88R1441 ANG-D
 
  By: Clardy H.B. No. 1535
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the San Antonio River Authority, following
  recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; altering the
  terms of office of the members of the board of directors of the
  authority.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 1-a(a), Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th
  Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The District is subject to review under Chapter 325,
  Government Code (Texas Sunset Act), but may not be abolished under
  that chapter. The review shall be conducted under Section 325.025,
  Government Code, as if the District were a state agency scheduled to
  be abolished September 1, 2035 [2023], and every 12th year after
  that year.
         SECTION 2.  Section 3, Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th
  Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 3.  POWERS OF THE DISTRICT.  The District is hereby
  invested with all of the powers of the State of Texas under Article
  16, Section 59, of the Constitution of the State of Texas to
  effectuate the construction, maintenance and operation of
  navigable canals or waterways, to effectuate flood control, to
  effectuate the conservation and use, for all beneficial purposes,
  of ground, storm, flood and unappropriated flow waters in the
  District, to effectuate irrigation, to effectuate soil
  conservation, to effectuate sewage treatment, to effectuate
  pollution prevention, to encourage and develop parks, recreational
  facilities and to preserve fish, to effectuate forestation and
  reforestation, and to do all things as are required therefor,
  subject only to: (i) declarations of policy by the Legislature of
  the State of Texas as to the use of water; (ii) continuing
  supervision and control by the State Board of Water Engineers and
  any board or agency which may thereafter succeed to its duties;
  (iii) the provisions of Section 4, page 212, Acts of the
  Thirty-fifth Legislature, 1917, as subsequently amended (codified
  under Article 7471, Vernon's Civil Statutes of the State of Texas),
  prescribing the priorities of uses for water; and (iv) the rights
  heretofore or hereafter legally acquired in water by municipalities
  and other users. Subject to the foregoing, it shall be the duty of
  the District to exercise for the greatest practicable measure of
  the conservation and beneficial utilization of all ground, storm,
  flood and unappropriated flow waters of the District, in the manner
  and for the particular purposes specified hereinafter in this
  Section 3 and elsewhere in this Act the following powers, rights,
  privileges and functions, to wit:
         (a)  Navigation:
         (1)  To promote, construct, maintain and operate, and/or to
  make practicable, promote, aid and encourage, the construction,
  maintenance and operation of navigable canals or waterways and all
  navigational systems or facilities auxiliary thereto using the
  natural bed and banks of the San Antonio River to its junction with
  the Guadalupe River where practicable and thence traversing such
  route as may be found by the District to be most feasible and
  practicable to connect with the Intracoastal Canal and/or with any
  new canal to be constructed and/or with any harbor at or near San
  Antonio Bay or the Gulf of Mexico, and also using such new
  correlated artificial waterways, together with all locks and other
  works, structures and artificial facilities as may be necessary and
  convenient for the construction, maintenance and operation of said
  navigable canals or waterways and all navigational systems or
  facilities auxiliary thereto. The District is empowered to
  construct, or cause to be constructed, said system of artificial
  waterways, canals, locks, works and other facilities so as to
  connect the watershed area of the San Antonio River, including
  navigation to or at a point near the City of San Antonio, with the
  Intracoastal Canal and/or with any new canal to be constructed
  and/or with any harbor at or near San Antonio Bay or the Gulf of
  Mexico;
         (2)  To control, develop, store and use the natural flow and
  floodwaters of the San Antonio River and its tributaries for the
  purpose of operating and maintaining said navigable canals or
  waterways and all navigational systems or facilities auxiliary
  thereto, provided, however, that such navigational use shall be
  subordinate to consumptive use of water, and navigation shall be
  incidental thereto;
         (3)  In the case of the construction of said navigable canals
  or waterways and all navigational systems or facilities auxiliary
  thereto by the Federal Government or otherwise, the District shall
  have the power to construct, maintain and operate lateral
  connecting canals and turning basins to serve local needs, and
  shall also have the power to provide, construct, acquire, purchase,
  take over, lease from others, lease to others, and to maintain and
  operate, develop, regulate and/or by franchise control wharves,
  docks, warehouses, grain elevators, bunkering facilities, belt or
  terminal railroads, floating plants, lighterage, towing
  facilities, and all other facilities incident to or in aid of the
  efficient operation and development of said canals or waterways and
  all navigational systems or facilities auxiliary thereto, and any
  ports incident thereto, whether the same be upon land or upon water;
         (4)  In the event the construction and/or maintenance and
  operation of said navigable canals or waterways and all
  navigational systems or facilities auxiliary thereto is taken over
  by the Federal Government or any agency of the Federal Government,
  then and in such event the District shall be fully authorized to
  make and enter into any such contracts as may be lawfully required
  by the Federal Government, including such assignments and transfers
  of property and rights of property and easements and privileges and
  any and all other lawful things and acts may be necessary and
  required in order to meet the requirements of the Federal
