Bill Text: TX HB3418 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relating to certain state fiscal matters related to natural resources or the environment.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-12 - Postponed [HB3418 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB3418-Introduced.html

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82R12071 JJT-D
By: Darby H.B. No. 3418

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to state fiscal matters related to natural resources and
the environment.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
ARTICLE 1. REDUCTION OF EXPENDITURES AND IMPOSITION OF CHARGES
GENERALLY
SECTION 1.01. This article applies to any state agency that
receives an appropriation under Article VI of the General
Appropriations Act.
SECTION 1.02. Notwithstanding any other statute of this
state, each state agency to which this article applies is
authorized to reduce or recover expenditures by:
(1) consolidating any reports or publications the
agency is required to make and filing or delivering any of those
reports or publications exclusively by electronic means;
(2) extending the effective period of any license,
permit, or registration the agency grants or administers;
(3) entering into a contract with another governmental
entity or with a private vendor to carry out any of the agency's
duties;
(4) adopting additional eligibility requirements for
persons who receive benefits under any law the agency administers
to ensure that those benefits are received by the most deserving
persons consistent with the purposes for which the benefits are
provided;
(5) providing that any communication between the
agency and another person and any document required to be delivered
to or by the agency, including any application, notice, billing
statement, receipt, or certificate, may be made or delivered by
e-mail or through the Internet; and
(6) adopting and collecting fees or charges to cover
any costs the agency incurs in performing its lawful functions.
ARTICLE 2. FISCAL MATTERS CONCERNING ANIMAL HEALTH REGULATION
SECTION 2.01. Section 161.060, Agriculture Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 161.060. AUTHORITY TO SET AND COLLECT [INSPECTION]
FEES. The commission by rule may set and collect a fee for any
service provided [charge a fee, as provided by commission rule, for
an inspection made] by the commission, including:
(1) the inspection of animals or facilities;
(2) the testing of animals for disease;
(3) obtaining samples from animals for disease
testing;
(4) disease eradication and treatment efforts;
(5) services related to the transport of livestock;
(6) control and eradication of ticks and other pests;
and
(7) any other service for which the commission incurs
a cost.
ARTICLE 3. FISCAL MATTERS REGARDING PETROLEUM INDUSTRY REGULATION
SECTION 3.01. Section 26.3574(b), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A fee is imposed on the delivery of a petroleum product
on withdrawal from bulk of that product as provided by this
subsection. Each operator of a bulk facility on withdrawal from
bulk of a petroleum product shall collect from the person who orders
the withdrawal a fee in an amount determined as follows:
(1) $3.75 for each delivery into a cargo tank having a
capacity of less than 2,500 gallons [for the state fiscal year
beginning September 1, 2007, through the state fiscal year ending
August 31, 2011];
(2) $7.50 for each delivery into a cargo tank having a
capacity of 2,500 gallons or more but less than 5,000 gallons [for
the state fiscal year beginning September 1, 2007, through the
state fiscal year ending August 31, 2011];
(3) $11.75 for each delivery into a cargo tank having a
capacity of 5,000 gallons or more but less than 8,000 gallons [for
the state fiscal year beginning September 1, 2007, through the
state fiscal year ending August 31, 2011];
(4) $15.00 for each delivery into a cargo tank having a
capacity of 8,000 gallons or more but less than 10,000 gallons [for
the state fiscal year beginning September 1, 2007, through the
state fiscal year ending August 31, 2011]; and
(5) $7.50 for each increment of 5,000 gallons or any
part thereof delivered into a cargo tank having a capacity of 10,000
gallons or more [for the state fiscal year beginning September 1,
2007, through the state fiscal year ending August 31, 2011].
ARTICLE 4. FISCAL MATTERS REGARDING FUNDING FOR STATE SITES
SECTION 4.01. Chapter 11, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended by adding Subchapter J-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER J-1. FOR-PROFIT PARTNERSHIPS
Sec. 11.221. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Official corporate partner" means a for-profit
entity that:
(A) is designated an official corporate partner
by the department;
(B) works with the department to raise funds for
state site operations and maintenance; and
(C) is selected as provided under Section 11.222.
(2) "State site" means a state park, natural area, or
historic site under the jurisdiction of the department.
Sec. 11.222. SELECTION; CONTRACT. (a) Subject to
commission approval, the department may select a for-profit entity
as an official corporate partner.
(b) The department may contract with an official corporate
partner to raise funds for state site operations and maintenance.
