By: Orr, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Flores) H.B. No. 2755

(In the Senate - Received from the House May 1, 2023; May 2, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Water, Agriculture & Rural Affairs; May 9, 2023, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 9, 2023, sent to printer.) Click here to see the committee vote

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the minimum instruction requirement for the boater education program and the disposition and use of money received by the Parks and Wildlife Department from the boater education program.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 11.032(b), Parks and Wildlife Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) The department shall deposit to the credit of the game, fish, and water safety account all revenue, less allowable costs, from the following sources:

(1) all types of fishing licenses and stamps and shrimping licenses;

(2) all types of hunting licenses and stamps;

(3) trapping licenses and other licenses relating to the taking, propagation, and sale of fur-bearing animals or their pelts;

(4) sale of marl, sand, gravel, shell, and mudshell;

(5) oyster bed rentals and permits;

(6) federal funds received for fish and wildlife research, management, development and conservation, resource protection, and law enforcement, unless the funds are received for the specific purposes of Subchapter F, Chapter 77;

(7) sale of property, less advertising costs, purchased from this account or a special fund or account that is now part of this account;

(8) fines and penalties collected for violations of a law pertaining to the protection and conservation of wild birds, wild fowl, wild animals, fish, shrimp, oysters, game birds and animals, fur-bearing animals, alligators, and any other wildlife resources of this state;

(9) sale of rough fish by the department;

(10) fees for importation permits;

(11) fees from supplying fish for or placing fish in water located on private property;

(12) sale of seized pelts;

(13) sale or lease of grazing rights to and the products from game preserves, sanctuaries, and management areas;

(14) contracts for the removal of fur-bearing animals and reptiles from wildlife management areas;

(15) vessel registration fees;

(16) vessel manufacturer or dealer licensing fees;

(17) fines or penalties imposed by a court for violation of water safety laws contained in Chapter 31 of this code;

(18) alligator hunter's or alligator buyer's licenses;

(19) sale of alligators or any part of an alligator by the department;

(20) fees and revenue collected under Section 11.027(b) or (c) of this code that are associated with the conservation of fish and wildlife;

(21) fees related to cultivated oyster mariculture;

(22) vessel and outboard motor titling fees;

(23) participation fees collected under Section 43.976; [and]

(24) money received by the department from:

(A) boater education program courses and examinations administered under Section 31.108; and

(B) boater education deferrals issued under the program established under Section 31.110(c); and

(25) any other source provided by law.

SECTION 2. Section 11.033(a), Parks and Wildlife Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) To the extent allowed by federal law, money in the game, fish, and water safety account may be used for the following purposes:

(1) enforcement of fish, shrimp, and oyster laws, game laws, and laws pertaining to sand, shell, and gravel;

(2) dissemination of information pertaining to marine life, wild animal life, wildlife values, and wildlife management;

(3) scientific investigation and survey of marine life for the better protection and conservation of marine life;

(4) establishment and maintenance of fish hatcheries, fish sanctuaries, tidal water fish passes, wildlife management areas, and public hunting grounds;

(5) propagation and distribution of marine life, game animals, and wild birds;

(6) protection of wild birds, fish, and game;

(7) purchase, repair, and operation of boats and dredges;

(8) research, management, and protection of the fish and wildlife resources of this state, including alligators and fur-bearing animals;

(9) salaries of employees and other expenses necessary to carry out the duties of the department under laws relating to fish, shrimp, oysters, game, water safety, and sand, shell, and gravel;

(10) expansion and development of additional opportunities of hunting and fishing in state-owned land and water;

(11) removing rough fish from public water;

(12) administration and enforcement of the water safety laws as set out in Chapter 31, including administration of the boater education program established under Section 31.108;

(13) purchasing all necessary forms and supplies, including reimbursement of the department for any material produced by its existing facilities or work performed by other divisions of the department;

(14) purchase, construction, and maintenance of boat ramps on or near public waters as provided in Chapter 31;

(15) resource protection activities;

(16) the cleanup of illegal or abandoned cultivated oyster mariculture equipment and related debris in public water; and

(17) any other use provided by law.

SECTION 3. Section 31.108, Parks and Wildlife Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:

(a) The commission shall adopt rules to:

(1) administer a boater education program that is designed to educate persons about the safe operation of vessels;

(2) approve boater education courses that meet or exceed the minimum instruction requirement [, as the requirement exists on January 1, 1997,] established by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators on or after January 1, 2016, and adopted by commission rule;

(3) create an equivalency examination that may be taken, as the commission determines is consistent with promoting public safety in the operation of vessels, instead of the boater education course; and

(4) ensure that boater education courses and examinations are available in each county.

(g) Money received by the department under Subsections (e) and (f)(1) shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the game, fish, and water safety account established under Section 11.032 and may be used only for the administration of the boater education program established under this section.

SECTION 4. Section 31.110, Parks and Wildlife Code, is amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:

(d) Money received by the department in connection with a boater education deferral program established by the commission under Subsection (c) shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the game, fish, and water safety account established under Section 11.032 and may be used only for the administration of the boater education program established under Section 31.108.

SECTION 5. As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act, the Parks and Wildlife Commission shall adopt or modify any rules necessary to implement the change in law made by this Act to Section 31.108(a), Parks and Wildlife Code.

SECTION 6. Sections 31.108(g) and 31.110(d), Parks and Wildlife Code, as added by this Act, apply only to money described by those subsections that is received by the department on or after the effective date of this Act. Money received by the department before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.

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