  Government or any agency of the Federal Government in taking over
  the construction and/or maintenance and operation of said navigable
  canals or waterways and all navigational systems or facilities
  auxiliary thereto;
         (5)  The District may grant a franchise or right to any
  person or body politic or corporate for the use of said navigable
  canals or waterways and all navigational systems or facilities
  auxiliary thereto or any facility thereof in aiding navigation and
  no person or body politic or corporate may provide, maintain or
  operate any facility of aid of navigation in any way connected with
  said navigable canals or waterways and all navigational systems or
  facilities auxiliary thereto and intended for use by the public
  within the meaning and intent of this Act, except by and under the
  franchise granted by this District, in the form of an ordinance as
  provided by this Act, which franchise may be for any term not to
  exceed fifty (50) years. Such ordinance granting franchise may
  contain provisions for the payment of reasonable fees, and/or other
  charges to be paid to the District, and shall contain provisions
  adequate to regulate the fees, tolls, rates or exactions to be
  demanded for the use of, or service to be rendered by any means or
  facility to be provided or operated under any such franchise, to the
  end that the same will be uniform, reasonable, and without
  discrimination against any person, both as to charges and the
  conditions of use or service, and such ordinance shall contain all
  provisions reasonably required to procure service adequate to serve
  the public necessity and convenience. The District may grant a
  franchise for the design, construction, repair, enlargement,
  alteration, maintenance, operation of, and service from, or use of
  any facility to be provided for use in aid of navigation on said
  navigable canals or water ways and all navigational systems or
  facilities auxiliary thereto, whether upon land, or in or upon
  water. The right hereby granted shall include the right to require
  uniform and adequate analytic accounting systems and forms,
  periodic verified reports based thereon, and the right of audit by
  the District, and other reasonable regulations designed to protect
  the public. In order to procure observance of the conditions of a
  franchise granted hereunder, and/or compliance with the rules and
  regulations established by ordinance of the District (to be adopted
  and promulgated as elsewhere is provided in this Act) hereunder,
  such ordinance may provide reasonable and commensurate penalties
  fixed by General Law in Texas, and not to exceed the limit for
  penalties as fixed elsewhere in this Act. The forfeiture or
  suspension of a franchise granted under this Act, where not
  otherwise provided in any such franchise, may be only because of
  discrimination in rendering service, affording use, or in taking or
  demanding a toll, rate or charge. Forfeiture or suspension of a
  franchise granted hereunder, unless otherwise provided therein,
  shall be upon a decree of a District Court within the County in
  which this District may maintain its general office. The District
  may likewise by ordinance establish rules necessary or designed to
  protect the physical property owned by it, or physical property
  owned or operated by another under a franchise hereunder granted,
  and/or to effect the safety or efficient use of the same, and in
  such ordinance may provide reasonable and commensurate penalties
  for the violation thereof, which penalties shall be cumulative of
  other penalties provided by the General Law of Texas, and not to
  exceed the limit for penalties as fixed elsewhere in this Act;
         (b)  Flood Control and Flood Plain Management. To prevent
  and aid in the prevention of damage to persons and property by the
  overflow of any and all rivers, streams or tributaries thereof
  within the District including the study and designation of flood
  plains and the regulation thereof;
         (c)  Water Conservation, Storage, Procurement, Distribution
  and Supply:
         (1)  To store and conserve to the greatest beneficial use
  that of standby service as well as for the actual delivery of water;
         (6)  To provide water for the development of commercial and
  industrial enterprises within or without the District;
         (7)  To bring water into the boundaries of the District;
         (8)  To construct, acquire, equip, to acquire storage rights
  at, and operate and maintain dams and reservoirs, either within or
  without the District, had in carrying out the powers conferred upon
  the District, or to exercise such powers in conjunction with
  others;
         (9)  To contract, operate and maintain or otherwise provide
  water supply lines, water purification and water pumping systems
  and facilities either within or without the District;
         (10)  Power to execute contracts with municipalities and
  others involving the construction of reservoirs, dams, water supply
  lines, water purification and pumping facilities, and the
  furnishing of water supply service substantially in the manner
  prescribed by Chapter 342, Acts of the Regular Session of the
  Fifty-first Legislature, for Districts organized and created
  pursuant to Article 16, Section 59, of the Constitution, extended
  so as to permit such contracts with individuals, partnerships, and
  all classes of corporations, and to permit the inclusion of
  provisions for the operation, maintenance and ownership of such
  properties, but the powers granted the District in this Subsection
  are not to be considered a limitation on the powers, rights,
  privileges and functions otherwise granted herein;
         (11)  To acquire from the United States Government, through
  the Secretary of the Army or the Secretary of the Interior or any
  other of its officials authorized to make such contracts, or from
  the State of Texas or any agency thereof, or from any privately
  financed reservoirs, unsold conservation storage capacity at any
  dam within or without the District now constructed or to be
