HBA-DMH H.B. 1749 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1749 By: Gutierrez Transportation 4/27/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Port authorities across the United States build and operate infrastructure, reduce time-consuming procedural activities, and expedite commerce. A border port authority along the Texas-Mexico border would facilitate the transportation and movement of goods resulting from increased business activity generated by the North American Free Trade Agreement. A border port authority would be able to set up a cooperative arrangement between the United States and Mexico to allocate resources and maintain revenue in the border region to fund critical infrastructure needs. This may expedite the movement of traffic across international bridges and reduce congestion by consolidating the activities of several agencies in a single entity. Increased efficiency may also help attract additional business to the competitive border region. House Bill 1749 authorizes the creation of a border port authority to facilitate the transportation and other movement of goods through the border region. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 1749 amends the Local Government Code to authorize the creation of a border port authority (authority) that is a political subdivision of the state and a special district (district) to facilitate the transportation and other movement of goods through the district (Secs.386.051 and 386.101). The bill authorizes an authority to be created in territory located in at least one but not more than three counties in the border region. The bill provides that each of the counties must be contiguous to one of the other counties if the authority is created in more than one county and that an authority must include territory that borders Mexico (Sec. 386.052). Before any authority may be created in a county, the county commissioners court must receive a petition signed by a specified number of voters residing in the territory of the proposed authority (Sec. 386.053). The bill sets forth provisions for the contents and filing of and hearing on a petition (Secs. 386.054 and 386.055). The bill requires the commissioners court to grant the petition if at the hearing the commissioners court finds that the proposed improvements or facilities, projects, or other structures, as appropriate, are feasible and would provide a public benefit to the residents of the proposed authority and that creation of the proposed authority is in the best interests of the county. However, if the commissioners court is unable to make that finding, the bill requires it to dismiss the petition at the cost of the petitioners. Dismissal of the petition does not prevent presentation of another petition at a later date. If the commissioners court grants a petition, the bill requires the commissioners court to order an election to confirm the authority's creation. If the petition indicates that the proposed authority will contain territory in more than one county, the bill prohibits the commissioners courts from ordering an election until the commissioners court of each county in which the authority will be located has granted the petition. The bill specifies a time frame for holding an election and provides that the provision regarding uniform election dates does not apply to such an election (Sec. 386.056). The bill specifies the information that the election order must state, requires the commissioners court to give notice of the election in a specified manner, and sets forth provisions for the printing of the ballot (Secs. 386.057-386.059). If the proposed authority contains territory in more than one county, an authority is created only if a majority of the votes cast in each county favor creation of the authority. If the creation of the proposed authority is defeated, the bill prohibits another election from being held on the question of creating an authority in the area proposed for the defeated authority before the first anniversary of the most recent election concerning the creation of the authority (Sec. 386.060). To facilitate the transportation and other movement of goods through the district, the bill authorizes an authority to: _survey, build, improve, operate, and maintain facilities and industrial projects in the authority; and _build and improve bridges and related structures and infrastructures in the authority (Sec. 386.101). The bill establishes the board of border port commissioners (board) to govern an authority, and provides for the board's composition, operation, member appointment, and member terms (Secs. 386.151386.154). The bill requires the board, as soon as practicable after the creation of an authority, to conduct a thorough inspection of bridges and transportation related facilities and industrial projects in the authority and to prepare a comprehensive plan for the development or improvement of those structures for any purpose for which the authority was created. The bill requires the board to update the plan at lease once in each two-year period (Sec. 386.102). The bill provides that an authority may acquire property and exercise the power of eminent domain under certain conditions (Sec. 368.103). The bill authorizes the board and any engineers employed by the authority to enter any land inside the authority for certain examination purposes without being subject to an action of trespass (Sec. 386.104). The bill provides that an authority may contract with a domestic or foreign public or private entity for any purpose related to the authority's creation and sets forth provisions regarding competitive bids and the bond to be executed by a contractor (Secs 386.105-386.107). The bill requires a board, before January 2 of each year, to make an annual report of its official acts and to file the report with the clerk of the commissioners court of each of the counties creating the authority. The bill specifies what the report must include (Sec. 386.108). The bill requires the board to employ a general manager and provides for the responsibilities of the general manager (Sec. 386.109). The bill requires the general manager and each employee of the authority who is charged with the custody or payment of any of the authority's money to execute a surety bond. The bill requires the board to approve the form, amount, and surety of the bond (Sec. 386.110). The bill provides that an authority, through the authority's board, may sue and be sued in any court of this state in the name of the authority (Sec. 386.111). The bill sets forth the general financial powers of an authority (Sec. 386.201). The bill requires a board to establish and maintain an authority development fund and specifies what the fund must include. Except for costs incurred before the original petition is filed, the bill requires the authority to pay from the fund all expenses incurred in connection with the creation, establishment, and maintenance of the authority (Sec. 386.202). The bill requires the board to select a depository for the authority in the same manner and to the same extent as a county establishes a depository for its public funds. In selecting the depository, the bill requires the board to act in the same capacity and perform the same duties as the county judge and commissioners court in selecting a county depository (Sec. 386.203). The bill sets forth provisions authorizing the board to issue revenue bonds, providing that bonds must be secured by a pledge of revenue, and authorizing the board to give a lien on property acquired with the proceeds of revenue bonds (Sec. 386.204-386.206). The bill requires the board to impose and collect charges for the use of a facility the revenue of which is pledged to secure bonds issued for an authority, and for services provided in connection with the authority, in amounts at least sufficient to comply with each covenant or provision in the ordinance authorizing the issuance of the bonds (Sec. 386.207). The bill provides that an authority may be dissolved only after all debts or obligations of the authority have been satisfied and sets forth provisions for the dissolution by board vote, by a commissioners court, and by voter petition (Sec. 386.251-386.254). The bill provides that the property that remains after dissolution is conveyed to the county in which the property is located (Sec.386.255). EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.