| |
| |
| |
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
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 |