. No. 2922
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the administration of the Port of Corpus Christi of
  Nueces County, Texas.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 397, Acts of the 68th Legislature,
  Regular Session, 1983, is amended by adding Sections 7, 8, 9, 10,
  11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 to read as follows:
         Sec. 7.  DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
               (1)  "Authority" means the Port of Corpus Christi
  Authority of Nueces County, Texas.
               (2)  "Port commission" means the port commission of the
  authority.
               (3)  "Port commissioner" means a member of the port
  commission.
         Sec. 8.  CONFLICT OF INTEREST. (a) In this section, "Texas
  trade association" means a cooperative and voluntarily joined
  statewide association of business or professional competitors in
  this state designed to assist its members and its industry or
  profession in dealing with mutual business or professional problems
  and in promoting their common interest.
         (b)  A person may not be a port commissioner and may not be an
  authority employee employed in a "bona fide executive,
  administrative, or professional capacity," as that phrase is used
  for purposes of establishing an exemption to the overtime
  provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29
  U.S.C. Section 201 et seq.), if:
               (1)  the person is an officer, employee, or paid
  consultant of a Texas trade association in a field relating to
  maritime commerce, the members of which are regulated by the
  authority; or
               (2)  the person's spouse is an officer, manager, or paid
  consultant of a Texas trade association in a field relating to
  maritime commerce, the members of which are regulated by the
  authority.
         (c)  A person may not be a port commissioner or act as the
  general counsel to the port commission or the authority if the
  person is required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305,
  Government Code, because of the person's activities for
  compensation on behalf of a profession related to the operation of
  the authority.
         (d)  A person may not be a port commissioner if the person or
  an individual related to the person in the first degree of
  consanguinity or affinity, as determined under Chapter 573,
  Government Code:
               (1)  is employed by or participates in the management
  of a business entity or other organization regulated by or
  receiving money from the authority; or
               (2)  uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible
  goods, services, or money from the authority other than
  compensation or reimbursement authorized by law for port commission
  membership, attendance, or expenses.
         Sec. 9.  PORT COMMISSION POLICIES. (a) The port commission
  shall adopt detailed policies that document its governance
  practices and make those policies available on the authority's
  website.
         (b)  The port commission shall develop and implement
  policies that clearly separate the policymaking responsibilities
  of the port commission and the management responsibilities of the
  executive director and the other employees of the authority.
         (c)  The port commission shall distribute a copy of all
  policies adopted under this section to each port commissioner and
  authority employee not later than the third business day after the
  date the person begins employment or a term as port commissioner.
         Sec. 10.  EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. (a) The port commission shall
  appoint an executive director of the authority. The port
  commission shall prescribe the duties and compensation of the
  executive director. The port commission may delegate to the
  executive director full authority to manage and operate the affairs
  of the authority subject only to orders of the port commission.
         (b)  The port commission shall delegate to the executive
  director the authority to employ all persons necessary for the
  proper handling of the business and operation of the authority and
  to determine the compensation to be paid to all employees, other
  than the executive director.
         (c)  The executive director shall execute a bond for $10,000
  conditioned on the faithful performance of the executive director's
  duties and other conditions as required by the authority. The bond
  must be recorded in a record kept for that purpose in the
  authority's office.
         (d)  The port commission by general or special rule,
  regulation, order, resolution, or other direction may authorize the
  executive director or another person authorized to act instead of
  the executive director to perform any act on behalf of the port
  commission.
         Sec. 11.  STANDARDS OF CONDUCT; ETHICS POLICY. (a) A port
  commissioner or an authority employee should not:
               (1)  accept or solicit any gift, favor, or service that
  might reasonably tend to influence the port commissioner or
  employee in the discharge of official duties or that the port
  commissioner or employee knows or should know is being offered with
  the intent to influence the port commissioner's or employee's
  official conduct;
               (2)  accept other employment or engage in a business or
  professional activity that the port commissioner or employee might
  reasonably expect would require or induce the port commissioner or
  employee to disclose confidential information acquired by reason of
  the official position;
               (3)  accept other employment or compensation that could
  reasonably be expected to impair the port commissioner's or
  employee's independence of judgment in the performance of the port
  commissioner's or employee's official duties;
               (4)  make personal investments that could reasonably be
  expected to create a substantial conflict between the port
  commissioner's or employee's private interest and the public
  interest; or
               (5)  intentionally or knowingly solicit, accept, or
  agree to accept any benefit for having exercised the port
  commissioner's or employee's official powers or performed the port
  commissioner's or employee's official duties in favor of another.
         (b)  The port commission shall adopt a written ethics policy
  for the port commissioners and authority employees consistent with
  the standards prescribed by Subsection (a) of this section.
         Sec. 12.  ETHICS AFFIRMATION AND HOTLINE. (a) A port
  commissioner or an authority employee shall annually affirm the
  port commissioner's or employee's adherence to the ethics policy
  adopted under Section 11(b) of this Act.
         (b)  The port commission shall establish and operate a
  telephone hotline that enables a person to call the hotline number,
  anonymously or not anonymously, to report alleged fraud, waste, or
  abuse or an alleged violation of the ethics policy adopted under
  Section 11(b) of this Act.
         Sec. 13.  COMPLAINTS. (a) The authority shall maintain a
  system to promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the
  authority. The authority shall maintain information about parties
  to the complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, a summary of
  the results of the review or investigation of the complaint, and its
  disposition.
         (b)  The authority shall make information available to the
  public, including on the authority's website, describing its
  procedures for complaint investigation and resolution.
