1-1 By: Wentworth S.B. No. 976
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 7, 1995; March 8, 1995, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
1-4 April 4, 1995, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 12, Nays 0; April 4, 1995,
1-6 sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 976 By: Wentworth
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to the issuance of special wildlife conservation license
1-11 plates for the support of state and local parks and environmental
1-12 education.
1-13 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-14 SECTION 1. Chapter 88, General Laws, Acts of the 41st
1-15 Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 1929 (Article 6675a-1 et seq.,
1-16 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by adding Section 5q to
1-17 read as follows:
1-18 Sec. 5q. (a) The department shall provide for the issuance
1-19 of special wildlife conservation license plates for passenger cars
1-20 and light commercial motor vehicles having a manufacturer's rated
1-21 carrying capacity of one ton or less.
1-22 (b) The license plates must be of a color, quality, and
1-23 design approved by the Parks and Wildlife Commission and the
1-24 department.
1-25 (c) The department shall issue license plates under this
1-26 section to a person who:
1-27 (1) applies to the county assessor-collector in the
1-28 county of the person's residence on a form provided by the
1-29 department; and
1-30 (2) pays the fee prescribed by Subsection (e) of this
1-31 section.
1-32 (d) A person applying for license plates under this section
1-33 may:
1-34 (1) have a license plate number assigned by the
1-35 department; or
1-36 (2) apply for personalized prestige license plates
1-37 under Section 5c of this Act.
1-38 (e) The fee for issuance of special license plates under
1-39 this section is $30 a year in addition to the motor vehicle
1-40 registration fee imposed by Section 5 of this Act and, if
1-41 personalized prestige license plates are issued, in addition to the
1-42 fee imposed by Section 5c of this Act.
1-43 (f) The department shall deposit $15 of each fee collected
1-44 under this section to the credit of the special nongame and
1-45 endangered species conservation account established by Section
1-46 11.052, Parks and Wildlife Code. Amounts deposited under this
1-47 subsection are supplementary and are not income for purposes of
1-48 reducing general revenue appropriations to the Parks and Wildlife
1-49 Department in the General Appropriations Act.
1-50 (g) The department shall deposit $5 of each fee collected
1-51 under this section to the credit of the environmental education
1-52 account established under Section 11.53(b), Education Code.
1-53 Amounts deposited under this subsection are supplementary and are
1-54 not income for purposes of reducing general revenue appropriations
1-55 to the Central Education Agency in the General Appropriations Act.
1-56 (h) The department shall deposit the remainder of the fees
1-57 collected under this section, after making the deposit required by
1-58 Subsections (f) and (g) of this section, to the credit of the state
1-59 highway fund to be used only to defray the cost of administering
1-60 this section.
1-61 (i) If license plates issued under this section are lost,
1-62 stolen, or mutilated, the owner of the vehicle for which the plates
1-63 were issued may obtain replacement plates from the department by
1-64 paying a replacement fee of $5. If the owner of the vehicle for
1-65 which plates are issued under this section disposes of the vehicle
1-66 during a registration year, the person shall return the special
1-67 license plates to the department.
1-68 (j) There is no limit to the number of passenger cars or
2-1 light commercial motor vehicles for which a person may apply for
2-2 the issuance of license plates under this section.
2-3 SECTION 2. Section 11.53, Education Code, is amended to read
2-4 as follows:
2-5 Sec. 11.53. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION. (a) The commissioner
2-6 of education shall foster the development and dissemination of
2-7 educational activities and materials which will assist Texas public
2-8 school students, teachers, and administrators in the perception,
2-9 appreciation, and understanding of environmental principles and
2-10 problems. In order to do so, the commissioner shall:
2-11 (1) encourage the integration of environmental topics
2-12 into the regular curriculum, where appropriate;
2-13 (2) encourage the Central Education Agency to
2-14 coordinate state, federal, and other funding sources to develop and
2-15 disseminate to school districts instructional materials for use in
2-16 environmental education, with special concern given to the
2-17 ecological systems of Texas and the ways human beings depend on and
2-18 interact with the systems;
2-19 (3) encourage the Central Education Agency to
2-20 coordinate state, federal, and other available funding sources to
2-21 develop and deliver teacher inservice programs, including summer
2-22 seminars and institutes, on various aspects of environmental
2-23 pollution and conservation;
2-24 (4) collect, analyze, evaluate, and disseminate to
2-25 school districts information about environmental curriculum
2-26 materials, validated projects, and other successful programs;
2-27 (5) solicit, receive, and expend funds which may
2-28 become available through federal grants under any national
2-29 environmental education programs or from other public or private
2-30 sources; and
2-31 (6) prepare an annual status report on environmental
2-32 education activities and deliver it to the legislature and the
2-33 governor on or before September 1 of each year.
2-34 (b) The money received under Subsection (a)(5) of this
2-35 section and the applicable amount of fees collected under Section
2-36 5q, Chapter 88, General Laws, Acts of the 41st Legislature, 2nd
2-37 Called Session, 1929 (Article 6675a-5q, Vernon's Texas Civil
2-38 Statutes), shall be deposited to the credit of an environmental
2-39 education account to be established in the general revenue fund.
2-40 Money in the account may be used only to:
2-41 (1) develop new instructional materials on
2-42 environmental education, especially those relating to ecological
2-43 systems and the ways human beings depend on and interact with
2-44 ecological systems in Texas;
2-45 (2) support staff development for environmental
2-46 education through inservice programs, summer seminars, and
2-47 institutes;
2-48 (3) fund the position of environmental education
2-49 coordinator in the Central Education Agency to coordinate
2-50 environmental education in the state;
2-51 (4) establish teacher training centers for
2-52 environmental education across the state;
2-53 (5) provide a system for communicating current
2-54 information about environmental education curriculum materials,
2-55 validated projects, and other successful programs to teachers,
2-56 administrators, and the public; and
2-57 (6) establish procedures for coordinating
2-58 environmental education programs among state agencies.
2-59 (c) The account is exempt from the application of Sections
2-60 403.094 and 403.095, Government Code.
2-61 SECTION 3. Section 11.053, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
2-62 amended to read as follows:
2-63 Sec. 11.053. SOURCES OF ACCOUNT. (a) The department shall
2-64 deposit to the credit of the special nongame and endangered species
2-65 conservation account all money received from:
2-66 (1) private contributions, grants, and donations made
2-67 to the special nongame and endangered species conservation account;
2-68 (2) the net proceeds from the sale under this chapter
2-69 of wildlife art prints, decals, and stamps;
2-70 (3) interest income from the investment of money
3-1 collected under this section; and
3-2 (4) income from entrance fees, easements, mineral
3-3 leases, grazing leases, and sale of products from lands purchased
3-4 with funds from the special nongame and endangered species
3-5 conservation account.
3-6 (b) Fees collected under Section 5q, Chapter 88, General
3-7 Laws, Acts of the 41st Legislature, 2nd Called Session, 1929
3-8 (Article 6675a-5q, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), shall be
3-9 deposited to the credit of the account in the amount prescribed by
3-10 that section.
3-11 (c) The department may accept private contributions, grants,
3-12 and donations made to the special nongame and endangered species
3-13 conservation account.
3-14 SECTION 4. Notwithstanding Section 311.025, Government Code,
3-15 this Act prevails over any revision, recodification, or reenactment
3-16 of Titles 1 and 2 of the Education Code by the 74th Legislature.
3-17 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
3-18 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
3-19 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-20 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-21 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-22 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
3-23 * * * * *