By: Alvarado  S.B. No. 1915
         (In the Senate - Filed March 7, 2019; March 19, 2019, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Transportation;
  March 25, 2019, rereferred to Select Committee on Texas Ports;
  April 15, 2019, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
  Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; April 15, 2019,
  sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1915 By:  Alvarado
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the board of pilot commissioners for Harris County
  ports.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 5007.209(b), Special District Local Laws
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The training program must provide the person with
  information regarding:
               (1)  the legislation that created the authority;
               (2)  the programs, functions, policies, rules, and
  budget of the authority;
               (3)  the results of the most recent formal audit of the
  authority;
               (4)  [the duties of the port commission as the board of
  pilot commissioners for Harris County ports under Chapter 66,
  Transportation Code;
               [(5)]  the requirements of laws relating to open
  meetings, public information, administrative procedure, financial
  disclosure, and conflicts of interest; and
               (5) [(6)]  any applicable ethics policies adopted by
  the port commission or the Texas Ethics Commission.
         SECTION 2.  Section 66.002, Transportation Code, is amended
  by amending Subdivisions (2) and (6) and adding Subdivision (5-a)
  to read as follows:
               (2)  "Consignee" means a person, including a master,
  owner, agent, subagent, firm, or corporation or any combination of
  those persons, who:
                     (A)  has control of a vessel that is under way or
  is otherwise moving in, out, or within a port, including in a
  waterway leading from the port to the Gulf of Mexico; or
                     (B)  places an order for pilot services for the
  movement of a vessel described by Paragraph (A) [who enters or
  clears a vessel at the office of the collector of customs].
               (5-a)  "Pilot commissioner" means a member of the
  board.
               (6)  "Pilot services" means acts of a pilot in
  conducting a vessel through the navigable water in this state and
  the ports in which the pilot is licensed or certified as a pilot,
  and includes the adoption and implementation of ship movement
  strategies, such as navigation safety guidelines, for use by pilots
  in the navigable water in this state.
         SECTION 3.  Section 66.011, Transportation Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 66.011.  BOARD. The board of pilot commissioners for
  the ports of Harris County is composed of nine pilot commissioners
  appointed as follows:
               (1)  two pilot commissioners appointed by a majority of
  the city council of the City of Houston;
               (2)  two pilot commissioners appointed by a majority of
  the Harris County Commissioners Court;
               (3)  one pilot commissioner appointed by the city
  council of the City of Pasadena, who must reside in the city of
  Pasadena;
               (4)  one pilot commissioner appointed by a majority of
  the Harris County Mayors' and Councils' Association, who must be a
  resident of a municipality in Harris County that is located
  adjacent to the Houston Ship Channel and has a population of less
  than 100,000; 
               (5)  two pilot commissioners appointed by the governor;
  and
               (6)  the chair of the board, appointed as described by
  Section 66.0116 [the port commissioners of the Port of Houston
  Authority of Harris County, Texas].
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter B, Chapter 66, Transportation Code,
  is amended by adding Sections 66.0115 and 66.0116 to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 66.0115.  QUALIFICATIONS; VACANCY. (a)  Except as
  otherwise provided by Sections 66.011 and 66.0116, each pilot
  commissioner must be a property tax payer and a qualified voter in
  Harris County.
         (b)  A person is not eligible for appointment to the board if
  the person:
               (1)  has previously served the equivalent of at least
  12 full years on the board; or
               (2)  is currently serving or has previously served as a
  port commissioner for the Port of Houston Authority of Harris
  County, Texas.
         (c)  Not later than the 45th day after the date on which a
  term expires or on which a vacancy on the board begins, the
  appointing entity must appoint a new pilot commissioner. If the
  appointing entity fails to make the appointment before the 45th
  day, the office is considered an open position and the person
  serving in that position is ineligible for reappointment to fill
  the position, and:
               (1)  if the appointing entity is the city council of the
  City of Houston, the city council of the City of Pasadena, or the
  Harris County Mayors' and Councils' Association, the Harris County
  Commissioners Court shall appoint a pilot commissioner to fill the
  position; or
               (2)  if the appointing entity is the Harris County
  Commissioners Court, the city council of the City of Houston shall
  appoint a pilot commissioner to fill the position.
