Title SD, Special District Local Laws Code

Sec. 8511.0105. TERRITORY. (a) The authority is composed of the territory described by Section 2.02(a), Chapter 427, Acts of the 44th Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1935, as that territory may have been modified under: (1) Subsection (c) or its predecessor statute, Section 2.02…

Sec. 8511.0106. LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION OF CHAPTER. This chapter shall be liberally construed to achieve its purposes. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 914 (H.B. 3530), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2023. SUBCHAPTER B. BOARD OF DIRECTORS; ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

Sec. 8511.0201. MEMBERSHIP OF BOARD. (a) The board consists of 21 directors appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. (b) Each director must be a qualified voter and a resident of a county that is wholly or partly inside the authority as described by Se…

Sec. 8511.0202. TERMS. Directors serve staggered terms of six years, with one-third of the directors taking office February 1 of each odd-numbered year. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 914 (H.B. 3530), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2023.

Sec. 8511.0203. 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 conduct a …

Sec. 8511.0204. VACANCY. A board vacancy shall be filled in the manner provided by Section 8511.0201 for making the original appointment. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 914 (H.B. 3530), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2023.

Sec. 8511.0205. BYLAWS. The board shall adopt necessary bylaws for the conduct of the authority's business. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 914 (H.B. 3530), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2023.

Sec. 8511.0206. BOND REQUIREMENT FOR DIRECTORS. (a) 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. (b) The authority shall pay the premiums on the bond. Added by …

Sec. 8511.0207. COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS. (a) A director is entitled to receive an allowance in an amount not to exceed that provided under Section 49.060, Water Code. (b) A director is not entitled to receive a per diem allowance for more than 50 days in a calendar year. (c) In…

Sec. 8511.0208. OFFICERS. (a) The governor shall designate a director as board president to serve in that capacity at the governor's pleasure. (b) The board shall elect one or more vice presidents, a secretary, a treasurer, and any other officers as the directors may determine in…

Sec. 8511.0209. COMMITTEES. (a) The board may appoint or establish an executive committee and appoint or provide for the appointment of other committees as necessary or desirable to assist in conducting the authority's business. (b) Subject to the applicable rules of law on deleg…

Sec. 8511.0210. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. (a) The board may employ an executive director and set the executive director's salary and other compensation by a majority vote of all the qualified directors. (b) The executive director is the authority's chief executive officer. (c) Under po…

Sec. 8511.0211. 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. 8511.0212. INTEREST IN CONTRACT. (a) A director who is financially interested in a contract to be executed by the authority for the purchase, sale, lease, rental, or supply of property, including supplies, materials, and equipment, or the construction of facilities shall dis…

Sec. 8511.0213. SEPARATION OF POLICYMAKING AND MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS. The board shall develop and implement policies that clearly separate the board's policymaking responsibilities and the executive director's and staff's management responsibilities. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg.,…

Sec. 8511.0214. PUBLIC TESTIMONY. (a) The board 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 authority's jurisdiction. (b) At each regular board meeting, the board shall i…

Sec. 8511.0215. DIRECTORS' AND EMPLOYEES' FIDELITY BONDS. (a) The executive director, the treasurer, and each of the authority's officers, agents, or employees who is charged with the collection, custody, or payment of authority money shall execute a fidelity bond. (b) The board …

Sec. 8511.0216. AUTHORITY'S OFFICE. The authority shall maintain its principal office inside its boundaries. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 914 (H.B. 3530), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2023.

Sec. 8511.0217. COMPLAINTS. (a) The authority shall maintain a system to act promptly and efficiently on complaints filed with the authority. (b) The authority shall maintain information about: (1) the parties to the complaint; (2) the subject matter of the complaint; (3) a summa…

Sec. 8511.0218. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEDURES. (a) The board shall develop a policy to encourage the use of appropriate alternative dispute resolution procedures under Chapter 2009, Government Code, to assist in the resolution of internal and external disputes under t…

Sec. 8511.0219. FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN. (a) The authority shall adopt and promptly publish on the authority's Internet website a written strategic plan that: (1) sets the authority's goals for the following five years; (2) establishes the authority's mission; and (3) describes …

Sec. 8511.0301. 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, privileges, and functions in this chapter; (2…

Sec. 8511.0302. CONTROL AND USE OF WATERS. (a) The authority may exercise power over the storm water and floodwater of the Nueces River Basin. (b) The authority may exercise the powers of control and use of this state's water in the following manner and for the following purposes…

Sec. 8511.0303. USE OF BED AND BANKS OF NUECES RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. Subject to the commission's approval, the authority may use the bed and banks of the Nueces River and its tributary streams for any purpose necessary to accomplish the authority's plans for storing, control…

Sec. 8511.0304. MASTER PLAN. (a) The authority shall prepare and file with the commission a master plan for the maximum development of the soil and water resources of the entire Nueces River watershed, including plans for the complete use, for all economically beneficial purposes…

Sec. 8511.0305. WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM. The board shall adopt and implement a program of water conservation that: (1) incorporates the practices, techniques, and technologies that will reduce water consumption, reduce water loss or waste, improve efficiency in water use, or i…

Sec. 8511.0306. FORESTATION AND REFORESTATION. The authority may forest, reforest, or aid in foresting or reforesting the watershed of the Nueces River and its tributaries. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 914 (H.B. 3530), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2023.

