This section sets who appoints members of certain authority boards, who may vote on one appointment, required member qualifications, and staggered terms.
Sec. 451.5021. BOARD COMPOSITION; CERTAIN AUTHORITIES. (a) This section applies only to the board of an authority created before July 1, 1985, in which the principal municipality has a population of less than 1.3 million. (b) Members of the board are appointed as follows: (1) one member, who is an elected official, appointed by the metropolitan planning organization designated by the governor that serves the area of the authority; (2) two members, one who must be and one who may be an elected official, appointed by the governing body of the principal municipality; (3) one member appointed by the commissioners court of the principal county; (4) one member appointed by the commissioners court of the county, excluding the principal county, that has the largest population of the counties in the authority; (5) one member, who is an elected official, appointed by a panel composed of the mayors of all municipalities in the authority, excluding the mayor of the principal municipality; (6) one member, who has at least 10 years of experience as a financial or accounting professional, appointed by the metropolitan planning organization that serves the area in which the authority is located; (7) one member, who has at least 10 years of experience in an executive-level position in a public or private organization, including a governmental entity, appointed by the metropolitan planning organization that serves the area in which the authority is located; and (8) two members appointed by the metropolitan planning organization that serves the area in which the authority is located, if according to the most recent federal decennial census more than 35 percent of the population in the territory of the authority resides outside the principal municipality. (b-1) Notwithstanding Section 451.505, members of the board serve staggered three-year terms, with the terms of two or three members, as applicable, expiring June 1 of each year. (c) Only a member of a metropolitan planning organization who is an elected officer of a political subdivision in which a tax of the authority is collected is entitled to vote on an appointment under Subsection (b)(1). (d) A person appointed under Subsection (b)(1), (2), or (5), except as provided by Subsection (b)(2): (1) must be a member of the governing body: (A) of the political subdivision that is entitled to make the appointment; or (B) over which a member of the panel entitled to make an appointment presides; (2) vacates the office of board member if the person ceases to be a member of the governing body described by Subdivision (1); (3) serves on the board as an additional duty of the office held on the governing body described by Subdivision (1); and (4) is not entitled to compensation for serving as a member of the board. (d-1) At least two members appointed under Subsections (b)(1), (6), and (7) must be qualified voters residing in the principal municipality. (d-2) A person appointed under Subsection (b)(3) must: (1) have the person's principal place of occupation or employment in the portion of the authority's service area that is located in the principal county; or (2) be a qualified voter of the principal county. (d-3) A person appointed under Subsection (b)(4) must: (1) have the person's principal place of occupation or employment in the portion of the authority's service area that is located in the county, other than the principal county, that has the largest population of the counties in the authority; or (2) be a qualified voter of the county, other than the principal county, that has the largest population of the counties in the authority. (e) A panel appointing a member under Subsection (b)(5) operates in the manner prescribed by Section 451.503. (f) In this section, "principal county" has the meaning assigned by Section 451.501(f). (g) Repealed by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1221, Sec. 9, eff. September 1, 2009. (h) Repealed by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1221, Sec. 9, eff. September 1, 2009. Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 240, Sec. 3, eff. Aug. 15, 1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 652, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1038, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2001. Amended by: Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1221 (S.B. 1263), Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2009. Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1221 (S.B. 1263), Sec. 9, eff. September 1, 2009. Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1163 (H.B. 2702), Sec. 163, eff. September 1, 2011. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 644 (H.B. 4559), Sec. 259, eff. September 1, 2023.