Relating to the Sabine River Authority of Texas, following recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; specifying term lengths and grounds for the removal of a member of the board of directors.

89(R) SB 2406 - Enrolled version - Bill Text

S.B. No. 2406

AN ACT

relating to the Sabine River Authority of Texas, following

recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission; specifying term

lengths and 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 2A(a), Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st

Legislature, Regular Session, 1949, is amended to read as follows:

(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,
2037
[
2025
], and every 12th year after

that year.

SECTION 2. Section 3, Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st

Legislature, Regular Session, 1949, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3. The management and control of all of the affairs of

the district shall be vested in the Board of Directors, consisting

of nine (9) members, each of whom shall be a freehold property

taxpayer and a legal voter of the State of Texas. Such Board of

Directors shall be appointed by the Governor of Texas [
as soon as

practicable after the passage of this Act
] and confirmed by the

Senate[
; one-third of the members to be appointed for a term of two

(2) years, one-third of the members to be appointed for a term of

four (4) years, and the remaining members to be appointed for a term

of six (6) years
]. [
Upon the expiration of the respective terms of

said
] Directors [
the successors of each and all of them
] shall be

appointed [
thereafter
] for
staggered terms
[
a term
] of
four
[
six

(6)
] years. Four members of the Board of Directors must each reside

within a county located in the upper basin of the Sabine River,

including Collin, Rockwall, Kaufman, Hunt, Rains, Van Zandt,

Hopkins, Franklin, Wood, Smith, Upshur, Gregg, Harrison, and Rusk

counties. Four members of the Board of Directors must each reside

within a county located in the lower basin of the Sabine River,

including Panola, Shelby, San Augustine, Sabine, Jasper, Newton,

and Orange counties. One member of the Board of Directors must

reside within any county situated wholly or partially within the

watershed of the Sabine River. The Directors shall hold office

after their appointment and qualification until their successors

shall be appointed and qualified. Should any vacancy occur in the

Board of Directors the same may be filled in like manner by the

Governor of Texas for the unexpired term. The Directors appointed

shall within fifteen (15) days after their appointment qualify by

taking the official oath and filing a good and sufficient bond with

the Secretary of State; the official bond of each Director to be in

the sum of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000), and shall be payable to

the district, shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of

official duties of such Director, and shall be subject to approval

by the Secretary of State of the State of Texas.

SECTION 3. Section 4, Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st

Legislature, Regular Session, 1949, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 4.
The Governor shall designate a Director as the

President of the Board to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of

the Governor.
The Directors of the district shall organize by

electing one of their members [
President, one
] Vice-President, one

Secretary, and a Secretary pro tem. Five (5) Directors shall

constitute a quorum at any meeting, and a concurrence of a majority

of those present shall be sufficient in all matters pertaining to

the business of the district, except the letting of construction

contracts and the authorization of issuance of bonds, which shall

require the concurrence of five (5) Directors. Warrants for the

payment of money may be drawn and signed by two (2) officers or

employees designated by resolution entered on the minutes of the

Directors, when such accounts have been contracted and ordered paid

by the Board of Directors.

SECTION 4. Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st Legislature,

Regular Session, 1949, is amended by adding Sections 4A, 4B, 6A, and

6B to read as follows:

Sec.

4A.

(a)

It is a ground for removal from the Board of

Directors that a Director:

(1)

does not have at the time of taking office the

qualifications required by Section 3 of this Act;

(2)

does not maintain during service on the Board the

qualifications required by Section 3 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 manager of the district has knowledge that a

potential ground for removal exists, the 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 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 of Directors 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 of Directors;

(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 of Directors 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 manager of the district shall create a training

manual that includes the information required by Subsection (b) of

this section. The manager shall distribute a copy of the training

manual annually to each Director. Each Director shall sign and

submit to the manager a statement acknowledging that the Director

received and has reviewed the training manual.

Sec.

6A.

(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.

6B.

The Board of Directors 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 10, Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st

Legislature, Regular Session, 1949, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 10. The Directors
shall
[
may
] employ a manager for the

district, and may give
the manager
[
him
] full authority in the

management and operation of the district affairs (subject only to

the orders of the Board of Directors). Compensation to be paid such

manager and all employees shall be fixed by the Board of Directors

and all employees may be removed by the Board.

SECTION 6. Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st Legislature,

Regular Session, 1949, is amended by adding Section 10A to read as

follows:

Sec.

10A.

The Board of Directors shall develop and

implement policies that clearly separate the policy-making

responsibilities of the Board and the management responsibilities

of the manager and the employees of the district.

SECTION 7. (a) Notwithstanding the changes in law made by

this Act in Section 3, Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st Legislature,

Regular Session, 1949, and except as provided by Subsection (b) of

this section, a director of the Sabine River Authority of Texas

serving on the effective date of this Act shall continue in office

until the member's successor is appointed and qualifies for office.

(b) At the first meeting of the board of directors of the

Sabine River Authority of Texas that follows the effective date of

this Act, the three directors of the Sabine River Authority of Texas

whose terms would expire on July 6, 2031, shall draw lots to

determine which two directors will serve terms that expire on July

6, 2029, and which director will serve a term that expires on July

6, 2027.

SECTION 8. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of

this section, Section 4B, Chapter 110, Acts of the 51st

Legislature, Regular Session, 1949, as added by this Act, applies

to a member of the board of directors of the Sabine River Authority

of Texas appointed before, on, or after the effective date of this

Act.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 4B, Chapter 110, Acts of the

51st Legislature, Regular Session, 1949, as added by this Act, a

person serving on the board of directors of the Sabine 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 director 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 9. (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 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

______________________________

______________________________

President of the Senate

Speaker of the House

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 2406 passed the Senate on

April 9, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0; and that

the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 28, 2025, by the

following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

______________________________

Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 2406 passed the House, with

amendment, on May 24, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 123,

Nays 8, two present not voting.

______________________________

Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

______________________________

Date

______________________________

Governor