Title SD, Special District Local Laws Code

Sec. 8508.0005. REVIEW SCHEDULE UNDER SUNSET ACT. A review of the authority under Section 325.025, Government Code, shall be conducted as if the authority were a state agency scheduled to be abolished September 1, 2029, and every 12th year after that year. Added by Acts 2019, 86t…

Sec. 8508.0006. TERRITORY. (a) Unless modified under Subchapter J, Chapter 49, Water Code, or other law, the authority's territory is composed of the territory in each county in Texas, other than Fannin County, that is located wholly or partly in the watershed of the Sulphur Rive…

Sec. 8508.0007. LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION OF CHAPTER. This chapter shall be liberally construed to achieve its purposes. Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 468 (H.B. 4172), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2021. SUBCHAPTER B. BOARD OF DIRECTORS; ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

Sec. 8508.0051. MEMBERSHIP OF BOARD. (a) The board consists of seven directors appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. (b) The governor shall appoint one director to represent the authority at large. (c) The governor shall appoint two directors from e…

Sec. 8508.0052. TERMS. Directors serve for staggered terms of six years with two or three directors' terms expiring on February 1 of each odd-numbered year. Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 468 (H.B. 4172), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2021.

Sec. 8508.0053. REMOVAL. (a) The governor may remove a director from office for: (1) inefficiency; (2) neglect of duty; (3) misconduct in office; or (4) absence from three consecutive regular board meetings. (b) Before a director is removed from office, the board shall call and h…

Sec. 8508.0054. VACANCY. A vacancy on the board shall be filled in the manner provided by Section 8508.0051 for making the original appointment. Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 468 (H.B. 4172), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2021.

Sec. 8508.0055. BOND REQUIREMENT FOR DIRECTORS. As a qualification for office, a director must execute a bond in an amount determined by the board conditioned on the faithful performance of the director's duties. Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 468 (H.B. 4172), Sec. 1.03…

Sec. 8508.0056. COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS. (a) A director is entitled to receive $25 a day and reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred: (1) for each day the director spends attending meetings of the board; and (2) for each day the director spends attending to the…

Sec. 8508.0057. OFFICERS. (a) The governor shall designate a director as the presiding officer of the board to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of the governor. (b) The board shall elect one or more vice presidents, a secretary, a treasurer, and other officers as the direct…

Sec. 8508.0058. DIRECTOR TRAINING PROGRAM. (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 board meeting until the person completes a training program that complies with this section.…

Sec. 8508.0059. INTEREST IN CONTRACT. (a) A director who has a financial interest in an authority contract for the purchase, sale, lease, rental, or supply of property, including supplies, materials, and equipment, or for the construction of facilities, shall disclose that fact t…

Sec. 8508.0060. COMMITTEES. (a) The board may appoint or establish committees from the board's directors as necessary or desirable to assist in conducting the authority's business. (b) Subject to the applicable rules of law on delegation of powers, the board may assign or delegat…

Sec. 8508.0061. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. (a) The board may employ an executive director and set the executive director's salary and other compensation by majority vote of the qualified directors. (b) The executive director is the chief executive officer of the authority. (c) Under pol…

Sec. 8508.0062. SEPARATION OF POLICYMAKING AND MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS. The board shall develop and implement policies that clearly separate the policymaking responsibilities of the board and the management responsibilities of the executive director and staff of the authority. Added…

Sec. 8508.0063. DIRECTORS' AND EMPLOYEES' FIDELITY BONDS. (a) The executive director, the treasurer, and any other officer, agent, or employee of the authority who has responsibilities that involve the collection, custody, or payment of authority money shall execute a fidelity bo…

Sec. 8508.0064. AUTHORITY'S OFFICE. The authority shall maintain its principal office inside its boundaries. Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 468 (H.B. 4172), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2021.

Sec. 8508.0065. NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING AND ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION. (a) The board shall develop a policy to encourage the use of: (1) negotiated rulemaking procedures under Chapter 2008, Government Code, for the adoption of authority rules; and (2) appropriate alternative d…

Sec. 8508.0066. COMPLAINTS. (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 …

Sec. 8508.0101. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The authority shall: (1) administer this chapter; and (2) use its facilities and powers to accomplish the purposes of this chapter. (b) The authority may: (1) exercise the powers, rights, and privileges necessary or convenient for ac…

Sec. 8508.0102. EFFECT OF POWERS OF AUTHORITY ON POWERS OF OTHER DISTRICTS; COORDINATION AND JOINT UNDERTAKINGS AMONG DISTRICTS. (a) The powers granted to the authority by this chapter are not intended to restrict the powers of any conservation and reclamation district created un…

Sec. 8508.0103. GENERAL POWERS RELATING TO WORKS AND WATER. (a) The authority may exercise all the rights and powers of an independent agency and a body politic and corporate to construct, maintain, and operate, inside this state and in the watershed of the Sulphur River and its …

Sec. 8508.0104. CONTROL AND USE OF WATERS. (a) The authority may exercise power over the storm water and floodwater of the basin. (b) The authority may exercise the powers of control and use of the state's water in the following manner and for the following purposes: (1) to provi…

Sec. 8508.0105. USE OF BEDS AND BANKS OF SULPHUR RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. Subject to the approval of the commission, the authority may use the beds and banks of the Sulphur River and its tributary streams for any purpose necessary to accomplish the authority's plans for storing…

