Bill Text: TX HB1979 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to a bag limit exemption for certain participants in certain fishing tournaments in Chambers, Jefferson, Galveston, Hardin, Newton, and Orange Counties; authorizing a fee.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-05-14 - Placed on General State Calendar [HB1979 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HB1979-Comm_Sub.html
| 84R22045 SLB-D | |||
| By: Phelan | H.B. No. 1979 | ||
| Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1979: | |||
| By: Larson | C.S.H.B. No. 1979 | ||
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| relating to a bag limit exemption for certain participants in | ||
| certain fishing tournaments in Chambers, Jefferson, Galveston, | ||
| Hardin, Newton, and Orange Counties; authorizing a fee. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Title 7, Parks and Wildlife Code, is amended by | ||
| adding Chapter 290 to read as follows: | ||
| CHAPTER 290. CHAMBERS, JEFFERSON, GALVESTON, HARDIN, NEWTON, AND | ||
| ORANGE COUNTIES | ||
| Sec. 290.001. BAG LIMIT EXEMPTIONS FOR CERTAIN FISHING | ||
| TOURNAMENTS. (a) In this section, "fishing tournament" has the | ||
| meaning assigned by Section 66.023. | ||
| (b) This section applies only to a fishing tournament that: | ||
| (1) is held on the southern stretches of the Sabine or | ||
| Neches River, in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, or in the Gulf of | ||
| Mexico as those bodies of water lie within or are adjacent to the | ||
| following counties: | ||
| (A) Chambers County; | ||
| (B) Jefferson County; | ||
| (C) Galveston County; | ||
| (D) Hardin County; | ||
| (E) Newton County; and | ||
| (F) Orange County; and | ||
| (2) has as its participants only competitors who | ||
| attend high school or college. | ||
| (c) The department shall grant a permit for a bag limit | ||
| exemption under this section to a fishing tournament if the | ||
| organizer of the fishing tournament submits to the department: | ||
| (1) a complete application on a form supplied by the | ||
| department; and | ||
| (2) a fee in the amount of $500. | ||
| (d) A permit issued under Subsection (c) must state the | ||
| terms of the exemption and the dates for which the exemption is | ||
| valid. The organizer of the tournament shall distribute a copy of | ||
| the permit to all participants. | ||
| (e) A permit issued under this section shall allow a | ||
| participant in a fishing tournament to count toward the | ||
| participant's bag limit for largemouth bass a fish that is smaller | ||
| than the applicable minimum size limit by not more than two inches | ||
| if, at the time the fish are inspected for the purpose of | ||
| determining compliance with the bag limit, the participant has in | ||
| the participant's possession a copy of the permit. | ||
| (f) A fish counted under this section must be released after | ||
| weighing. | ||
| (g) The commission shall adopt rules to implement this | ||
| section. | ||
| (h) The department shall deposit money received for the | ||
| purchase of a permit under Subsection (c) to the credit of the game, | ||
| fish, and water safety account. | ||
| SECTION 2. Chapter 290, Parks and Wildlife Code, as added by | ||
| this Act, applies only to a fishing tournament held on or after the | ||
| effective date of this Act. | ||
| SECTION 3. (a) The legal notice of the intention to | ||
| introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this | ||
| Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a | ||
| copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies, | ||
| officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished | ||
| under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313, | ||
| Government Code. | ||
| (b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has | ||
| submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on | ||
| Environmental Quality. | ||
| (c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed | ||
| its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the | ||
| lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of | ||
| representatives within the required time. | ||
| (d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this | ||
| state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect | ||
| to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled | ||
| and accomplished. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect September 1, 2015. | ||