  constructed either by or with the assistance of the United States
  Government or the State of Texas, or by both. It may acquire
  additional conservation storage capacity which may be provided at
  any such dam;
         (d)  Irrigation: To provide water for irrigation of lands
  within and without the District, and incident thereto, to
  construct, operate and maintain supply lines and pumping systems
  and facilities either within or without the District;
         (e)  Soil Conservation: For the conservation of soils and
  other surface resources within the District against destructive
  erosion, thereby preventing the increased flood menace incident
  thereto, and for the prevention of sedimentation and siltation of
  lands, channels and reservoirs, including the right either to act
  as local sponsoring agent of upstream soil and water conservation
  and flood prevention projects authorized by State or Federal
  Agencies in conjunction with Soil Conservation Districts or to aid
  and supplement the work of such upstream soil and water
  conservation and flood prevention projects, all in furtherance of
  the purposes of the District as provided by this Act ['Master Plan'
  as defined in Section 4-a]. In connection therewith, the District
  is authorized to make arrangements satisfactory to the Secretary of
  Agriculture of the United States for defraying costs of operating
  and maintaining such projects, in accordance with regulations
  presented by the Secretary of Agriculture; provided, however, that
  any portion of the total construction cost of any such project which
  is allocable to flood control and/or soil conservation shall be
  paid for or financed by funds which have their source in the county
  in which each particular project is situated and which funds may be
  of any kind or character, except taxes collected in accordance with
  the provisions of Sections 15-a and 15-b of this Act;
         (f)  Sewage Treatment and Solid Waste Disposal. As a
  necessary aid to the conservation, control, preservation,
  purification and distribution of surface and ground waters within
  the District, the District shall have the power to construct, own,
  operate, maintain or otherwise provide, within the San Antonio
  River Basin, sewage gathering, treatment and/or disposal services,
  including solid waste disposal services, to charge for such
  services, and to make contracts in reference thereto with counties,
  municipalities and others. Provided, however, that the District
  shall not exercise the powers hereinabove granted by this Section
  3(f) within the boundaries of Kerr, Real, or Bandera Counties
  unless the Commissioners Court of such county or counties shall
  first have consented by a majority vote thereof to the exercise of
  such power within such county or counties;
         (g)  Pollution Prevention. To provide for the study,
  correcting and control of both artificial and natural pollution
  including organic, inorganic and thermal, of all ground or surface
  water within the San Antonio River Basin. In this connection, the
  District is given the power by ordinance to promulgate rules and
  regulations with regard to such pollution, both artificial and
  natural, with the right of policing by said District to enforce such
  rules and regulations and of providing reasonable and commensurate
  penalties for the violation of any rules and regulations, which
  penalties shall be cumulative of any penalties fixed by General Law
  in Texas, and not to exceed the limit for penalties as fixed
  elsewhere in this Act. Provided, however, that no ordinance
  enacted pursuant to the powers hereinabove given the District by
  this Section 3(g) shall be promulgated in any county or counties
  outside the existing boundaries of the District;
         (h)  Parks, Recreational Facilities and Preservation of
  Fish: For the encouragement and development of parks, recreational
  facilities and the preservation of fish, the District shall have
  the power to acquire additional land adjoining any permanent work
  of improvement constructed within the District for the purpose of
  developing parks, or recreational facilities. The District may
  negotiate contracts with any county, municipality, municipal
  corporation, person, firm, corporation, non-profit organization,
  or State or Federal agency for the operation and/or maintenance of
  any such park, or recreational facility. The preservation of fish
  shall be in accordance with rules and regulations, if any,
  prescribed by the Game and Fish Commission of the State of Texas;
         (i)  Forestation and Reforestation: To forest and reforest
  and to aid in foresting and reforesting of all areas within the
  District;
         (j)  Contractual: To make contracts and to execute
  instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers,
  rights, privileges and functions conferred upon it by this Act,
  with the United States, its agencies, counties, cities, all
  municipal corporations, political subdivisions and districts, and
  with private persons, partnerships, associations, nonprofit
  organizations, and corporations. The District shall make and
  execute such contracts and instruments in accordance with the
  following procedures:
         (1)  Concerning any wholesale contract for the sale,
  purchase, procurement, distribution and/or supply of water or
  conservation storage capacity, or for the construction of a
  navigable canal or waterway, or any contract authorized by Section
  1, Chapter 84, page 140, Acts of the 52nd Legislature, 1951, as
  subsequently amended (codified under Article 7048b, Vernon's Civil
  Statutes of Texas), the Manager shall cause a notice describing the
  general nature of such contract to be published once each week for
  three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation
  in each county in the District within which such contract is to have
  effect. Such contract may be considered and acted upon at the
  regular meeting of the Board next following the last date of
  publication or, without further notice, at any meeting thereafter.
