Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 1828 amends the Agriculture Code to increase the size of the State Soil and Water Conservation Board from five to seven members by adding two gubernatorial appointees. Both appointees must be actively engaged in farming, animal husbandry, or another agricultural business and own or lease land used for that business. Neither appointee may be a conservation district board member. Several provisions relate to the state brush control program. The board must rank, rather than designate, areas in need of a brush control program. The bill adds the consideration of certain water issues to the criteria by which the board ranks areas and approves brush control methods. The board must consult with the Texas Water Development Board regarding the program's effects on water quantity, must consult with the Texas Department of Agriculture regarding its effects on agriculture, and must consult with and be assisted by local districts in adopting rules and administering the program. The bill revises cost-sharing provisions, setting new percentage maximums for the state's contribution under different scenarios. It requires a semiannual report to the governor and legislative presiding officers on the status of the budget areas of responsibility assigned to the board. The bill also requires, not later than March 1, 2004, a management audit and report to the same recipients.