BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1570

By: Paddie

Natural Resources

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Since its creation in 1929, the Brazos River Authority has managed the largest river basin in Texas, stretching 36,000 square miles from the panhandle to the Gulf of Mexico. In response to population and water demand increases, the authority is embarking on an ambitious, multi-decade endeavor to identify and develop new sources of water. Following review by the Sunset Advisory Commission, the commission concluded that the authority is at a pivotal moment that will determine whether it can successfully grow into the large-scale water provider it aims to become and would benefit from adopting certain of the commission's standard across-the-board policies (ATBs). C.S.H.B. 1570 seeks to provide for the next sunset review of the authority during the 2032-2033 review cycle while adopting certain of these ATBs to improve authority operations.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1570 amends the Special District Local Laws Code to provide for the next review of the Brazos River Authority under the Texas Sunset Act during the 2032-2033 sunset review cycle. The bill applies Sunset Advisory Commission good government standards to the authority by doing the following:

·         providing grounds for the removal of members of the authority's board of directors;

·         with respect to training for directors:

o   establishing training requirements that persons appointed to and qualified for office as a director must satisfy before being eligible to vote, deliberate, or be counted as a director in attendance at a board meeting;

o   providing for the creation of a training manual that each director must acknowledge having received and reviewed; and

o   giving sitting directors until December 1, 2021, to come into compliance with the training requirements;

·         requiring the board to develop and implement policies that clearly separate the board's policy-making responsibilities and the management responsibilities of the authority's general manager and staff;

·         requiring the authority to maintain a system to promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the authority; and

·         requiring the board to develop and implement policies that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear before the board and to speak on any issue under the authority's jurisdiction.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1570 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes a provision not included in the original to provide for the next review of the Brazos River Authority under the Texas Sunset Act during the 2032-2033 sunset review cycle.