Bill Text: TX SB2185 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to restrictions on certain special districts.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-18 - Effective on 9/1/21 [SB2185 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-SB2185-Enrolled.html
| S.B. No. 2185 | ||
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| relating to restrictions on certain special districts. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. In this Act, "district" means the Hidalgo County | ||
| Water Improvement District No. 3. | ||
| SECTION 2. GENERAL MANAGER. The general manager shall be an | ||
| employee of the district. The general manager serves at the | ||
| pleasure of and reports only to the board. The general manager may | ||
| not serve as a director on the board of directors of the district. | ||
| SECTION 3. EDUCATION PROGRAM. (a) The district's board of | ||
| directors shall establish a program of education for the district's | ||
| directors that includes information on: | ||
| (1) the history of the district; | ||
| (2) the district's statutory authority; | ||
| (3) laws applicable to the district, including the | ||
| requirements of Chapters 551 and 552, Government Code; | ||
| (4) relevant legal developments related to water | ||
| district governance; | ||
| (5) the duties and responsibilities of the district's | ||
| board of directors; | ||
| (6) conflict of interest laws and other laws related | ||
| to public officials; | ||
| (7) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the | ||
| Texas Commission on Environmental Quality or the Texas Ethics | ||
| Commission. | ||
| (b) The district shall pay any costs associated with the | ||
| development of the education program from district revenue. | ||
| (c) The education program may include training provided by | ||
| an organization offering courses that have been approved by the | ||
| Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. | ||
| (d) The district's board of directors may adopt bylaws | ||
| modifying the education program as necessary to meet district | ||
| needs. | ||
| SECTION 4. EDUCATION FOR DIRECTORS. (a) Each director of | ||
| the district shall complete the education program established under | ||
| Section 3 of this Act before the first anniversary of the date on | ||
| which the director was appointed or elected. A director serving on | ||
| the district's board of directors on the effective date of this Act | ||
| shall complete the education program not later than September 1, | ||
| 2022. | ||
| (b) The district shall reimburse a director of the district | ||
| for the reasonable expenses incurred by the director in attending | ||
| the education program. | ||
| (c) A director of the district who is elected to serve a | ||
| subsequent term shall fulfill the education requirements specified | ||
| by district bylaws. | ||
| SECTION 5. PROHIBITED CONDUCT FOR DIRECTORS AND DISTRICT | ||
| EMPLOYEES. A director of the district or a district employee may | ||
| not: | ||
| (1) accept or solicit any gift, favor, or service | ||
| that: | ||
| (A) might reasonably influence the director or | ||
| employee in the discharge of an official duty; or | ||
| (B) the director or employee knows or should know | ||
| is offered with the intent to influence the director's or employee's | ||
| official conduct; | ||
| (2) accept other employment or engage in a business or | ||
| professional activity that the director or employee might | ||
| reasonably expect would require or induce the director or employee | ||
| to disclose confidential information acquired in the course of the | ||
| director's or employee's duties under this chapter; | ||
| (3) accept other employment or compensation that could | ||
| reasonably be expected to impair the director's or employee's | ||
| independent judgment in the performance of the director's or | ||
| employee's duties under this chapter; | ||
| (4) make personal investments that could reasonably be | ||
| expected to create a substantial conflict between the director's or | ||
| employee's private interest and the interest of the district; | ||
| (5) intentionally or knowingly solicit, accept, or | ||
| agree to accept a benefit for the director's or employee's exercise | ||
| of powers under this chapter or performance of duties under this | ||
| chapter in favor of a third party; or | ||
| (6) have a personal interest in an agreement executed | ||
| by the district. | ||
| SECTION 6. SEARCHABLE DISTRICT EXPENDITURE DATABASE. (a) | ||
| The district shall establish and post on the district's Internet | ||
| website a database of district check register reports, including | ||
| district expenditures and contracts. The database must include the | ||
| amount, date, description, payor, and payee of the expenditures | ||
| and, if applicable, parties to the contract. | ||
| (b) The district may not include in the database developed | ||
| under Subsection (a) a district employee's salary or personal | ||
| identifying information, as defined by Section 521.002, Business & | ||
| Commerce Code. | ||
| (c) The district shall prominently display a link to the | ||
| database established under this section on the district's Internet | ||
| website. The information provided in the district check register | ||
| reports must be updated monthly. | ||
| (d) The district shall keep in the database information | ||
| required by this section related to an adopted budget until the | ||
| third anniversary of the date the budget was adopted. | ||
| SECTION 7. CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS. The district shall | ||
| publish once before each election to elect members of the board of | ||
| directors of the district the procedure for conducting an election | ||
| to elect members of the board of directors of the district in a | ||
| newspaper of general circulation in each municipality or county in | ||
| which the district or a portion of the district is located. | ||
| SECTION 8. Subchapter H, Chapter 49, Water Code, is amended | ||
| by adding Section 49.2127 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 49.2127. PIPELINE FEES AND REQUIREMENTS IMPOSED BY | ||
| CERTAIN DISTRICTS. (a) In this section, "retail public utility" | ||
| has the meaning assigned by Section 13.002. | ||
| (b) This section applies only to a district whose territory | ||
| is located wholly or partly in a county: | ||
| (1) located on the Gulf of Mexico and an international | ||
| border; or | ||
| (2) adjacent to a county described by Subdivision (1). | ||
| (c) Notwithstanding Section 49.002, this section prevails | ||
| over a special law governing a district. | ||
| (d) A district may not impose on a retail public utility | ||
| that proposes to construct a water or sewer pipeline or associated | ||
| infrastructure in the district's service area: | ||
| (1) requirements for constructing the pipeline that | ||
| are unduly burdensome; or | ||
| (2) a fee that is greater than the actual, reasonable, | ||
| and documented costs incurred by the district for review, legal | ||
| services, engineering services, inspection, construction, and | ||
| repair associated with the retail public utility construction, and | ||
| any other related costs incurred by the district in association | ||
| with the retail public utility construction. | ||
| SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. | ||
| ______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
| President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
| I hereby certify that S.B. No. 2185 passed the Senate on | ||
| April 29, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that | ||
| the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 29, 2021, by the | ||
| following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 1, one present not voting. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| I hereby certify that S.B. No. 2185 passed the House, with | ||
| amendments, on May 26, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 144, | ||
| Nays 1, two present not voting. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
| Approved: | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Date | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Governor | ||
