1-1 By: Counts (Senate Sponsor - Bivins) H.B. No. 1808 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 21, 1997; 1-3 April 22, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on State 1-4 Affairs; May 6, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote: 1-5 Yeas 13, Nays 0; May 6, 1997, sent to printer.) 1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-7 AN ACT 1-8 relating to the confidentiality of certain information obtained by 1-9 the State Soil and Water Conservation Board or a soil and water 1-10 conservation district. 1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-12 SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 201, Agriculture Code, is 1-13 amended by adding Section 201.006 to read as follows: 1-14 Sec. 201.006. CONFIDENTIALITY OF CERTAIN INFORMATION. (a) 1-15 Except as provided by this section, information collected by the 1-16 state board or a conservation district is not subject to Chapter 1-17 552, Government Code, and may not be disclosed if the information 1-18 is collected in response to a specific request from a landowner or 1-19 the landowner's agent or tenant for technical assistance relating 1-20 to a water quality management plan or other conservation plan if 1-21 the assistance is to be provided: 1-22 (1) under this code; and 1-23 (2) on private land that: 1-24 (A) is part of a conservation plan or water 1-25 quality management plan developed cooperatively with the state 1-26 board or conservation district; or 1-27 (B) is the subject of a report prepared by the 1-28 state board or conservation district. 1-29 (b) The state board or a conservation district may disclose 1-30 information regarding a tract of land to: 1-31 (1) the owner of the tract or the owner's agent or 1-32 tenant; and 1-33 (2) a person other than the owner or the owner's agent 1-34 or tenant if: 1-35 (A) the owner or the agent or tenant consents in 1-36 writing to full or specified partial disclosure of the information; 1-37 and 1-38 (B) the consent is attached to each plan or 1-39 report regarding the tract prepared by the state board or 1-40 conservation district. 1-41 (c) The state board or a conservation district may disclose, 1-42 in a manner that prevents the identification of a particular tract 1-43 of land, the owner of the tract, or the owner's agent or tenant, a 1-44 summary of information collected by the state board or conservation 1-45 district regarding: 1-46 (1) the number of acres of land that are in a 1-47 particular conservation plan; 1-48 (2) the number of acres of land that are subject to a 1-49 particular conservation practice; or 1-50 (3) other conservation program information. 1-51 (d) The state board or a conservation district shall provide 1-52 a person with notice regarding this section at the time the person 1-53 requests technical assistance from the state board or conservation 1-54 district. 1-55 (e) The state board or a conservation district may disclose 1-56 information to a law enforcement agency of this state or the United 1-57 States in compliance with a subpoena for the information. 1-58 (f) The state board or a conservation district may disclose 1-59 information relating to water quality complaints or compliance 1-60 failures to the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission 1-61 under Section 201.026. 1-62 (g) The state board or a conservation district may disclose 1-63 to the attorney general information relating to a breach of 1-64 contract. 2-1 (h) The state board or a conservation district may not be 2-2 held liable for damage caused by a violation of this section. 2-3 (i) A reference in this section to the state board or a 2-4 conservation district includes an officer, employee, or agent of 2-5 the state board or conservation district. 2-6 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997. 2-7 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 2-8 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-9 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-10 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-11 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 2-12 * * * * *