By Seaman                                             H.B. No. 1417
         76R1663 JSA-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the regulation of mariculture facilities in Aransas
 1-3     County.
 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)  The Commissioners Court of Aransas County by order may
1-16     require that a facility that exists on or is established after the
1-17     effective date of the order and that is engaged in commercial
1-18     mariculture file a security bond or letter of credit with the
1-19     commissioners court as a requirement for the construction or
1-20     renovation of a mariculture facility in a flood-prone area.
1-21           (c)  The security bond or letter of credit required by this
1-22     section must contain a statement on the face of the bond or letter
1-23     of credit that the bond or letter shall be paid to the county if
1-24     the commissioners court determines that the facility has been
 2-1     abandoned and requires cleanup or the facility site has been
 2-2     contaminated and requires cleanup.
 2-3           (d)  The commissioners court may adopt rules relating to the:
 2-4                 (1)  form of the bond or letter of credit;
 2-5                 (2)  qualifications of a surety or issuer;
 2-6                 (3)  amount of the bond or letter;
 2-7                 (4)  method for filing and obtaining approval of the
 2-8     bond or letter by the commissioners court; and
 2-9                 (5)  release and discharge of the bond or letter.
2-10           (e)  The Commissioners Court of Aransas County by order may,
2-11     to protect the economic base and natural resources of the county,
2-12     designate any area of the county the court determines is not
2-13     suitable for the establishment of a mariculture facility after the
2-14     effective date of the order because of the risk of flooding or
2-15     storm surges from hurricanes or other natural disasters and may
2-16     prohibit the location of a mariculture facility in those areas.
2-17           SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-18     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-19     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-20     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-21     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
2-22     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
2-23     passage, and it is so enacted.