  The affirmative vote of at least seven (7) members of the Board
  shall be required for the approval of confirmation or ratification
  of any such contract. Of those seven (7) affirmative votes, at
  least three (3) affirmative votes shall be cast by Board members
  from Bexar County, at least one (1) affirmative vote shall be cast
  by a Board member from Wilson County, at least one (1) affirmative
  vote shall be cast by a Board member from Karnes County, and at
  least one (1) affirmative vote shall be cast by a Board member from
  Goliad County. The District may use any such contract as the sole
  basis, or as a supplement to the basis, for securing its bonds;
         (2)  Concerning any construction, maintenance, operation or
  repair contract, contract for the purchase of material, equipment
  or supplies or any contract for services other than professional
  services, if the contract will require an estimated expenditure of
  more than the maximum amount for which competitive bidding is
  required by statute for any political subdivision of the state or if
  the contract is for a term of two (2) years or more, the Board, upon
  the affirmative vote of a majority of a quorum present at any
  regular or special meeting, shall award such contract to the lowest
  and best bidder after publication of a notice to bidders once each
  week for three (3) consecutive weeks. The Board by bylaw shall
  promulgate the procedures for the publication of notice to bidders
  and related procedures and may, within the limitations set forth in
  this section, from time to time prescribe the amount of estimated
  expenditures to be subjected to competitive bidding. In the event
  of an emergency, the authority may let such contracts as are
  necessary to protect and preserve the public health and welfare or
  the properties of the authority, without such bidding procedures.
  Members of the Board of Directors shall be ineligible to submit such
  bids. Any provision of this Subsection to the contrary
  notwithstanding, the District may purchase surplus property from
  the United States by negotiated contract and without the necessity
  of advertising for bids.
         (k)  General:
         (1)  This District hereby is vested with such title and right
  of control as the State has, or may have, in, to and concerning the
  natural bed and banks of the San Antonio River in its entire length,
  and all of its tributaries as are within the District, as said
  District is defined in Section 2-a of this Act, and the District
  hereby is further vested with such title and right of control as the
  State has, or may have, in, to and concerning the natural bed and
  banks of any other navigable stream or tributary thereof as may be
  situated within the District, as said District is defined in
  Section 2-a of this Act; which investment, however, shall be in
  trust, and to authorize said District to make such uses, and/or
  disposition of such lands and rights (and the proceeds, income,
  revenues, or trading values thereof) as in actual experience may
  prove to be reasonably required for, or in aid of, the
  accomplishment of the purposes of this Act;
         (2)  To make preliminary investigations and surveys in the
  manner and for the purposes specified in said Chapter 25 (either
  independently at its own cost, or jointly with others, or to
  contribute to the cost thereof when done by another), whereby to
  procure cooperation by the Government of the United States of
  America, to the end that any project lawfully within the purposes of
  this Act may be approved for construction as a Federal project under
  such contractual terms and conditions as may be demanded by the
  Federal Congress;
         (3)  To expend all sums reasonably deemed to be necessary or
  expedient for seeking cooperation in accomplishing the objects of
  this Act from the Federal Government, and/or any and all other
  persons, creatures, or entities, whether natural, or creatures of
  law or contract;
         (4)  Subject to the provisions of this Act from time to time
  to sell or otherwise dispose of any property of any kind, real,
  personal, or mixed, or any interest therein, which shall not be
  necessary to the carrying on of the business of the District;
         (5)  To overflow and inundate any public lands and public
  property and to require the relocation of roads and highways in
  manner and to the extent permitted to districts organized under
  General Laws pursuant to Section 59 of Article 16 of the
  Constitution of the State of Texas. In the event that the District,
  in the exercise of the power of eminent domain or power of
  relocation, or any other power granted hereunder, makes necessary
  the relocation, raising, rerouting or changing the grade of, or
  altering the construction of any railroad, or street railway, all
  such necessary relocation, raising, rerouting, changing of grade or
  alteration of construction shall be accomplished at the sole
  expense of the District;
         (6)  To construct, extend, improve, maintain and
  reconstruct, to cause to be constructed, extended, improved,
  maintained, and reconstructed, and to use and operate, any and all
  facilities of any kind necessary or convenient to the exercise of
  such powers, rights, privileges, and functions;
         (7)  To sue and to be sued in its corporate name;
         (8)  To adopt, use, and alter a corporate seal;
         (9)  To adopt and to amend its bylaws for the management of
  its affairs;
         (10)  To appoint officers, agents, employees and
