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.

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