By: Clardy, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Johnson) H.B. No. 1555
         (In the Senate - Received from the House April 26, 2023;
  May 1, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Water,
  Agriculture & Rural Affairs; May 4, 2023, reported favorably by the
  following vote:  Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 4, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
 
 
  COMMITTEE VOTE
 
 
         YeaNayAbsentPNV
         PerryX
         HancockX
         BlancoX
         FloresX
         GutierrezX
         JohnsonX
         KolkhorstX
         SparksX
         SpringerX
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, following the
  recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; altering terms
  of the board of directors; specifying grounds for the removal of a
  member of the board of directors.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 1A(a), Chapter 5, page 1062, Special
  Laws, Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 1A.  (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 8, Chapter 5, page 1062, Special Laws,
  Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Section 8.  The [It shall not be necessary for the Board of
  Directors to call or hold a hearing on the adoption of a plan of
  taxation, but the] ad valorem plan of taxation shall be used by the
  District.
         SECTION 3.  Section 9, Chapter 5, page 1062, Special Laws,
  Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is amended by
  amending Subsections (b), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (f) to
  read as follows:
         (b)  Directors are appointed by the Governor. The Governor
  shall designate a Director as the president of the Board to serve in
  that capacity at the pleasure of the Governor. Directors are
  appointed for staggered terms of four [six (6)] years with either
  four or five [three] Directors' terms expiring on February 1 of each
  odd-numbered year. The Governor shall fill a vacancy on the Board
  by appointment for the unexpired term.
         (c)  The Board of Directors shall elect from its number a
  [president, a] vice president and a secretary of the Board of
  Directors and of the District, and such other officers as in the
  judgment of the Board are necessary. The president, as designated
  by the Governor, shall be chief executive officer of the District
  and the presiding officer of the Board, and shall have the same
  right to vote as any other Director. The vice president shall
  perform all duties and exercise all power conferred by this Act or
  the general law upon the president when the president is absent or
  fails or declines to act. The secretary shall keep and sign the
  minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors; and in the
  secretary's [his] absence at any board meeting, a secretary pro tem
  shall be named for that meeting who may exercise all the duties and
  powers of the secretary for such meeting, sign the minutes thereof,
  and attest all orders passed or other action taken at such meeting.
  The secretary shall be the custodian of all minutes and records of
  the District.
         (d)  The Board shall appoint a general manager of the
  District and all necessary engineers, attorneys, auditors, and
  other employees.
         (f)  The Board shall develop and implement policies that
  clearly separate the policy-making responsibilities of the Board
  and the management responsibilities of the general manager and the
  staff of the District.
         SECTION 4.  Chapter 5, page 1062, Special Laws, Acts of the
  46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is amended by adding
  Sections 9A, 9B, 9C, and 9D to read as follows:
         Sec. 9A.  (a)  It is a ground for removal from the Board that
  a Director:
               (1)  does not have at the time of taking office the
  qualifications required by Section 9(a) of this Act;
               (2)  does not maintain during service on the Board the
  qualifications required by Section 9(a) of this Act;
               (3)  is ineligible for directorship under Chapter 171,
  Local Government Code;
               (4)  cannot, because of illness or disability,
  discharge the Director's duties for a substantial part of the
  Director's term; or
               (5)  is absent from more than half of the regularly
  scheduled Board meetings that the Director is eligible to attend
  during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote
  of the Board.
         (b)  The validity of an action of the Board is not affected by
  the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a Director
  exists.
         (c)  If the general manager has knowledge that a potential
  ground for removal exists, the general manager shall notify the
  President of the Board of the potential ground.  The President shall
  then notify the Governor and the Attorney General that a potential
  ground for removal exists.  If the potential ground for removal
  involves the President, the general manager shall notify the next
  highest ranking Director, who shall then notify the Governor and
  the Attorney General that a potential ground for removal exists.
         Sec. 9B.  (a)  A person who is appointed to and qualifies for
  office as a Director may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a
  Director 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 District 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 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 general manager of the District shall create a
  training manual that includes the information required by
  Subsection (b) of this section. The general manager shall
  distribute a copy of the training manual annually to each Director.
  Each Director shall sign and submit to the general manager a
  statement acknowledging that the Director received and has reviewed
  the training manual.
         Sec. 9C.  (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.
         Sec. 9D.  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.
         SECTION 5.  Section 7, Chapter 5, page 1062, Special Laws,
  Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session, 1939, is repealed.
         SECTION 6.  At the first meeting of the board of the Upper
  Guadalupe River Authority that follows the effective date of this
  Act, the six directors of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority whose
  terms do not expire on February 1, 2025, shall draw lots to
  determine which director will serve a term that expires on February
  1, 2025, and which five directors will serve terms that expire on
  February 1, 2027.  The three directors with terms expiring on
  February 1, 2025, will serve terms that expire on that date.
         SECTION 7.  Notwithstanding Section 9B, Chapter 5, page
  1062, Special Laws, Acts of the 46th Legislature, Regular Session,
  1939, as added by this Act, a person serving on the board of
  directors of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority may vote,
  deliberate, and be counted as a director in attendance at a meeting
  of the board until December 1, 2023.
         SECTION 8.  (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 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
 
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