Bill Text: TX HB295 | 2017 | 85th Legislature 1st Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to establishing the Texas Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission to study and address the impacts of climate change in this state.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-07-25 - Referred to State Affairs [HB295 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB295-Introduced.html
85S10106 TSR-D | ||
By: Anchia | H.B. No. 295 |
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relating to establishing the Texas Climate Change Mitigation and | ||
Adaptation Commission to study and address the impacts of climate | ||
change in this state. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. (a) This Act shall be known as the Texas Climate | ||
Change Mitigation and Adaptation Act. | ||
(b) The legislature finds that: | ||
(1) climate change is real and is the overriding | ||
challenge of the 21st century; | ||
(2) climate change poses immediate and long-term | ||
threats to this state's economy, sustainability, security, and way | ||
of life; | ||
(3) countless scientific studies have concluded that | ||
greenhouse gas emissions are a leading contributing factor to | ||
global warming; and | ||
(4) addressing climate change requires a two-pronged | ||
approach that includes: | ||
(A) the reduction of activities that contribute | ||
to global warming; and | ||
(B) adaptations to mitigate the impacts of | ||
climate change on this state. | ||
(c) The legislature further finds that: | ||
(1) on December 12, 2015, 195 countries at the 21st | ||
Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework | ||
Convention on Climate Change adopted an agreement addressing | ||
greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance to | ||
begin in the year 2020, known as the Paris Agreement. The Paris | ||
Agreement entered into force on November 4, 2016, and is the largest | ||
concerted global effort to combat climate change to date. The | ||
agreement will be implemented to reflect equity and the principle | ||
of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective | ||
capabilities, in light of different national circumstances. Under | ||
the agreement, the parties will: | ||
(A) set greenhouse gas emissions reduction | ||
goals; | ||
(B) record and communicate information through a | ||
transparency framework; and | ||
(C) provide support to undeveloped countries | ||
through a finance mechanism; and | ||
(2) the Paris Agreement aims to strengthen the global | ||
response to the threat of climate change in the context of | ||
sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty, | ||
including by: | ||
(A) holding the increase in the global average | ||
temperature to well below two degrees Celsius above preindustrial | ||
levels while pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to | ||
1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels to significantly | ||
reduce the risks and impacts of climate change; | ||
(B) developing ways to adapt to the adverse | ||
impacts of climate change and to foster climate resilience and low | ||
greenhouse gas emissions development in a manner that does not | ||
threaten food production; and | ||
(C) making finance flows consistent with a | ||
pathway toward low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient | ||
development. | ||
(d) The legislature declares that: | ||
(1) notwithstanding federal action, the legislature | ||
supports the goals of the Paris Agreement to combat climate change | ||
and the effects of climate change on environments, economies, and | ||
communities around the world; | ||
(2) this state recognizes that to promote a statewide | ||
response to climate change, collaboration and cooperation are | ||
needed in the following areas: | ||
(A) early warning systems; | ||
(B) emergency preparedness; | ||
(C) slow onset events; | ||
(D) events that may involve irreversible and | ||
permanent loss and damage; | ||
(E) comprehensive risk assessment and | ||
management; | ||
(F) risk insurance facilities, climate risk | ||
pooling, and other insurance solutions; | ||
(G) noneconomic losses; and | ||
(H) resilience of communities, livelihoods, and | ||
ecosystems; and | ||
(3) it is in the best interests of this state to: | ||
(A) expand strategies and mechanisms to reduce | ||
greenhouse gas emissions statewide through the reduction of energy | ||
use, adoption of renewable energy, and control of air pollution | ||
among all governmental entities, industries, and sectors, | ||
including transportation; | ||
(B) expand only the strategies and mechanisms | ||
under Paragraph (A) that use the best available science, | ||
technologies, and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and | ||
that are closely aligned with the climate change principles and | ||
goals adopted in the Paris Agreement and in this state's share of | ||
obligations within the expectations apportioned to the United | ||
States in the agreement, notwithstanding federal action; | ||
(C) strive to formulate and communicate | ||
long-term low greenhouse gas emissions development strategies; and | ||
(D) take actions to conserve and enhance | ||