Sec. 11.223. GIFTS AND GRANTS; FUND-RAISING. (a) To raise
funds for state site operations and maintenance, an official
corporate partner may accept contributions, gifts, grants, and
promotional campaign proceeds on behalf of the department. The
department shall ensure that an official corporate partner
transfers the contributions, gifts, grants, and promotional
campaign proceeds to the department as soon as possible.
(b) The department may contract with an official corporate
partner to conduct joint promotional campaigns or other
fund-raising efforts conducted by the department to raise funds for
state site operations and maintenance.
Sec. 11.224. USE OF FUNDS. Money received by the department
under this subchapter, including money received under a contract or
licensing or other agreement or as a gift or grant, may be used only
for state site operations and maintenance.
Sec. 11.225. RULES. The commission shall adopt rules to
implement this subchapter, including rules that establish
guidelines or best practices for official corporate partners.
SECTION 4.02. Subchapter A, Chapter 13, Parks and Wildlife
Code, is amended by adding Sections 13.0151 and 13.0155 to read as
follows:
Sec. 13.0151. STATE PARK PASSES. (a) The department may
contract with any entity the department considers appropriate to
sell state park passes in any of the entity's retail locations.
(b) The commission may adopt rules to implement this
section.
Sec. 13.0155. USE OF PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT BRAND.
(a) The department may contract with any entity the department
considers appropriate to use the Parks and Wildlife Department
brand in exchange for licensing fees paid by the entity to the
department.
(b) The department shall use the licensing fees received
under Subsection (a) only for the operation and maintenance of
state sites as defined by Section 11.221.
(c) The commission may adopt rules to implement this
section.
SECTION 4.03. Subchapter B, Chapter 13, Parks and Wildlife
Code, is amended by adding Section 13.103 to read as follows:
Sec. 13.103. ADVERTISING. The commission by rule may
assess and limit commercial advertising in state parks, natural
areas, historic sites, or other sites under the jurisdiction of the
department to preserve the integrity of the sites and to minimize
distractions that may interfere with the enjoyment of the sites by
visitors.
ARTICLE 5. FISCAL MATTERS REGARDING PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT
SECTION 5.01. Subchapter D, Chapter 502, Transportation
Code, is amended by adding Section 502.1747 to read as follows:
Sec. 502.1747. VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION TO PARKS AND WILDLIFE
DEPARTMENT. (a) When a person registers or renews the registration
of a motor vehicle under this chapter, the person may contribute $5
or more to the Parks and Wildlife Department.
(b) The county assessor-collector shall send any
contribution made under this section to the comptroller for credit
to the Parks and Wildlife Department. Money received by the Parks
and Wildlife Department under this section may be used only for the
operation and maintenance of state parks, historic sites, or
natural areas under the jurisdiction of the Parks and Wildlife
Department.
ARTICLE 6. FISCAL MATTERS REGARDING PRESERVATION OF NATURAL
RESOURCES
SECTION 6.01. Section 33.603(f), Natural Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(f) Notwithstanding Subsections (c) and (e), each biennium
the commissioner may undertake at least one erosion response
project without requiring a qualified project partner to pay a
portion of the shared project cost. The [if the] total cost of the
projects undertaken that do not have a cost share requirement may
[does] not exceed one-third [one-half] of the total amount
appropriated to the land office for coastal erosion planning and
response, except that if any of the projects that do not have a cost
share requirement are undertaken in response to erosion associated
with a federally declared disaster:
(1) the total cost of the projects undertaken that do
not have a cost share requirement and that are not undertaken in
response to erosion associated with a federally declared disaster
may not exceed one-third of the total amount appropriated to the
land office for coastal erosion planning and response; and
(2) the total cost of all of the projects undertaken
that do not have a cost share requirement, whether or not undertaken
in response to erosion associated with a federally declared
disaster, may not exceed one-half of the total amount appropriated
to the land office for coastal erosion planning and response.
SECTION 6.02. Sections 33.604(a) and (b), Natural Resources
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The coastal erosion response account is an account in
the general revenue fund that may be appropriated only to the
commissioner and used only for the purpose of implementing this
subchapter [and administration of the coastal management program as
provided in Subchapter F].
(b) The account consists of:
(1) all money appropriated for the purposes of this
subchapter;
(2) grants to this state from the United States for the
purposes of this subchapter;
(3) all money received by this state from the sale of
dredged material; [and]
(4) penalties or costs collected under Section 61.0184
or 63.1814; and
(5) fees deposited to the credit of the account in
accordance with Section 33.614.
