Bill Text: TX HB2489 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to renaming the Texas Natural Resources Information System as the Texas Geographic Information Office and the duties of certain officers of that entity.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-06-12 - Effective on 9/1/23 [HB2489 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB2489-Engrossed.html
 
 
  By: Kacal H.B. No. 2489
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to renaming the Texas Natural Resources Information System
  as the Texas Geographic Information Office and the duties of
  certain officers of that entity.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 16.017(b), Water Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  The executive administrator shall operate as part of the
  Texas Geographic Information Office [Natural Resources Information
  System] a strategic mapping program to acquire, store, and
  distribute digital, geospatial information.
         SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 16.021, Water Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 16.021.  TEXAS GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION OFFICE [NATURAL
  RESOURCES INFORMATION SYSTEM].
         SECTION 3.  Sections 16.021(a), (b), (c), and (e), Water
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The executive administrator shall establish the Texas
  Geographic Information Office [Natural Resources Information
  System (TNRIS)] to serve Texas agencies and citizens as a
  centralized clearinghouse and referral center for:
               (1)  natural resource data;
               (2)  census data;
               (3)  data related to emergency management; and
               (4)  other socioeconomic data.
         (b)  The executive administrator may, on behalf of the Texas
  Geographic Information Office [TNRIS], enter into partnerships
  with private entities to provide additional funding for improved
  access to Texas Geographic Information Office [TNRIS] information.
  The board shall adopt administrative rules to describe the process
  of establishing partnerships, define the types of partnerships that
  may be formed, establish the fee collection process, and define the
  nondiscriminatory methods used to determine which private entities
  may enter into partnerships. Any process developed by the board
  must comply with all applicable laws regarding ethics, purchasing,
  and contracts.
         (c)  The executive administrator shall designate the deputy
  executive administrator [director] of the Texas Geographic
  Information Office [Natural Resources Information System] to serve
  as the state geographic information officer.  The state geographic
  information officer shall:
               (1)  coordinate the acquisition and use of
  high-priority imagery and data sets;
               (2)  establish, support, and disseminate authoritative
  statewide geographic data sets;
               (3)  support geographic data needs of emergency
  management responders during emergencies;
               (4)  monitor trends in geographic information
  technology; and
               (5)  support public access to state geographic data and
  resources.
         (e)  The executive administrator shall:
               (1)  further develop the Texas Geographic Information
  Office [Natural Resources Information System] by promoting and
  providing for effective acquisition, archiving, documentation,
  indexing, and dissemination of natural resource and related digital
  and nondigital data and information;
               (2)  obtain information in response to disagreements
  regarding names and name spellings for natural and cultural
  features in the state and provide this information to the Board on
  Geographic Names of the United States Department of the Interior;
               (3)  make recommendations to the Board on Geographic
  Names of the United States Department of the Interior for naming any
  natural or cultural feature subject to the limitations provided by
  Subsection (f);
               (4)  make recommendations to the Department of
  Information Resources to adopt and promote standards that
  facilitate sharing of digital natural resource data and related
  socioeconomic data among federal, state, and local governments and
  other interested parties;
               (5)  acquire and disseminate natural resource and
  related socioeconomic data describing the Texas-Mexico border
  region; and
               (6)  coordinate, conduct, and facilitate the
  development, maintenance, and use of mutually compatible statewide
  digital base maps depicting natural resources and man-made
  features.
         SECTION 4.  Section 16.023(b), Water Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  The account may be appropriated only to the board to:
               (1)  develop, administer, and implement the strategic
  mapping program;
               (2)  provide grants to political subdivisions for
  projects related to the development, use, and dissemination of
  digital, geospatial information; and
               (3)  administer, implement, and operate other programs
  of the Texas Geographic Information Office [Natural Resources
  Information System], including:
                     (A)  the operation of a Texas-Mexico border region
  information center for the purpose of implementing Section
  16.021(e)(5);
                     (B)  the acquisition, storage, and distribution
  of historical maps, photographs, and paper map products;
                     (C)  the maintenance and enhancement of
  information technology; and
                     (D)  the production, storage, and distribution of
  other digital base maps, as determined by the executive
  administrator.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
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