  professional consultants, none of whom shall have any interest,
  direct or indirect, in any contracts awarded by the District;
         (11)  To prescribe the duties and fix the compensation of all
  officers, agents, employees and professional consultants;
         (12)  To acquire by purchase, lease, gift, or in any other
  lawful manner and to maintain, use, and operate any and all property
  of any kind, real, personal or mixed, or any interest therein,
  within and without the boundaries of the District, necessary or
  convenient to the exercise of the powers, rights, privileges and
  functions conferred upon it by this Act, in the manner provided by
  general law with respect to condemnation or, at the option of the
  District, in the manner provided by the statutes relative to
  condemnation by Districts organized under general law pursuant to
  Section 59 of Article 16 of the Constitution of the State of Texas;
         (13)  To condemn lands used or dedicated for cemetery
  purposes in the manner provided by the General Law of Texas where
  reasonably necessary to effectuate the powers, rights, privileges
  and functions of the District, provided, however, that, when such
  power of condemnation is sought to be exercised with respect to any
  Perpetual Care cemetery, as defined in Article 912a, Vernon's Civil
  Statutes of the State of Texas, as to the condemnation of any such
  Perpetual Care cemetery or portion thereof, jurisdiction is hereby
  conferred for such purpose on the District Court or Courts of the
  county in which such cemetery land or any part thereof may be
  located, and such condemnation action shall likewise involve the
  issue of the removal of the dedication thereof as such Perpetual
  Care cemetery and the issue of the necessity for such taking;
         (14)  To borrow money for its corporate purposes and to
  execute proper notes or other evidences of indebtedness, and
  without limitation of the generality of the foregoing, to borrow
  money and accept grants from the United States of America, and in
  connection with any such loan or grant, to enter into such
  agreements as the United States of America or such corporation or
  agency may require; and to make and issue its negotiable bonds for
  moneys borrowed in the manner and to the extent provided in Section
  16. Nothing in this Act shall authorize the issuance of any bonds,
  notes, or other evidences of indebtedness of the District, except
  as specifically provided in this Act, and no issuance of bonds,
  notes, or other evidences of indebtedness, except as specifically
  provided in this Act, shall ever be authorized except by an Act of
  the Legislature;
         (15)  To obtain loans from and accept grants from the United
  States and its agencies, and from the State of Texas, and its
  agencies, and it shall have the right to participate in and be the
  beneficiary of any plan which may be evolved by the State or Federal
  Government for guaranteeing or otherwise subsidizing the
  obligations of the District;
         (16)  The District shall have the power to adopt and
  promulgate by ordinance all reasonable rules and regulations for
  purposes elsewhere provided in this Act and generally to secure and
  protect any and all of its property and any and all of its works of
  improvement, and to regulate residence, hunting, fishing, boating
  and camping, and all recreational and business privileges on any
  navigable river of the District, or any reservoir of the District,
  or upon any land owned by the District. The District may prescribe
  reasonable and commensurate penalties for the violation of any and
  all such rules and regulations of the District, which penalties
  shall be cumulative of any penalties fixed by the General Law in
  Texas and shall not exceed fines of more than Two Hundred Dollars
  ($200), or imprisonment for not more than one hundred eighty (180)
  days, or may provide for both such fine and imprisonment. No rule
  or regulation which provides a penalty for the violation thereof
  shall be in effect, as to enforcement of the penalty, until five (5)
  days next after the District may have caused a substantive
  statement of the particular rule or regulation and the penalty for
  the violation thereof to be published once a week for three (3)
  consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in each
  county in which it is to be effective. The substantive statement so
  to be published shall be as condensed as is possible to afford an
  intelligent direction of the mind to the act forbidden by the rule
  or regulation; one (1) notice may embrace any number of
  regulations; there must be embraced in the notice advice that
  breach of the particular regulation, or regulations, will subject
  the violator to the infliction of a penalty and there also shall be
  included in the notice advice that the full text of the regulations
  sought to be enforced is on file in the principal office of the
  District, where the same may be read by any interested person. Five
  (5) days after the third publication of the notice hereby required,
  the advertised regulation shall be in effect, and ignorance of any
  such regulation shall not constitute a defense to a prosecution for
  the enforcement of a penalty and, the rules and regulations
  authorized hereby, after the required publication, shall
  judicially be known to the courts and shall be considered of a
  nature like unto that of valid penal ordinance of a city of the
  State. The District shall be primarily liable for any court costs
