SRBA bill awaits Abbott

House Bill 2180, which contains directives to change operations of the Sulphur River Basin Authority, was signed Tuesday in the Texas Senate , and now awaits Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature.

The bill requires board member training on the Texas Open Meetings Act and administrative procedure, requires SRBA to obtain advice from county judges in the areas where proposed projects would be located and the governor’s right to designate the board’s presiding officer. It also includes retaining Abbott’s right to reappoint any member to the board as he sees fit, which was not included in the original bill.

Rep. Dan Flynn R-Canton, who was on the Sunset Review Committee, authored the bill to change the river authority and then introduced the amendment allowing the governor’s ability to retain former board members. The amendment was in direct contrast with the recommendations in the April 2016 Sunset Commission’s

Staff Report, which read, “The Sunset Commission’s recommendations aim to hit the reset button on SRBA and its operations to allow SRBA and its stakeholders to reestablish the working relationships and trust needed to best meet the needs of the Sulphur River basin.”

Flynn, along with Rep. Gary VanDeaver R-New Boston, have said they didn’t want to “handcuff” the governor.

“I don’t think it’s good policy for the Legislature to tell the governor who he can’t appoint,” VanDeaver said in March following the bill’s first public hearing in the House. “I don’t think it sets a very good precedent to tell the governor he can’t appoint certain people.”

Abbott appointed three new members to the board March 23, 2016—Mike Sandefur of Texarkana, Bret McCoy of Omaha, Texas, and Katie Stedman of Mount Pleasant, Texas. Sandefur resigned in January, and McCoy and Stedman’s terms expire in Feb. 1, 2021. Terms for board members Mike Russell of Clarksville, Texas, and Patricia Wommack of Lone Star, Texas, expired Feb. 1, 2017. Terms for board members Brad Drake of Paris, Texas,

and Wally Kraft of Paris, expire Feb. 1, 2019.

Fred Milton, board member of Riverbend Water Resources District, testified against the proposed amendment at the House public hearing in March and again when HB 2180 was being considered by the Senate earlier this month. He’s stated that even though the former board members may be reappointed by Abbott, the bill is “really great for reform and reshaping of this state entity.”

“It was certainly a long vigorous process,” he said. “We want to thank Riverbend’s stakeholders. Enough cannot be said about their diligence and hard work that it took to get this accomplished despite the efforts of some to deter the outcome. We will continue to be proactive in building a partnership relation with the newly governor-appointed SRBA board members and we will also continue to vigorously represent our stakeholders, whatever challenges and opportunities avail themselves in the future.”

SRBA was created in 1985 to conserve and develop natural resources within the river basin, which covers 11 counties. Its stakeholders include Riverbend, the city of Texarkana, Texas and other businesses that depend on water from the Sulphur River and Wright Patman Lake.

Riverbend Executive Director/ CEO Liz Fazio-Hale agreed with Milton, saying her board is looking forward to working with the changed board.

“This completes the process for passage in the House and Senate—a huge milestone in effective, comprehensive reform for the Sulphur River Basin Authority,” she said. “We look forward to working with the reformed SRBA board on planning for our needs in the Sulphur River Basin.” She added that they are also looking forward solving some of the impediments that they’ve had in clean and plentiful water being provided in the area.

Andrea Williams-McCoy, public relations and governmental representative for Ward Timber, has followed the river authority’s actions for several years and said it’s good to finally see the board changed through an act of the Texas Legislature.

“Many people, for many years, through many different sacrifices ans struggles, are what finally brought to fruition the SRBA Sunset (Review),” she said. “It is my sincere hope that our region takes to heart this historic opportunity to positively reset the direction of the Sulphur Basin. One thing the last 35 years should have taught us is that if we don’t take ownership of our future, someone else will.”

The Sunset Review also noted that SRBA is solely funded by the Joint Commission for Project Development, an entity comprised of five water districts in the Dallas Metroplex— the cities of Dallas and Irving, North Texas Municipal Water District, Tarrant Regional and the Upper Trinity Water District—all seeking water for their projected population growth. HB 2180 does not address the fact that SRBA, a state agency, relies upon private funding.

The bill is expected to be signed prior to the end of the 85th session of the Texas Legislature, which ends Monday. Once signed, the legislation would be enacted Sept. 1, 2017.

The bill can be viewed at www.capitol.state.tx.us.