By:  Harris                                   S.B. No. 195

         97S0090/1                            

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to the creation, purpose, implementation, and funding of

 1-2     the County Park Beautification and Improvement Program.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  SHORT TITLE.  This Act shall be known and may be

 1-5     cited as the County Park Beautification and Improvement Program

 1-6     Act.

 1-7           SECTION 2.  PURPOSE; CREATION.  It is the intent of the

 1-8     legislature that each county dedicating land for use as county

 1-9     parks be encouraged to beautify and improve those parks through

1-10     measures including but not limited to improvements in or additions

1-11     to lighting, directional and educational signs, litter abatement

1-12     strategies, and landscaping and landscape maintenance policies.  In

1-13     furtherance of these goals, the County Park Beautification and

1-14     Improvement Program is established.

1-15           SECTION 3.  IMPLEMENTATION.  The commissioners court of a

1-16     county may by majority vote elect to participate in the program.

1-17     On such election, the commissioners court shall designate one

1-18     person in the division of the county government responsible for the

1-19     care and maintenance of the county parks as the coordinator for the

1-20     program.  The coordinator may solicit advice and assistance from

1-21     state and county agencies and private organizations in developing

1-22     and implementing the program.

1-23           SECTION 4.  REPORT; ADOPTION.  The coordinator shall report

 2-1     to the commissioners court the coordinator's findings and shall

 2-2     recommend an implementation strategy to the commissioners court.

 2-3     The commissioners court may reject or adopt the implementation

 2-4     strategy.  If the commissioners court rejects the strategy, it

 2-5     shall specify to the coordinator the reasons for such rejection,

 2-6     and the coordinator shall develop a new implementation strategy to

 2-7     present to the commissioners court within six months of the

 2-8     rejection.  On adoption of an implementation strategy, the

 2-9     commissioners court may fund the program as provided in Section 5

2-10     of this Act.

2-11           SECTION 5.  FUNDING.  The commissioners court of a county

2-12     electing to participate in the County Park Beautification and

2-13     Improvement Program under this Act may solicit and accept bequests,

2-14     donations, grants, and other money, goods, and services from

2-15     federal, state, and private sources to finance and further the

2-16     goals of the program but may not levy any tax or receive any

2-17     legislative appropriation to fund such participation.  The state is

2-18     not liable for debts or other obligations incurred by a county in

2-19     implementing or planning to implement the program under this Act.

2-20           SECTION 6.  EMERGENCY.  The importance of this legislation

2-21     and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-22     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-23     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-24     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

2-25     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

 3-1     passage, and it is so enacted.