  incurred hereunder, and the cost to maintain any offender committed
  for imprisonment hereunder. Any fine imposed in any such
  proceeding and paid in money shall be payable to this District and
  applied as its Board may direct;
         (17)  To designate an official newspaper of the District in
  each county in the District, each of which newspapers shall be a
  newspaper having general circulation in the county in which it is
  situated;
         (18)  To acquire such rights-of-way as are necessary to
  construct, operate and maintain such roads as are necessary for
  ingress and egress to any work of improvement or to any park,
  recreational facility, or fish or wildlife preserve or reserve;
         (19)  To grant concessions and franchises upon the premises
  of any works of improvement or any park, recreational facility or
  fish or wildlife preserve or reserve to any person or corporation;
         (20)  When germane to the accomplishment and the purposes of
  this Act, and not otherwise adequately provided by Chapter 25, or
  provided elsewhere in this Act, the Directors of the District shall
  have the power to adopt and promulgate ordinances, which may be done
  by a majority (except as specifically provided elsewhere in this
  Act) of those Directors present at any meeting held in compliance
  with the provisions of the bylaws at which there must be present a
  majority of the Board, constituting a quorum. No notice shall be
  required before the passage of such ordinance, except such notices
  of special or regular meetings of the Board as may be provided
  elsewhere in this Act. After having adopted such ordinances, the
  Directors shall cause the same to be filed and recorded in the
  official records of the Authority. The Directors may, if they deem
  necessary and proper, in addition to filing and recording same in
  the official records of the Authority, either caused certified
  copies of same to be forthwith filed of record in the office of the
  County Clerk of each county situated in whole or in part within the
  District within which such ordinance is intended to have
  application and/or to be published once or more each week for three
  (3) or more consecutive weeks in a newspaper or newspapers of
  general circulation in each county within the District within which
  ordinance is intended to have application, following either or all
  of which methods of recording and/or publication the ordinance
  shall be in full force and effect; and thereafter all courts and
  persons shall be held to have knowledge thereof, just as though the
  same had been embraced in the body of this Act and the County Clerk
  in any county is authorized and directed to file and record all
  certified copies of such county and to charge therefor the same fees
  as is provided for recording deeds of conveyance. And the powers of
  said District to adopt ordinances shall include, among other things
  as follows: in any case in which said Chapter 25 does not provide a
  specific power or right germane to, or appropriate, or adequate to
  accomplish an object of this Act, and such specific power has been,
  or hereafter may, conferred by law on Counties, Cities, Water
  Improvement Districts, Water Control and Improvement Districts,
  Drainage Districts, Navigation Districts, Canal Corporations,
  Channel and Dock Corporations, Deep Water Corporations, Railway
  Corporations, Terminal Railway Corporations, Telegraph and
  Telephone Corporations, or other like creatures of the law, then to
  the intent required to make adequate hereto the powers and rights of
  this District, it may by ordinance adopt and have as part of the law
  of its being so much of the power and right of any of the herein
  designated creatures of the law as will enable it effectively to
  accomplish that purpose of this Act. The adoption of a power or
  mode of procedure hereunder shall not be held to include any
  incidental limitation which would impede the lawful accomplishment
  of the purposes of this Act. As to this, there shall be no limit
  hereof save such as would violate the provisions of the
  Constitution of the United States and the State of Texas concerning
  the rights of others;
         (21)  This District shall have all such powers and rights,
  and regulations for government and procedure, as are contained in
  said Chapter 25, which shall be cumulative of those provided by this
  Act, and those rules for procedure which may be provided by
  ordinances adopted by the District under other provisions of this
  Act.
         SECTION 3.  Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th Legislature,
  Regular Session, 1937, is amended by adding Section 5 to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 5.  PARTNERSHIP WITH NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION. (a)  In
  this section, "affiliated nonprofit organization" means a
  nonprofit organization:
               (1)  created by the District; or
               (2)  for which the District, the Board, or the
  District's employees have a right to appoint one or more of the
  members of the governing body of the nonprofit organization.
         (b)  The District may contract or otherwise coordinate with a
  nonprofit organization, including an affiliated nonprofit
  organization, to accomplish the purposes of the District.
         (c)  Members of the Board or employees of the District may
  not constitute a majority of the board of directors or other
  governing body of an affiliated nonprofit organization.