long-term sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases by prioritizing | ||
the development of parks and greenways, and the restoration of | ||
coastal forests and wetlands. | ||
SECTION 2. The purpose of this Act is to document this | ||
state's commitment to combating climate change and improving this | ||
state's resilience to climate change by systematically reducing | ||
greenhouse gas emissions and by aligning with the principles and | ||
contributing to the goals set by the Paris Agreement through the | ||
creation of the Texas Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation | ||
Commission. | ||
SECTION 3. Subtitle C, Title 5, Health and Safety Code, is | ||
amended by adding Chapter 396 to read as follows: | ||
CHAPTER 396. TEXAS CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION | ||
COMMISSION | ||
Sec. 396.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Climate Change | ||
Mitigation and Adaptation Commission. | ||
(2) "Greenhouse gas" has the meaning assigned by | ||
Section 403.028, Government Code. | ||
(3) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning | ||
assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code. | ||
Sec. 396.002. LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION. This chapter shall be | ||
liberally construed to minimize future risk to the residents and | ||
environment of this state. | ||
Sec. 396.003. COMMISSION CREATED; COMPOSITION. (a) The | ||
Texas Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission is | ||
created. | ||
(b) The commission is composed of: | ||
(1) one member appointed by the governor; | ||
(2) one member appointed by the lieutenant governor; | ||
(3) one member appointed by the governor from a list of | ||
names submitted by the speaker of the house of representatives; | ||
(4) one member appointed by the governor from a list of | ||
names submitted by the most senior member of the minority party of | ||
the house of representatives; | ||
(5) one member appointed by the governor from a list of | ||
names submitted by the most senior member of the minority party of | ||
the senate; and | ||
(6) the following members of which two-thirds are | ||
appointed evenly between the governor and the lieutenant governor, | ||
and the remaining one-third are appointed by the governor from a | ||
list of names submitted by the speaker of the house of | ||
representatives: | ||
(A) a representative of the public energy sector; | ||
(B) a representative of rural electric | ||
cooperatives; | ||
(C) a representative of the municipal | ||
electricity sector; | ||
(D) two representatives of separate nonprofit | ||
environmental organizations; | ||
(E) three scientists at separate institutions of | ||
higher education, including one climatologist; | ||
(F) an economist from an institution of higher | ||
education; | ||
(G) a representative of business and industry; | ||
(H) a representative of the manufacturing or | ||
mining industry; | ||
(I) a representative of the agriculture or | ||
forestry industry; | ||
(J) a representative of the fossil fuel industry; | ||
(K) a representative from the Health and Human | ||
Services Commission; | ||
(L) a representative from the Texas Military | ||
Preparedness Commission; | ||
(M) a representative from the Texas Division of | ||
Emergency Management; | ||
(N) a representative from the Texas Water | ||
Development Board; and | ||
(O) three representatives of the public. | ||
(c) In addition to the members listed in Subsection (b), the | ||
chairs of the commission may request the participation or input of | ||
other individuals as the chairs determine is necessary, including: | ||
(1) other members of the public; | ||
(2) individuals with expertise in the area of climate | ||
change; and | ||
(3) local, state, and federal officials involved in | ||
climate change adaptation planning. | ||
Sec. 396.004. JOINT CHAIRS; MEETINGS; COMPENSATION. (a) | ||
The commission shall elect two of the commission's members to serve | ||
as joint chairs of the commission. | ||
(b) The commission shall meet at the call of either joint | ||
chair. | ||
(c) A commission member is not entitled to receive | ||
compensation for service on the commission but is entitled to | ||
reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses, including travel | ||
expenses, incurred by the member in performing commission duties. | ||
Sec. 396.005. TERMS; VACANCY. (a) Members of the | ||
commission serve staggered six-year terms, with eight or nine | ||
members' terms expiring February 1 of each odd-numbered year. | ||
(b) A vacancy on the commission shall be filled in the same | ||
manner as the original appointment. | ||
Sec. 396.006. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. The commission shall: | ||
(1) establish climate change mitigation and | ||
adaptation strategies, including goals to help guide planning and | ||
statewide implementation of the strategies, using the latest and | ||
best available scientific analysis, risk assessment tools, and | ||
other information the commission considers necessary to monitor and | ||
forecast the impact of climate change at the state, regional, and | ||