Sec. 8511.0307. GROUNDWATER. (a) The authority may conduct surveys and studies of the groundwater supplies in the authority to: (1) determine the location and quantity of groundwater available for irrigation and other purposes; and (2) develop and ascertain other information that…

Sec. 8511.0308. WATER QUALITY CONTROL. (a) The authority may exercise the powers vested in a river authority by Chapters 5, 7, 17, 26, and 30, Water Code, and Chapter 366, Health and Safety Code. (b) The authority may perform the licensing and other functions authorized to be del…

Sec. 8511.0309. SOLID WASTE SERVICES. The authority may acquire, construct, maintain, and provide facilities, equipment, and disposal sites to provide solid waste collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal services inside the authority, charge for the services, and enter…

Sec. 8511.0310. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS. The authority may exercise the powers and functions vested in a river authority by Chapter 383, Health and Safety Code. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 914 (H.B. 3530), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2023.

Sec. 8511.0311. PARKS AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES. The authority may: (1) acquire land adjacent to or in the vicinity of the Nueces River or any of its tributaries for park and recreational purposes; and (2) acquire, construct, and maintain park and recreational facilities on the…

Sec. 8511.0312. PERMITS AND LICENSES. In the manner provided by Chapters 5, 11, and 12, Water Code, the authority may apply for any permit, license, franchise, or other grant of authority it may require from the commission, the development board, or any other federal, state, or l…

Sec. 8511.0313. SERVICE CONTRACTS AND CHARGES. (a) The authority may enter into a service contract 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) water transmission, treatment, an…

Sec. 8511.0314. USE OF REVENUE AND PROPERTY. The use of any authority money or property for any purpose not provided by this chapter is prohibited. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 914 (H.B. 3530), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2023.

Sec. 8511.0315. 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 functions. Added by Acts 2021, 87th…

Sec. 8511.0316. ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE, AND OPERATION OF FACILITIES. The authority may acquire in any manner, construct, extend, improve, maintain, reconstruct, use, and operate facilities inside or outside the authority that are necessary or convenient for the ex…

Sec. 8511.0317. EMINENT DOMAIN. (a) The authority may exercise the power of eminent domain under Chapter 21, Property Code, to acquire property of any kind inside or outside the authority that is appropriate for the exercise of its functions. (b) The authority's authority under t…

Sec. 8511.0318. COST OF RELOCATING OR ALTERING PROPERTY. (a) In this section, "sole expense" means the actual cost of relocating, raising, rerouting, changing the grade of, or altering the construction of a facility described by Subsection (b) in providing comparable replacement …

Sec. 8511.0319. DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY. The authority may: (1) sell any property or interest in property of any kind owned by the authority by installments or otherwise, including a sale in any manner prescribed or permitted by: (A) Chapter 383, Health and Safety Code; (B) Secti…

Sec. 8511.0320. GENERAL CONTRACT POWERS. 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. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 914 (H.B. 3530), Sec. 1.03, eff. April…

Sec. 8511.0321. AWARD OF CERTAIN CONTRACTS. (a) Any construction, maintenance, operation, or repair contract, or contract for the purchase of material, equipment, or supplies, or any contract for services other than technical, scientific, legal, fiscal, or other professional serv…

Sec. 8511.0322. 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 a…

Sec. 8511.0323. CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN CERTAIN CONTRACTS. An officer, agent, or employee of the authority who is financially interested in a contract of a type described by Section 8511.0321(a) shall disclose that fact to the board before the board votes on the acceptance of the…

Sec. 8511.0324. SURVEYS AND ENGINEERING INVESTIGATIONS. The authority shall conduct surveys and engineering investigations to develop information for its use. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 914 (H.B. 3530), Sec. 1.03, eff. April 1, 2023.

Sec. 8511.0325. PLANS. The board may: (1) make and determine plans necessary to accomplish the purposes for which the authority is created; and (2) perform all actions useful and helpful in carrying out the plans described by Subdivision (1) and accomplishing the authority's purp…