         (d)  The Board shall develop a policy regarding fund-raising
  activities of any nonprofit organizations that enter into a
  partnership with the District. The policy must:
               (1)  include acceptable and prohibited fund-raising
  activities;
               (2)  specify how fund-raising is conducted and
  supervised; and
               (3)  include criteria for seeking and selecting
  corporate sponsors to ensure that sponsorships serve the public
  interest and are consistent with the purposes of the District.
         (e)  A memorandum of understanding between the District and
  an affiliated nonprofit organization entered into under this
  section must include the policy developed by the Board under
  Subsection (d) of this section.
         SECTION 4.  Section 9, Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th
  Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 9. GOVERNING BODY OF THE DISTRICT; QUALIFICATIONS OF
  MEMBERS OF THE BOARD; VACANCIES; TERM OF OFFICE.  The government and
  control of the District shall be vested in a Board of Directors
  consisting of 12 [twelve (12)] members, 6 [six (6)] of whom shall be
  elected from Bexar County, 2 [two (2)] of whom shall be elected from
  Wilson County, 2 [two (2)] of whom shall be elected from Karnes
  County, and 2 [two (2)] of whom shall be elected from Goliad County.
  Each director shall serve for a term of four [six (6)] years, and
  shall hold office until the director's [his] successor has been
  elected and has qualified by taking the oath of office. Before
  entering upon the duties of the member's [his] office, each member
  of the Board shall take the Constitutional Oath of Office and the
  same shall be filed in written form with the Secretary of the Board.
  Vacancies occurring on the Board from any county shall be filled by
  appointment by the Governor of the State, with the advice and
  consent of the Senate, for such unexpired term. Any person over the
  age of 21 [twenty-one (21)] years, residing within the District and
  within the county from which the person [he] is elected or
  appointed, and possessing the qualifications of a juror shall be
  eligible to be elected or appointed and to serve as a director.
         SECTION 5.  Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th Legislature,
  Regular Session, 1937, is amended by adding Sections 13-a, 13-b,
  13-c, and 13-d to read as follows:
         Sec. 13-a.  TRAINING FOR BOARD MEMBERS. (a) A person who is
  elected or appointed to and qualifies for office as a member of the
  Board may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member in
  attendance at a meeting of the Board until the person completes a
  training program that complies with this section.
         (b)  The training program must provide the person with
  information regarding:
               (1)  the law governing the District's operations;
               (2)  the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the
  District;
               (3)  the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking
  authority of the Board;
               (4)  the results of the most recent formal audit of the
  District;
               (5)  the requirements of:
                     (A)  laws relating to open meetings, public
  information, administrative procedure, and disclosing conflicts of
  interest; and
                     (B)  other laws applicable to members of the
  governing body of a river authority in performing their duties; and
               (6)  any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
  District or the Texas Ethics Commission.
         (c)  A person elected or appointed to the Board is entitled
  to reimbursement for the travel expenses incurred in attending the
  training program regardless of whether the attendance at the
  program occurs before or after the person qualifies for office.
         (d)  The Manager of the District shall create a training
  manual that includes the information required by Subsection (b) of
  this section. The Manager of the District shall distribute a copy
  of the training manual annually to each member of the Board. Each
  member of the Board shall sign and submit to the Manager of the
  District a statement acknowledging that the member received and
  reviewed the training manual.
         Sec. 13-b.  POLICIES TO SEPARATE POLICY-MAKING AND STAFF
  FUNCTIONS. The Board shall develop and implement policies that
  clearly separate the policy-making responsibilities of the Board
  and the management responsibilities of the Manager and the staff of
  the District.
         Sec. 13-c.  PUBLIC TESTIMONY AT BOARD MEETINGS. The Board
  shall 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 jurisdiction of the District.
         Sec. 13-d.  COMPLAINT INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS. (a) The
  District shall maintain a system to promptly and efficiently act on
  complaints filed with the District. The District 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 District shall make information available
  describing its procedures for complaint investigation and
  resolution.
         (c)  The District shall periodically notify the complaint
  parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition
  unless the notice would jeopardize an investigation.
         SECTION 6.  Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th Legislature,
  Regular Session, 1937, is amended by adding Section 14-b to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 14-b.  FISCAL YEAR. The District's fiscal year ends on
  September 30 of each year.