local levels; | ||
(2) provide policy direction, facilitation, | ||
coordination, and planning to federal, state, and local agencies, | ||
and other persons as appropriate; | ||
(3) identify: | ||
(A) persons, communities, industries, and | ||
ecosystems of this state vulnerable to impacts related to climate | ||
change; | ||
(B) potential economic ramifications of impacts | ||
related to climate change; and | ||
(C) existing climate change mitigation and | ||
adaptation efforts at the federal, state, and local levels; | ||
(4) make recommendations for meeting or exceeding this | ||
state's climate change mitigation goals established by the | ||
commission; | ||
(5) assess the capacity and availability of existing | ||
resources and identify new sources of revenue necessary to address | ||
climate change mitigation and adaptation; and | ||
(6) advise the governor, legislature, and local | ||
governments of this state on the economic and budgetary | ||
ramifications of climate change impacts, mitigation, and | ||
adaptation. | ||
Sec. 396.007. INTERNET WEBSITE. The commission shall | ||
develop and maintain an Internet website that: | ||
(1) includes a mission statement relating to the | ||
duties and goals of the commission under this chapter; and | ||
(2) describes the actions, plans, and policies of the | ||
commission, and the results, if any, of such actions, plans, and | ||
policies. | ||
Sec. 396.008. BIENNIAL PROGRESS REPORT. The commission | ||
shall identify the information necessary to track this state's | ||
progress in implementing the climate change mitigation and | ||
adaptation strategies established by the commission under Section | ||
396.006 and shall submit a biennial progress report to the governor | ||
and the legislature not later than the 20th day before the date each | ||
regular session of the legislature convenes. | ||
Sec. 396.009. COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW; REPORT. Not later than | ||
the 20th day before the date the regular session of the 88th | ||
Legislature convenes, and before the end of each successive | ||
five-year period after that date, the commission shall conduct a | ||
comprehensive review of the statewide implementation of the climate | ||
change mitigation and adaptation strategies established by the | ||
commission under Section 396.006 and submit a report on the | ||
commission's findings and recommendations to the governor, the | ||
legislature, and the governing body of each municipality and county | ||
in this state. | ||
Sec. 396.010. SEA LEVEL RISE VULNERABILITY AND ADAPTATION | ||
REPORT. (a) The commission shall develop and make publicly | ||
available a sea level rise vulnerability and adaptation report that | ||
identifies: | ||
(1) the major areas of this state that are or will be | ||
impacted by sea level rise during the next 30 years; | ||
(2) the sea level rise impacts reasonably expected to | ||
occur during the next 30 years in each area identified under | ||
Subdivision (1), based on the latest and best available scientific | ||
research; | ||
(3) the economic ramifications of sea level rise; and | ||
(4) applicable federal laws, policies, and programs | ||
affecting areas of this state impacted by sea level rise. | ||
(b) The report developed under Subsection (a) must include | ||
the commission's recommendations for planning, management, and | ||
adaptation relating to hazards associated with sea level rise. | ||
(c) In developing the report under Subsection (a), the | ||
commission shall: | ||
(1) solicit public comment; and | ||
(2) coordinate with the federal, state, and local | ||
agencies involved in climate change adaptation planning. | ||
(d) The commission shall evaluate and update the sea level | ||
rise vulnerability and adaptation report developed under this | ||
section at least once every five years. | ||
SECTION 4. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective | ||
date of this Act: | ||
(1) the governor and lieutenant governor shall appoint | ||
the 25 members to the Texas Climate Change Mitigation and | ||
Adaptation Commission as provided by Section 396.003, Health and | ||
Safety Code, as added by this Act; and | ||
(2) the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of | ||
the house of representatives or their designees shall meet to | ||
apportion the appointments under Section 396.003(b)(6), Health and | ||
Safety Code, as added by this Act. | ||
(b) The initial members of the Texas Climate Change | ||
Mitigation and Adaptation Commission appointed under this section | ||
shall draw lots to determine which members will serve terms | ||
expiring February 1, 2019, which members will serve terms expiring | ||
February 1, 2021, and which members will serve terms expiring | ||
February 1, 2023. | ||
SECTION 5. Not later than December 31, 2018, the Texas | ||
Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission shall develop | ||
and make publicly available the initial sea level rise | ||
vulnerability and adaptation report required by Section 396.010, | ||
Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act. | ||
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect December 1, 2017. |