Bill Text: TX HB4575 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the election of the board of directors of the San Jacinto River Authority.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-04-08 - Recommendations filed with the Speaker [HB4575 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-HB4575-Introduced.html

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87R2170 BRG-D
By: Metcalf H.B. No. 4575

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the election of the board of directors of the San
Jacinto River Authority.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 6, Chapter 426, Acts of the 45th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1937, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 6. (a) The management and control of all the affairs
of said District shall be vested in, and the powers, rights,
privileges, and functions of the District shall be exercised by a
Board of Directors consisting of seven [six (6)] members, all of
whom shall be freehold property taxpayers and legal voters of the
State of Texas [and four (4) of whom shall be residents of a county
wholly encompassed by the District].
(b) Members of the [such] Board of Directors shall be
elected at large by voters in the District [appointed by the
Governor for terms of six (6) years. Provided, the present Board of
six (6) directors of said District, appointed by the State Board of
Water Engineers under authority of House Bill No. 1094, Chapter
613, Acts of the Regular Session of the Forty-seventh Legislature,
amending Section 6 of Chapter 426, Acts of the Regular Session of
the Forty-fifth Legislature, as amended by House Bill No. 828,
Chapter 480, Acts of the Regular Session of the Forty-seventh
Legislature, for terms of two (2), four (4), and six (6) years,
shall continue to serve as such until the expiration of the
respective terms for which they were appointed. Upon the
expiration of the terms for which the present members of the Board
of Directors were appointed, the successors of each and all of them
shall be appointed by the Governor for a term of six (6) years].
(c) The Directors shall hold office after their election
[appointment] and qualification until their successors shall be
elected [appointed] and qualified. [Should any vacancy occur in
the Board of Directors, the same shall be filled in like manner by
the Governor for the unexpired term.] The Directors [appointed]
shall, within thirty (30) days after their election [appointment],
qualify by taking the official oath required of County
Commissioners, and shall execute bond in the sum of Five Thousand
Dollars ($5,000) payable to the District, the sufficiency of which
bond shall be determined by the Governor, which bonds after being
recorded in the official bond records of the county in which the
District maintains its office shall be deposited with the
depository selected and approved for the deposit of the funds of the
District.
(d) The Board of Directors shall organize by electing one of
its members President, one Vice-President, one Secretary, and one
Treasurer. Four (4) members, including the presiding officer,
shall constitute a quorum to transact business. The President
shall preside at all meetings of the Board and shall be the chief
executive officer of the District. The Vice-President shall act as
President in case of the absence or disability of the President.
The Secretary shall act as Secretary of the Board and shall be
charged with the duty of keeping a record of all proceedings and all
orders of the Board. The Treasurer shall receive and receipt for
all moneys received by the District and shall keep books and records
of all moneys received and expended. In case of the absence or
inability of the Secretary to act, a Secretary pro tem shall be
selected by the Directors.
(e) The domicile of the District shall be in the City of
Conroe, in the County of Montgomery, Texas, where the District
shall maintain its principal office. The Board of Directors shall
have authority to fix the time, place and number of meetings of such
Board by proper resolutions, regulations and bylaws passed by said
Board. Said Board shall cause to be kept complete and accurate
accounts conforming to approved methods of bookkeeping. Said
accounts and all contracts, documents, and records of the District
shall be kept at said principal office, and same shall be open to
public inspection at all reasonable times.
SECTION 2. Section 30.003(4), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(4) "River authority" means any district or authority
created by the legislature which contains an area within its
boundaries of one or more counties and which is governed by a board
of directors appointed or designated in whole or in part by the
governor, or by the Texas Water Development Board. The term
includes[, including without limitation] the San Antonio River
Authority and the San Jacinto River Authority.
SECTION 3. (a) The San Jacinto River Authority shall hold
the first election to elect directors as described by Section 6,
Chapter 426, Acts of the 45th Legislature, Regular Session, 1937,
as amended by this Act, on the uniform election date in May 2022.
(b) The terms of the directors serving on the board of
directors of the San Jacinto River Authority on the effective date
of this Act expire on the date the directors elected under
Subsection (a) of this section have qualified.
(c) At the first meeting of the board of directors of the San
Jacinto River Authority that follows the election held under
Subsection (a) of this section, the directors shall draw lots to
determine which four directors serve a term of four years and which
three directors serve a term of two years.
SECTION 4. (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 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.