|
Senate Bill 656 |
Senate Author: Huffman et al. |
|
Effective: 9-1-11 |
House Sponsor: Bonnen |
Senate Bill 656 amends the Agriculture Code and Natural Resources Code to abolish the Coastal Coordination Council and transfer the council's powers and duties to the General Land Office (GLO) and the commissioner of the GLO and makes provisions for a transition to such an arrangement. The bill includes the commissioner among the entities required to perform the duties relating to the management of coastal public land.
Previous law required the GLO to develop a long-term plan for the management of uses affecting coastal natural resource areas. The bill requires the GLO to implement a comprehensive coastal management program for the management of such uses and authorizes the commissioner to award grants to projects that further the goals and policies of the program. The bill requires the commissioner by rule to establish the Coastal Coordination Advisory Committee to advise on matters related to the program and authorizes the commissioner to review certain proposed state agency or subdivision actions that may adversely affect a coastal natural resource area for consistency with the program goals and policies under certain conditions.
Previous law provided for the creation by council rule of a permitting assistance group composed of representatives of council member agencies and other interested council members to coordinate preliminary consistency reviews. The bill recomposes the group to include representatives of committee member agencies and other interested committee members and establishes a temporary provision requiring the commissioner to evaluate the functions, membership, and usefulness of the group. The commissioner is authorized to adopt rules as necessary to restructure or abolish the group, expand its functions, or add members.
The bill authorizes the commissioner by rule to modify, in addition to establishing, a process by which an agency may submit rules and rule amendments for review and certification for consistency with program goals and policies. The bill requires the commissioner to adopt guidance rules, in addition to procedural rules, for the review of federal actions, activities, and outer continental shelf plans that incorporate the provisions of federal regulations governing those reviews and requires the commissioner to review any such action, activity, or plan that any three committee members agree presents a significant unresolved issue regarding consistency with program goals and policies.
The bill, on request for referral, prohibits the commissioner from reviewing a consistency determination of the GLO, the commissioner, or the School Land Board. The bill requires the commissioner to refer a request for a review to the attorney general, requires the attorney general to determine whether the action is consistent with program goals and policies, and, if the action is determined to be inconsistent, authorizes the attorney general to protest the action. The bill establishes that a protest by the attorney general has the same effect as a protest by the commissioner and authorizes the attorney general to adopt rules as necessary to implement these provisions relating to the review of a consistency determination.