Sec. 8508.0106. WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM. (a) In this section, "program of water conservation" means the use of practices, techniques, and technologies that will reduce water consumption, reduce water loss or waste, improve efficiency in water use, or increase water recycling a…

Sec. 8508.0107. GROUNDWATER. (a) The authority may conduct surveys and studies of the groundwater supplies in the authority to: (1) determine the location and quantity of available groundwater; and (2) develop and ascertain other information that in the judgment of the board may …

Sec. 8508.0108. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS. The authority is a river authority for the purposes and definitions of Chapter 30, Water Code, and Chapter 383, Health and Safety Code, as they apply to the authority. Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 468 (H.B. …

Sec. 8508.0109. PERMITS AND LICENSES. (a) The authority must apply for any permit, license, or other grant of authority required from the commission. (b) The authority may apply for any permit, license, or financial assistance it may need from any federal, state, or local governm…

Sec. 8508.0110. CONSULTATION WITH COUNTY JUDGE FOR CERTAIN PROPOSED PROJECTS. Before voting on a proposed project for which the board will seek a permit, the board shall obtain advice on the project from the county judge of each county in which the project is proposed to be locat…

Sec. 8508.0111. SERVICE CONTRACTS AND CHARGES. (a) The authority may enter into service contracts and may adopt resolutions and orders establishing rates and providing for the collection of fees and charges for: (1) the sale or use of water; (2) the services of water transmission…

Sec. 8508.0112. ACQUISITION, MAINTENANCE, AND OPERATION OF PROPERTY. The authority may purchase, lease, acquire by gift, maintain, use, and operate property of any kind inside or outside the authority that is appropriate for the exercise of its powers or the accomplishment of its…

Sec. 8508.0113. ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE, AND OPERATION OF FACILITIES. The authority may acquire, construct, extend, improve, maintain, reconstruct, use, and operate facilities inside or outside the authority that are necessary or convenient for the exercise of its …

Sec. 8508.0114. EMINENT DOMAIN. (a) The authority may exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire land inside or outside the authority to carry out a power, right, privilege, or function authorized by this chapter if the board, after notice and hearing, determines that the ac…

Sec. 8508.0115. COST OF RELOCATING OR ALTERING PROPERTY. (a) In this section, "sole expense" means the actual cost of relocating, raising, lowering, rerouting, changing the grade of, or altering the construction of a facility described by Subsection (b) to provide comparable repl…

Sec. 8508.0116. SALE, LEASE, EXCHANGE, OR OTHER DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY. The authority may: (1) sell any property or interest in property owned by the authority by installments or otherwise, including a sale in any manner prescribed or authorized by: (A) Section 552.014, Local Go…

Sec. 8508.0117. GENERAL CONTRACT POWERS. (a) The authority may enter into a contract or execute an instrument that is necessary or convenient for the exercise of its powers, rights, duties, and functions or the accomplishment of its purposes. (b) Notwithstanding any other law, th…

Sec. 8508.0118. POWER OF PERSONS TO CONTRACT WITH AUTHORITY. (a) A person may contract with the authority in any manner authorized by this chapter, Chapter 30, Water Code, or Chapter 383, Health and Safety Code, with respect to water, waste, pollution control, or any other facili…

Sec. 8508.0119. AWARD OF CERTAIN CONTRACTS. (a) The authority shall award a contract to the lowest and best bidder if: (1) the contract is a: (A) construction, maintenance, operation, or repair contract; (B) contract for the purchase of material, equipment, or supplies; or (C) co…

Sec. 8508.0120. CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS: PAYMENT. (a) The contract price of any construction contract of the authority may be paid in partial payments as the work progresses, but the payments may not exceed 90 percent of the amount due at the time of the payments as shown by the r…

Sec. 8508.0121. CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN CONTRACT. An officer, agent, or employee of the authority who is financially interested in a contract shall disclose that fact to the board before the board votes on the acceptance of the contract. Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 4…

Sec. 8508.0122. SURVEYS AND ENGINEERING INVESTIGATIONS. The authority may make surveys and engineering investigations to develop information for its use. Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 468 (H.B. 4172), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2021.

Sec. 8508.0123. PLANS. The board may make and determine plans necessary to accomplish the purposes for which the authority is created and may carry out the plans. Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 468 (H.B. 4172), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2021.

Sec. 8508.0124. ACCESS TO AUTHORITY PROPERTY. (a) To provide for the safety and welfare of persons and their property or for the protection and security of the authority's property and facilities, the board may adopt rules with respect to the authority's property and any water re…

Sec. 8508.0125. AUTHORITY TO EXERCISE POWERS OF POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS UNDER WATER CODE. The authority may exercise: (1) the powers vested in political subdivisions under Title 2, Water Code; and (2) the powers necessary to enable the authority to participate in programs administ…

Sec. 8508.0126. LIMITATIONS ON POWERS AND DUTIES OF AUTHORITY; COMMISSION APPROVAL OF CERTAIN PLANS. (a) The powers granted and duties prescribed by this chapter are subject to all legislative declarations of public policy in the maximum use of the storm water, floodwater, and un…

Sec. 8508.0127. SUITS. (a) The authority may sue and be sued in the name of the authority. (b) Service of process may be accomplished by serving the presiding officer or a vice president of the board or the executive director. Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 468 (H.B. 41…