1-1     By:  Luna (Senate Sponsor - Truan)                    H.B. No. 3561
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 26, 1999;
 1-3     April 27, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Natural Resources; May 5, 1999, reported favorably by the following
 1-5     vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 5, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to grant-making authority of the Texas Natural Resource
 1-9     Conservation Commission.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 5, Water Code, is amended
1-12     by adding Section 5.125 to read as follows:
1-13           Sec. 5.125.  AUTHORITY TO AWARD GRANTS.  (a)  With the
1-14     consent of the commission, the executive director may award grants
1-15     for any purpose regarding resource conservation or environmental
1-16     protection in accordance with this section.
1-17           (b)  The commission by rule shall establish procedures for
1-18     awarding a grant, for making any determination related to awarding
1-19     a grant, and for making grant payments.
1-20           (c)  Each activity funded by a grant must directly relate to
1-21     a purpose specified in the grant.  A grant may be awarded only for
1-22     a purpose consistent with the commission's jurisdiction and
1-23     purposes under law, including:
1-24                 (1)  the development or implementation of a
1-25     comprehensive conservation and management plan under Section 320,
1-26     Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1330), for a
1-27     designated national estuary in this state;
1-28                 (2)  a demonstration project that involves new
1-29     techniques for pollution prevention, energy or resource
1-30     conservation, or waste management;
1-31                 (3)  an environmental purpose identified in a federal
1-32     grant that is intended as a pass-through grant;
1-33                 (4)  development or improvement of monitoring or
1-34     modeling techniques for water or air quality;
1-35                 (5)  support of a local air pollution program; or
1-36                 (6)  a study or program related to efforts to  prevent
1-37     an area that is near nonattainment with federal air quality
1-38     standards from reaching nonattainment status.
1-39           (d)  A grant may be awarded to any person that meets the
1-40     eligibility requirements of the grant.  The executive director
1-41     shall establish eligibility requirements for each grant appropriate
1-42     to the purposes of and activities under the grant and the  method
1-43     of selecting the recipient.
1-44           (e)  Selection of grant recipients must be by solicitation of
1-45     a proposal or application except as provided by Subsections (f) and
1-46     (g).  The executive director may specify any selection criterion
1-47     the executive director considers relevant to the grant.  Selection
1-48     criteria must address:
1-49                 (1)  evaluation and scoring of:
1-50                       (A)  fiscal controls;
1-51                       (B)  project effectiveness;
1-52                       (C)  project cost; and
1-53                       (D)  previous experience with grants and
1-54     contracts; and
1-55                 (2)  the possibility and method of making multiple
1-56     awards.
1-57           (f)  A grant may be made by direct award only if:
1-58                 (1)  the executive director determines that:
1-59                       (A)  selection of recipients by the solicitation
1-60     of proposals or applications is not feasible; and
1-61                       (B)  awarding the grant directly is in the best
1-62     interest of the state;
1-63                 (2)  eligibility for the grant is limited to:
1-64                       (A)  an agency or political subdivision of this
 2-1     state or of another state;
 2-2                       (B)  a state institution of higher learning of
 2-3     this state or of another state, including any part or service of
 2-4     the institution; or
 2-5                       (C)  an agency of the United States; or
 2-6                 (3)  the grant is awarded to a person established or
 2-7     authorized to develop or implement a comprehensive conservation and
 2-8     management plan under Section 320, Federal Water Pollution Control
 2-9     Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1330), for a national estuary in this state.
2-10           (g)  If a solicitation of a proposal is made for the purpose
2-11     of identifying a partner for a joint application for a federal
2-12     grant that is subsequently awarded to the commission, the executive
2-13     director is not required to make an additional solicitation for
2-14     entering into a pass-through grant with an identified partner.
2-15           (h)  The executive director shall publish information
2-16     regarding a solicitation related to a grant to be awarded under
2-17     this section on the commission's electronic business daily in the
2-18     manner provided by Section 2155.074, Government Code, as added by
2-19     Section 1, Chapter 508, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular
2-20     Session, 1997.
2-21           (i)  For a grant awarded under this section, the commission
2-22     may use:
2-23                 (1)  money appropriated for grant-making purposes;
2-24                 (2)  federal money granted for making pass-through
2-25     grants; and
2-26                 (3)  state or federal grant money appropriated for a
2-27     purpose that the executive director determines is consistent with a
2-28     purpose of the grant from the commission.
2-29           SECTION 2.  (a)  The changes in law made by Section 5.125,
2-30     Water Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a grant made by the
2-31     Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission on or after the
2-32     effective date of this Act and to a grant being considered by the
2-33     Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission on the effective
2-34     date of this Act.
2-35           (b)  The changes in law made by Section 5.125, Water Code, as
2-36     added by this Act, do not affect the validity of or apply to a
2-37     grant the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission made
2-38     before the effective date of this Act.
2-39           (c)  The commission may award a grant that, on the effective
2-40     date of this Act, is being considered under, or for which a
2-41     solicitation for proposals has been issued or an application has
2-42     been received under, authority other than Section 5.125, Water
2-43     Code, as added by this Act:
2-44                 (1)  under the other authority without regard to the
2-45     requirements of Section 5.125, Water Code; or
2-46                 (2)  under the authority of Section 5.125, Water Code,
2-47     notwithstanding that grant was considered, the solicitation was
2-48     issued, or the application was received under the other authority.
2-49           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-50           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-51     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-52     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-53     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-54     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
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