86R7712 TSR-D
 
  By: Deshotel H.B. No. 4695
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the administration of the Port of Port Arthur
  Navigation District of Jefferson County, including the authority to
  impose taxes.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 11, Chapter 197, Acts of the 58th
  Legislature, Regular Session, 1963, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 11.  Each commissioner shall receive for performing
  duties as a commissioner compensation and benefits set by the Board
  of Port Commissioners plus actual traveling expenses.  The Board of
  Port Commissioners shall set the compensation and benefits of the
  secretary, general manager, attorneys, engineers, and all other
  employees, and said board shall set and determine the term and time
  of employment of all officers and employees of the district;
  provided that all officers and employees of the district, except
  the commissioners themselves, shall hold their offices subject to
  the will of the Board of Port Commissioners.
         SECTION 2.  Section 23, Chapter 197, Acts of the 58th
  Legislature, Regular Session, 1963, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 23.  The [Commissioners Court of Jefferson County,
  Texas, shall, upon requisition of the] Board of Port Commissioners
  shall impose[, levy] taxes necessary to pay the interest on the
  bonded debt and to create a sinking fund to retire the principal
  thereof, as well as a maintenance tax for said district within the
  limitations prescribed by this Act. In all matters pertaining to
  the imposition [levying and assessing] of taxes[, the equalization
  thereof, and the collection of same,] and the duties of all officers
  in connection therewith, the laws of the State of Texas for the
  imposition [assessing, levying and collecting] of [state and
  county] taxes shall apply, and such duties shall be done and
  performed by the officers charged with imposing [the collection of
  state and county] taxes. Said taxes shall be deposited with the
  depository or depositories of said district at the times and in the
  manner provided by law for depositing county taxes in the county
  depository, and such officers shall furnish such bonds and receive
  such compensation for their services as is now being paid for like
  services, and said district shall have a lien upon all property
  against which taxes may be levied and assessed, enforceable under
  the same law and in the same manner as a lien securing state and
  county taxes. Limitation shall not run against the district as a
  bar to the collection of any taxes or other public charges of the
  district.
         SECTION 3.  (a) The following actions of the Port of Port
  Arthur Navigation District are validated and confirmed in all
  respects as if the actions had been done as authorized by law:
               (1)  all acts and proceedings of the district taken
  before the effective date of this Act; and
               (2)  the issuance of any bonds or the imposition of
  taxes, including maintenance and operations taxes, in furtherance
  of any bonds issued by the district.
         (b)  A governmental act or proceeding of the district
  occurring after an act or proceeding validated by this Act may not
  be held invalid on the ground that the prior act or proceeding, in
  the absence of this Act, was invalid.
         (c)  This section does not apply to any matter that on the
  effective date of this Act:
               (1)  is involved in litigation if the litigation
  ultimately results in the matter being held invalid by a final
  judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction; or
               (2)  has been held invalid by a final judgment of a
  court of competent jurisdiction.
         SECTION 4.  (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, one of the required recipients, 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, the
  lieutenant governor, and the 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 5.  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, 2019.