Trinity River Authority board grows to 25

The text as introduced · 1,677 words

89R10970 MP-D

By: Parker, et al.
S.B. No. 2408

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the Trinity River Authority of Texas, following

recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; 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 518, Acts of the 54th

Legislature, Regular Session, 1955, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The Authority 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 Authority were a state agency scheduled

to be abolished September 1, 2037 [ 2025 ], and every 12th year after

that year.

SECTION 2. Section 3(b), Chapter 518, Acts of the 54th

Legislature, Regular Session, 1955, is amended to read as follows:

(b) The Board shall consist of twenty-five (25)

[ twenty-four (24) ] directors to be appointed by the Governor with

the advice and consent of the Senate, and, when the Legislature is

in session, no such appointment shall become effective until it

shall have been approved by the Senate. For the purposes of the

appointment of directors the Authority is divided into eighteen

(18) areas, numbered 1 to 18, both inclusive, respectively

containing the county as follows:

Area 1. Tarrant

Area 2. Dallas

Area 3. Kaufman

Area 4. Henderson

Area 5. Ellis

Area 6. Navarro

Area 7. Anderson

Area 8. Freestone

Area 9. Leon

Area 10. Houston

Area 11. Trinity

Area 12. Madison

Area 13. Walker

Area 14. San Jacinto

Area 15. Polk

Area 16. Liberty

Area 17. Chambers

Area 18. All of the territory contained within the above

named seventeen (17) areas and seventeen (17) counties which shall

be known as "The Area-at-Large." Three (3) directors shall be

appointed from Tarrant County; four (4) directors shall be

appointed from Dallas County; and three (3) [ two (2) ] directors

shall be appointed from "The Area-at-Large." One (1) director

shall be appointed from each of the other named Areas. The term of

each director shall be for six (6) years and until his successor

shall have been appointed and until he shall have qualified, except

that of the directors first appointed, eight (8) shall serve for two

(2) years, eight (8) for four (4) years, and eight (8) for six (6)

years. The terms of the directors shall expire on the 15th day of

March of the year in which their respective terms would terminate

under the provisions of this Act. In making the original

appointments the Governor will designate the initial term of each

such directors. The Board has power to appoint an executive

committee which will perform the functions of the Board between

meetings, except as its powers may be restricted in the action

setting up the committee.

SECTION 3. Section 4, Chapter 518, Acts of the 54th

Legislature, Regular Session, 1955, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 4. The Governor shall designate a member of the Board

as the president of the Authority to serve in that capacity at the

pleasure of the Governor. The Board shall elect from its number a

[ president and a ] vice-president of the Authority and such other

officers as in the judgment of the Board are necessary. The

president shall preside at meetings of the Board and shall be the

chief officer of the Authority and shall have the same right to vote

as any other director. The vice-president shall perform all duties

and exercise all powers conferred by this Act upon the president

when the president is absent or fails or is unable or declines to

act. The Board shall appoint a secretary and a treasurer who shall

not be members of the Board. Within the discretion of the Board the

officers of secretary and treasurer may be held by one (1) person

whose title shall be Secretary-Treasurer. The Treasurer shall give

bond in such amount as shall be prescribed by the Board. The Board

shall [ may ] appoint a general manager and may appoint [ , ] all

necessary engineers, attorneys and other employees.

SECTION 4. Chapter 518, Acts of the 54th Legislature,

Regular Session, 1955, is amended by adding Sections 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D,

and 4E to read as follows:

Sec. 4A. (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 3(c) of this Act;

(2) does not maintain during service on the Board the

qualifications required by Section 3(c) of this Act;

(3) violates 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 of the Authority has knowledge

that a potential ground for removal exists, the general manager

shall notify the president of the Authority 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. 4B. (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 Authority operations;

(2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the

Authority;

(3) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking

authority of the Board;

(4) the results of the most recent formal audit of the

Authority;

(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

Authority 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 Authority 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. 4C. (a) The Authority shall maintain a system to

promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the

Authority. The Authority 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 Authority shall make information available

describing its procedures for complaint investigation and

resolution.

(c) The Authority shall periodically notify the complaint

parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition,

unless the notice would jeopardize an investigation.

Sec. 4D. 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 Authority.

Sec. 4E. 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 employees of the Authority.

SECTION 5. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this

section, Section 4B, Chapter 518, Acts of the 54th Legislature,

Regular Session, 1955, as added by this Act, applies to a member of

the board of directors of the Trinity River Authority of Texas

appointed before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 4B, Chapter 518, Acts of the

54th Legislature, Regular Session, 1955, as added by this Act, a

member of the board of directors of the Trinity River Authority of

Texas may vote, deliberate, and be counted as a director in

attendance at a meeting of the board until December 1, 2025. A

member of the board may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a

member in attendance at a meeting of the board held on or after

December 1, 2025, until the member completes the training required

by that section.

SECTION 6. (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 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.