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.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
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. |