         (d)  If a second appointing entity under Subsection (c)(1) or
  (2) fails to make an appointment before the 90th day after the date
  on which the term expires or the vacancy begins:
               (1)  the office is considered an open position and the
  person serving in that position is ineligible for reappointment to
  fill the position; and
               (2)  the governor shall appoint a pilot commissioner to
  fill the position with the advice and consent of the senate.
         (e)  If a vacancy occurs through death, resignation, or other
  reason, the vacancy shall be filled in the manner provided for
  making the original appointment and in accordance with Subsections
  (c) and (d).
         (f)  The governor may appoint a pilot commissioner under
  Subsection (d) only if the appointing entity under Subsection (c)
  fails to make an appointment within the period described by this
  section, and any subsequent appointment must be made by the
  appropriate appointing entity.
         Sec. 66.0116.  APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR; TERM. (a)  The City of
  Houston mayor and city council and the Harris County Commissioners
  Court shall jointly appoint the chair of the board in January of
  odd-numbered years. The term of the chair expires on February 1 of
  each odd-numbered year.
         (b)  If the mayor, city council, and commissioners court do
  not make an appointment within the period specified by this
  section, the governor shall appoint the chair of the board with the
  advice and consent of the senate. The governor may appoint the
  chair only if the original appointing entities fail to make an
  appointment within the period described by this section, and any
  subsequent appointment must be made by the appointing entities.
         (c)  The person appointed as the chair of the board must
  comply with the qualifications described by Section 61.160, Water
  Code.
         (d)  On the second Monday of January in each odd-numbered
  year, the City of Houston mayor and city council, the Harris County
  Commissioners Court, and the Harris County judge shall hold a joint
  meeting to appoint the chair of the board.
         (e)  In the meeting held under Subsection (d):
               (1)  each city council member and the mayor shall have
  one vote; and
               (2)  each county commissioner and the county judge
  shall have the mixed-fraction number of votes equal to the sum of
  the number of city council members plus the mayor divided by the sum
  of the number of county commissioners plus the county judge.
         (f)  The presence of individuals with a majority of the total
  potential votes is required to establish a quorum at the meeting. A
  separate quorum from each group, representing the city and the
  county, is not required. The chair must be appointed by at least a
  majority of the total potential votes, in any combination.
         (g)  In the event of a tie, the city council, mayor, county
  commissioners, and county judge have three calendar days to
  deliberate, convene a meeting, and revote. The period may be
  extended to allow for compliance with Chapter 551, Government Code,
  as it applies to the notice requirement for an open meeting. If a
  second vote results in a tie:
               (1)  the office of the chair of the board is considered
  an open position and the person serving as the chair is not eligible
  for reappointment to fill the position; and
               (2)  the governor shall appoint the chair as provided
  by Subsection (b).
         SECTION 5.  Section 66.014, Transportation Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 66.014.  TERM OF OFFICE. Pilot commissioners other
  than the chair serve staggered terms of two years that expire on
  February 1.  [A board member serves a term of office that coincides
  with the member's term as a port commissioner.]
         SECTION 6.  Section 66.015, Transportation Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 66.015.  JURISDICTION. The board has exclusive
  jurisdiction over the regulation of pilots who provide pilot
  services [piloting of vessels] in Harris County ports, including
  intermediate stops and landing places for vessels on navigable
  streams wholly or partially located in the board's jurisdiction.
         SECTION 7.  Section 66.016, Transportation Code, is amended
  by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
         (c)  Rules under this chapter involving the adoption and
  implementation of ship movement strategies, including navigation
  safety guidelines, for use by pilots in the navigable water in this
  state may be made only on a recommendation from not less than 80
  percent of the pilots authorized to operate under the board's
  jurisdiction.
         SECTION 8.  Of the two pilot commissioners of the board of
  pilot commissioners for the ports of Harris County appointed under
  Sections 66.011(1), (2), and (5), Transportation Code, as amended
  by this Act, one pilot commissioner appointed under each
  subdivision serves a term expiring in an even-numbered year and one
  serves a term expiring in an odd-numbered year. The pilot
  commissioner of the board of pilot commissioners for the ports of
  Harris County appointed under Section 66.011(3), Transportation
  Code, as amended by this Act, serves a term expiring in an
  odd-numbered year. The pilot commissioner of the board of pilot
  commissioners for the ports of Harris County appointed under
  Section 66.011(4), Transportation Code, as amended by this Act,
  serves a term expiring in an even-numbered year.
         SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
 
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