Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yes | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Positive | Neutral |
Summary of Legislation: HB 1642 is a Port of Houston Authority (PoHA) sunset review. This legislation requires that the PoHA be subject to Sunset review in again in four years and adopts provisions and recommendations made by the latest Sunset Advisory Commission (SAC). The new requirements for the PoHA include: new appointments of Commissioners must be made by Oct. 2 of this year, stricter commissioner membership restrictions, and a requirement to develop and implement policies separating the policymaking responsibilities of the Commission from the management responsibilities of the Authority’s Executive Director and staff.
This bill requires the PoHA to develop public involvement procedures, improve public accountability and transparency, establish an internal auditing staff, and report risk-based analysis to the Authority of Harris County. This legislation transfers, re-designates and modernizes various source laws of the Special Districts code (Title V).
Analysis: This legislation promotes public involvement and transparency by implementing new disclosure and reporting requirements, increasing accountability, and reducing opportunity for unethical business and management practices. The reforms addressed in HB 1642 will help strengthen a critical part of the Texas economy. This legislation will bring greater accountability and transparency to the PoHA and we encourage legislators to vote YES on HB 1642.