By Seaman                                       H.B. No. 2475

      75R5468 CAG-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the regulation of mariculture facilities in certain

 1-3     coastal counties.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 240, Local Government Code,

 1-6     is amended by adding Section 240.9015 to read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 240.9015.  REGULATION OF CERTAIN MARICULTURE FACILITIES.

 1-8     (a)  In this section:

 1-9                 (1)  "Flood-prone area" has the meaning assigned by

1-10     Section 240.901(d).

1-11                 (2)  "Mariculture" means the propagation and rearing of

1-12     aquatic species, including shrimp, other crustaceans, finfish,

1-13     mollusks, and other similar creatures, in a controlled environment

1-14     using brackish or marine water.

1-15           (b)  This section applies only to a county bordering on the

1-16     Gulf of Mexico or on the tidewater limits of the Gulf of Mexico.

1-17           (c)  The commissioners court of the county by order may

1-18     require that a facility that exists on or is established after the

1-19     effective date of the order and that is engaged in commercial

1-20     mariculture file  a security bond or letter of credit with the

1-21     commissioners court as a requirement for the construction or

1-22     renovation of a mariculture facility in a flood-prone area.

1-23           (d)  The security bond or letter of credit required by this

1-24     section must contain a statement on the face of the bond or letter

 2-1     of credit that the bond or letter shall be paid to the county if

 2-2     the commissioners court determines that the facility has been

 2-3     abandoned and requires cleanup or the facility site has been

 2-4     contaminated and requires cleanup.

 2-5           (e)  The commissioners court may adopt rules relating to the:

 2-6                 (1)  form of the bond or letter of credit;

 2-7                 (2)  qualifications of a surety or issuer;

 2-8                 (3)  amount of the bond or letter;

 2-9                 (4)  method for filing and obtaining approval of the

2-10     bond or letter by the commissioners court; and

2-11                 (5)  release and discharge of the bond or letter.

2-12           (f)  The commissioners court of a county by order may, to

2-13     protect the economic base and natural resources of a coastal

2-14     county, designate any area of the county the court determines is

2-15     not suitable for the establishment of a mariculture facility after

2-16     the effective date of the order because of the risk of flooding or

2-17     storm surges from hurricanes or other natural disasters and may

2-18     prohibit the location of a mariculture facility in those areas.

2-19           SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-20     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-21     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-22     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-23     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

2-24     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

2-25     passage, and it is so enacted.