         SECTION 7.  Section 15-a, Chapter 276, Acts of the 45th
  Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 15-a.  TAXATION. Subject to the limitation as to the
  maximum rate of tax as prescribed in this Section, the District may
  levy and collect throughout the territory of the District such ad
  valorem taxes as are voted at an election or elections called by the
  Board for that purpose and conducted throughout the territory of
  the District. The maximum rate of tax which can be levied and
  collected for any year shall be two cents (2¢) on the One Hundred
  Dollars ($100) of taxable property based on its assessed valuation,
  in accordance with the following conditions and procedures:
         (a)  The Board of Directors of the District may, by
  ordinance, call an election to submit to the voters for approval
  such taxation; provided that a public hearing to discuss the
  proposed tax issue shall be held in each county in the District,
  said public hearing to be held not less than ten (10) days nor more
  than twenty-five (25) days prior to the scheduled date of any such
  election, and said hearings shall be called by the Board of
  Directors of the District and notice of the time, day, date, place
  and purpose of said meeting shall be given by publishing said notice
  in at least one (1) newspaper of general circulation in each county
  where the meeting is to be held at least ten (10) days prior to such
  hearing;
         (b)  Only qualified electors, owning taxable property within
  the boundaries of the District and who have duly rendered their
  property for taxation shall be entitled to vote in any such
  election. An elector otherwise qualified must vote in the county of
  his residence and at the polling place designated for the precinct
  of his residence.  The ordinance calling the election shall specify
  the polling place or places in each of the several counties. The
  notice of election will be sufficient as to any county within the
  District if it states that the election is to be held throughout the
  territory comprising the District and if it specifies the polling
  place or places in such county. But it shall not be necessary to
  publish such details except in the county in which they are
  applicable;
         (c)  Returns of the election shall be made to the Board, and
  the Board shall canvass the returns of the election and adopt an
  ordinance declaring the results thereof. The Board may levy taxes
  within the maximum rate thus voted if a majority of the votes cast
  throughout the District are in favor of the levy of the tax and if a
  majority of the votes cast in any three (3) counties in the District
  are in favor of the levy of the tax;
         (d)  The rate of tax shall be uniform throughout the
  territory comprising the District, and shall be certified by the
  Chairman and the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the District
  to the Tax Assessor and the Tax Collector of each included county;
         (e)  After an election has resulted favorably to the levy of
  a tax, the Board of Directors may borrow money payable therefrom and
  may evidence such loan by a negotiable note given in the name of the
  District;
         (f)  Any taxes thus collected shall be used for the purpose
  of general administration[, preparation of the Master Plan provided
  for in Section 4-a,] and for [other] planning and other services
  with respect to any of the purposes, rights, privileges and
  functions of the District; provided, however, that none of the
  taxes thus collected shall be used to pay for or finance the
  construction of any dams, reservoirs, levees, channels, pipelines
  or other major physical works of the District, or pay for the cost
  of any right-of-way acquisitions, or the expenses of right-of-way
  acquisition, or damages awarded by any Court under Article 1,
  Section 17, of the Constitution of the State of Texas. It is the
  intent of this Act that any taxes thus collected will enable the
  District to accomplish its purposes, including [develop a Master
  Plan for] the maximum development of the soil and water resources of
  the District, it [is] being hereby found and determined that the
  benefits to be realized from such maximum development can be
  obtained only through area-wide participation and planning. It is
  the intent of this Act that the construction of any dams,
  reservoirs, levees, channels, pipelines or other major physical
  works of the District shall be paid for or financed by revenue bonds
  of the District to be redeemed either by the sale of services or by
  taxes to be levied by a county or municipality and paid over to the
  District as an independent contractor of said county or
  municipality. It is likewise the intent of this Act that any taxes
  thus collected may be used to pay for the operation, repair and/or
  maintenance of any flood control, soil conservation, watershed
  protection and/or erosion structures or works of improvement
  constructed in cooperation with the Federal Government; provided,
  however, that any such operation, repair and/or maintenance costs
  shall be paid for out of taxes thus collected in the county in which
  the particular structure or work of improvement is situated. It is
  further the intent of this Act that the taxes authorized by this
  Section 15-a thus collected shall not be pledged to the redemption
  of any bonds of the District.
         SECTION 8.  Sections 4-a and 14-a, Chapter 276, Acts of the
  45th Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, are repealed.
         SECTION 9.  (a) The change in law made by this Act to the
  terms of the directors of the San Antonio River Authority applies
  only to the term of a director who is appointed or elected on or
  after the effective date of this Act.
         (b)  The directors elected at the election held on the
  uniform election date in November 2023 shall draw lots to determine
  which director serves a term of four years and which director serves
  a term of two years.
         (c)  Notwithstanding Section 13-a, Chapter 276, Acts of the
  45th Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, as added by this Act, a
  person serving on the board of directors of the district may vote,
  deliberate, and be counted as a director in attendance at a meeting
  of the board until December 1, 2023.
         SECTION 10.  (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 11.  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, 2023.