SECTION 6.03. Section 33.605, Natural Resources Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to
read as follows:
(a) Money in the account may be used for[:
[(1)] any action authorized by this subchapter[; and
[(2) the administration of the coastal management
program as provided in Subchapter F].
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), fees deposited to the
credit of the account in accordance with Section 33.614 may be used
only for erosion response projects that directly affect commercial
vessels that dock at ports operated by port authorities or
navigation districts in this state.
SECTION 6.04. Section 33.608, Natural Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 33.608. REPORT TO LEGISLATURE. (a) Each biennium, the
commissioner shall submit to the legislature a report listing:
(1) each critical erosion area;
(2) each proposed erosion response study or project;
(3) an estimate of the cost of each proposed study or
project described by Subdivision (2);
(4) each coastal erosion response study or project
funded under this subchapter during the preceding biennium;
(5) the economic and natural resource benefits from
each coastal erosion response study or project described by
Subdivision (4);
(6) the financial status of the account; and
(7) an estimate of the cost of implementing this
subchapter during the succeeding biennium.
(b) The report must include a plan for coastal erosion
response studies and projects that may be funded, wholly or partly,
from money in the account and may be undertaken during the next 10
or more years.
SECTION 6.05. Subchapter H, Chapter 33, Natural Resources
Code, is amended by adding Sections 33.614 and 33.615 to read as
follows:
Sec. 33.614. COMMERCIAL VESSEL DOCKING FEE. (a) Each port
authority or navigation district shall impose a fee of $2 for each
foot of vessel length on each owner or operator of a commercial
vessel with a draft of at least 18 feet each time the vessel docks at
the port operated by the port authority or navigation district.
(b) A port authority or navigation district that collects a
fee under Subsection (a) shall remit the amount of the fee to the
comptroller.
(c) A port authority or navigation district that makes a
timely payment to the comptroller of the amount of a fee collected
under Subsection (a) is entitled to retain an amount equal to one
percent of the amount of the fee collected to cover the port
authority's or navigation district's administrative expenses.
(d) The comptroller shall deposit the amount of the fees
collected to the credit of the account as provided by Section
33.604.
(e) The comptroller shall adopt rules necessary for the
administration, collection, reporting, and payment of the fee.
Sec. 33.615. DEDICATION OF OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS
ACT REVENUE. One-sixth of the revenue received by this state under
Section 8(g), Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. Section
1337(g)), being one-half of that portion of the revenue credited to
the general revenue fund and not otherwise deposited to the credit
of the permanent school fund pursuant to the Agreed Judgment in
Cause No. 395,483 in the 299th Judicial District Court of Travis
County on file in the Travis County District Clerk's records at
Volume 1396, Page 479, may be appropriated only to the commissioner
for the purpose of implementing this subchapter.
SECTION 6.06. Section 162.502(c), Tax Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) Of the money [Money] deposited to the credit of the
general revenue fund under Subsection (b)(2):
(1) 33-1/3 percent may be appropriated only to the
commissioner of the General Land Office for the purpose of
implementing Subchapter H, Chapter 33, Natural Resources Code; and
(2) 66-2/3 percent may be appropriated only to the
Parks and Wildlife Department for any lawful purpose.
SECTION 6.07. Section 33.614, Natural Resources Code, as
added by this Act, applies only to a vessel that docks at a port on
or after the effective date of this Act.
ARTICLE 7. FISCAL MATTERS REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
SECTION 7.01. Section 386.051(b), Health and Safety Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(b) Under the plan, the commission and the comptroller shall
provide grants or other funding for:
(1) the diesel emissions reduction incentive program
established under Subchapter C, including for infrastructure
projects established under that subchapter;
(2) the motor vehicle purchase or lease incentive
program established under Subchapter D;
(3) air quality research under Section 386.059 [the
new technology research and development program established under
Chapter 387];
(4) the clean school bus program established under
Chapter 390; and
(5) the new technology implementation grant program
established under Chapter 391.
SECTION 7.02. Section 386.058(b), Health and Safety Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(b) The governor shall appoint to the advisory board:
(1) a representative of the trucking industry;
(2) a representative of the air conditioning
manufacturing industry;
(3) a representative of the electric utility industry;
(4) a representative of regional transportation; and
(5) a representative of the nonprofit organization
described by Section 386.059 [386.252(a)(2)].