         (c)  The authority periodically shall notify the complaint
  parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition.
         (d)  The authority shall develop a standard form and a
  procedure for submitting complaints to the authority and shall make
  that form and procedure available on the authority's website. The
  authority shall also make available on its website clear
  information about what a person making a complaint should expect
  after the complaint is filed, including timelines for response and
  resolution.
         (e)  The authority shall compile detailed statistics and
  analyze trends on complaint information, including:
               (1)  the nature of the complaints;
               (2)  the disposition of the complaints; and
               (3)  the length of time to resolve complaints.
         (f)  Authority staff shall report the information compiled
  under Subsection (e) of this section to senior management as
  designated by the executive director and the port commission on a
  regular basis.
         Sec. 14.  WHISTLEBLOWER POLICY. The port commission shall
  adopt a whistleblower policy consistent with Chapter 554,
  Government Code.
         Sec. 15.  PROMOTION AND DEVELOPMENT FUND. (a) In this
  section, "promotion and development fund" means a fund created and
  managed under Subchapter H, Chapter 60, Water Code.
         (b)  The port commission shall adopt clear, complete policy
  and procedures to govern the use of the promotion and development
  fund. The policy and procedures must include:
               (1)  provisions limiting acceptable uses of promotion
  and development fund money to uses with a direct tie to the mission
  of the authority;
               (2)  a consistent budget process;
               (3)  a process for requesting sponsorship funds by port
  commissioners, authority employees, and outside groups;
               (4)  an approval process for each type of expenditure
  from the promotion and development fund, including:
                     (A)  the level of approval or notification
  required for authority employees, applicable task forces, and the
  port commission; and
                     (B)  a requirement that each approved expenditure
  must include a description of:
                           (i)  the expected impact of the expenditure;
  and
                           (ii)  how the expenditure is consistent with
  the strategic direction for promotion and development fund money as
  adopted by the port commission;
               (5)  a procedure for handling exceptions to the policy,
  including a requirement that an exception be subject to the same
  reporting requirements as other approved expenditures from the
  promotion and development fund;
               (6)  a provision for evaluating the policy's
  effectiveness and having the port commission adopt updates to the
  policy as needed at regularly scheduled public meetings; and
               (7)  requirements for regular tracking of all
  expenditures from the promotion and development fund and reporting
  of the expenditures to the port commission and to the public by
  making the reports available on the authority's website.
         (c)  A report described by Subsection (b)(7) of this section
  must include detailed information about:
               (1)  travel by port commissioners;
               (2)  special uses of the authority's resources,
  including the use of any public tour vessels and the associated
  costs, sorted by authority division;
               (3)  sponsorship and similar spending; and
               (4)  total expenditures from the promotion and
  development fund, including year-to-date summary information by
  category of expenditure.
         Sec. 16.  BUDGET. The port commission annually shall adopt a
  budget for the authority in an open meeting.
         Sec. 17.  PLANNING. (a) In this section, "staff" means one
  or more authority employees and does not include a port
  commissioner.
         (b)  Appropriate staff shall develop a long-range plan
  containing:
               (1)  a mission and values statement;
               (2)  an assessment of the authority's state as of the
  date of the plan;
               (3)  an assessment of the projected operating
  environment over the course of the long-range plan;
               (4)  a discussion of high-level goals, strategies, and
  priorities;
               (5)  a scheme for ongoing evaluation of progress toward
  stated goals, including performance measures; and
               (6)  other strategic planning elements, as considered
  appropriate by the staff or port commission.
         (c)  The port commission shall establish a planning horizon
  of at least 10 years for the long-range plan. The staff shall
  identify and collaborate with stakeholders to obtain input on the
  long-range plan. The port commission may amend and shall adopt the
  plan and any updates to the plan in an open meeting. The staff shall
  provide annual progress updates according to performance measures
  developed under Subsection (b)(5) of this section. The staff shall
  present a report on the annual progress to the port commission.
         (d)  The staff shall complete a comprehensive reevaluation
  and update of the long-range plan at least every five years, or more
  frequently if the port commission finds that conditions warrant a
  more frequent update.
         (e)  Appropriate staff shall develop a mid-range plan
  consistent with the long-range plan. The mid-range plan must
  include:
               (1)  a five-year financial forecast addressing the
  financial needs and financing options of the authority for the
  five-year period, with information about the relative cost of the
  options;
               (2)  a five-year capital plan, including a preliminary
  analysis and prioritization of projects; and
               (3)  other detailed action plans as the port commission
  or staff finds necessary to achieve the goals of the mid-range plan
  or long-range plan.
         (f)  The staff shall present the mid-range plan in an open
  meeting of the port commission. The port commission is not required
  to adopt a mid-range plan.
         (g)  Appropriate staff shall develop a one-year capital
  plan, including associated financing, that is integrated with the
  budget of the authority. The port commission shall adopt the
  one-year capital plan in an open meeting. The port commission shall
  establish and document a detailed process for the analysis and
  approval of a project proposed for inclusion in the one-year
  capital plan. A project may be included in the one-year capital
  plan only if it is approved in accordance with that process.
         Sec. 18.  PUBLIC ACCESS TO BUDGET AND PLANNING INFORMATION.
  (a) The port commission shall post on the authority's website and
  otherwise make available to the public the authority's most
  recently adopted budget and any plan adopted by the port commission
  at an open meeting, including the long-range plan, mid-range plan,
  one-year capital plan, and updates to that budget or those plans.
         (b)  The port commission may redact sensitive business
  information from the plans made publicly available under this
  section.
         SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.