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House Bill 3459 |
House Author: Eiland |
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Effective: 9-1-13 |
Senate Sponsor: Taylor |
House Bill 3459 amends the Natural Resources Code to authorize the commissioner of the General Land Office by order to suspend action on conducting a line of vegetation determination for a period of up to three years from the date the order is issued if the commissioner determines that the line of vegetation was obliterated as a result of a meteorological event. The bill requires a public beach to extend to a line 200 feet inland from the line of mean low tide as established by a licensed state land surveyor for the duration of the order and, following the expiration of such an order, requires the commissioner to make a determination regarding the line of vegetation and sets out provisions regarding the determination. The bill requires the line of vegetation, as determined by the commissioner, to constitute the landward boundary of the area subject to public easement until the line of vegetation moves landward due to a subsequent meteorological event, erosion, or public use, or until a final court adjudication establishes the line in another place.
House Bill 3459 establishes that the line of vegetation for an area of public beach in which there is no clearly marked line of vegetation is dynamic and may move landward or seaward due to the forces of erosion or natural accretion. The bill adds to the list of artificial changes in the natural vegetation of an area that do not affect the line of vegetation of a public beach.
House Bill 3459 extends from two to three years the period for which the commissioner by order is authorized to suspend the submission of a request that the attorney general file a suit to obtain a temporary or permanent court order or injunction to remove a house from a public beach if the commissioner makes certain determinations.
House Bill 3459 establishes legislative findings regarding the Galveston-Houston region and its exposure to potential catastrophic storm surge. The bill requires the legislature to establish a joint interim committee to conduct a study of the effectiveness of the bill's implementation and the feasibility and desirability of creating and maintaining a coastal barrier system in Texas and of authorizing coastal property owners to grant easements to governmental entities to construct and maintain stabilized dunes in connection with or separately from the system.