SECTION 7.03. Subchapter B, Chapter 386, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 386.059 to read as follows:
Sec. 386.059. AIR QUALITY RESEARCH. (a) The commission
shall contract with a nonprofit organization or institution of
higher education to establish and administer a program to support
research related to air quality.
(b) The board of directors of a nonprofit organization
establishing and administering the research program related to air
quality under this section may not have more than 11 members, must
include two persons with relevant scientific expertise to be
nominated by the commission, and may not include more than four
county judges selected from counties in the
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria and Dallas-Fort Worth nonattainment
areas. The two persons with relevant scientific expertise to be
nominated by the commission may be employees or officers of the
commission, provided that they do not participate in funding
decisions affecting the granting of funds by the commission to a
nonprofit organization on whose board they serve.
(c) The commission shall provide oversight as appropriate
for grants provided under the program established under this
section.
(d) A nonprofit organization or institution of higher
education shall submit to the commission for approval a budget for
the disposition of funds granted under the program established
under this section.
(e) A nonprofit organization or institution of higher
education shall be reimbursed for costs incurred in establishing
and administering the research program related to air quality under
this section. Reimbursable administrative costs of a nonprofit
organization or institution of higher education may not exceed 10
percent of the program budget.
(f) A nonprofit organization that receives grants from the
commission under this section is subject to Chapters 551 and 552,
Government Code.
SECTION 7.04. Section 386.108(a), Health and Safety Code,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission shall provide funding under Section
386.252(a) [386.252(a)(1)] for infrastructure projects.
SECTION 7.05. Section 386.252, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by reenacting and amending Subsection (a), as amended by
Chapters 1125 (H.B. 1796) and 1232 (S.B. 1759), Acts of the 81st
Legislature, Regular Session, 2009, and by adding Subsection (a-1)
to read as follows:
(a) Of the money [Money] in the fund, 96.5 percent may be
used only to implement and administer programs established under
the plan and shall be allocated as follows:
(1) [for the diesel emissions reduction incentive
program, 87.5 percent of the money in the fund, of which:
[(A)] not more than four percent may be used for
the clean school bus program;
(2) [(B)] not more than 10 percent may be used for
on-road diesel purchase or lease incentives; [and]
(3) [(C)] a specified amount may be used for the new
technology implementation grant program, from which a defined
amount may be set aside for electricity storage projects related to
renewable energy;
(4) five percent shall be used for the clean fleet
program;
(5) [(2) for the new technology research and
development program, nine percent of the money in the fund, of
which:
[(A)] up to $200,000 is allocated for a health
effects study;
(6) up to [(B)] $500,000 is to be deposited in the
state treasury to the credit of the clean air account created under
Section 382.0622 to supplement funding for air quality planning
activities in affected counties;
(7) up to $2 million [(C) not less than 20 percent]
is to be allocated annually [each year] to support research related
to air quality as provided by Section 386.059 [387.010];
(8) up to $216,000 is allocated annually to the
commission to [and
[(D) the balance is allocated each year to the
commission to be used to:
[(i) implement and administer the new
technology research and development program for the purpose of
identifying, testing, and evaluating new emissions-reducing
technologies with potential for commercialization in this state and
to facilitate their certification or verification; and
[(ii)] contract with the Energy Systems
Laboratory at the Texas Engineering Experiment Station for
[$216,000 annually for] the development and annual computation of
creditable statewide emissions reductions obtained through wind
and other renewable energy resources for the state implementation
plan; and
(9) the balance of the money in the fund allocated by
this subsection is allocated to the remaining programs of the
diesel emissions reduction incentive program.
(a-1) Two [(3) two] percent of the money in the fund is
allocated to the commission and 1.5 percent is allocated to the
laboratory for administrative costs incurred by the commission and
the laboratory.
SECTION 7.06. Section 447.011(h), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(h) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall
obtain information on any fuel-saving technology that appears to
reduce particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, or
hydrocarbon emissions. [The Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality may use this information to fund the United States
Environmental Protection Agency verification of a technology in
accordance with Section 387.003, Health and Safety Code.]
SECTION 7.07. Chapter 387, Health and Safety Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 7.08. A grant issued under Chapter 387, Health and
Safety Code, before the effective date of this Act is governed by
Chapter 387, Health and Safety Code, as it existed immediately
before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 7.09. To the extent of any conflict, this article
prevails over an Act of the 82nd Legislature, Regular Session,
2011, relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in
enacted codes.
ARTICLE 8. EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 8.01. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.