1-1     By:  Berlanga, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Truan)        H.B. No. 2847

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 1997;

 1-3     April 29, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on

 1-4     Natural Resources; May 9, 1997, reported favorably by the following

 1-5     vote:  Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 9, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to the line of vegetation in an area of public beach near

 1-9     certain seawalls.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 61.017(c)(1), Natural Resources Code, is

1-12     amended to read as follows:

1-13           (c)(1)  In an area of public beach where a seawall structure

1-14     constructed in its entirety as a single structure of one design

1-15     before 1970 and continuously maintained with a height of not less

1-16     than 11 feet above mean low tide interrupts the natural line of

1-17     vegetation for a distance not less than 4,000 feet nor greater than

1-18     4,500 feet, the line of vegetation is along the seaward side of the

1-19     seawall for the distance marked by the seawall, provided that prior

1-20     to September 2, 1997 [December 31, 1996]:

1-21                       (A)  a perpetual easement has been granted in

1-22     favor of the public affording pedestrian, noncommercial use along

1-23     and over the entire length of the seawall and adjacent sidewalk by

1-24     the general public;

1-25                       (B)  fee title to the surface estate to an area

1-26     for public parking and other public uses adjacent to the seawall

1-27     has been conveyed to and accepted by a public entity, which area

1-28     contains sufficient acreage to provide at least one parking space

1-29     for each 15 linear feet of the seawall, is located within the

1-30     center one-third of the length of the seawall or not farther than

1-31     300 feet from that center one-third, and has frontage on the

1-32     seawall for at least  300 linear feet; and

1-33                       (C)  permanent roadway easements exist within

1-34     1,000 feet of each end of the seawall affording vehicular access

1-35     from the nearest public road to the beach.

1-36           SECTION 2.  Any court judgment in effect on the effective

1-37     date of this Act regarding  circumstances described by Section

1-38     61.017(c)(1), Natural Resources Code, as amended by this Act, is

1-39     modified by that section, as amended, to the extent that the

1-40     judgment is in conflict with that section.

1-41           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-42           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-43     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-44     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-45     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-46     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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