By:  Harris                                             S.B. No. 69
         99S0006/1                           
                                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
1-24     to the commissioners court the coordinator's findings and shall
 2-1     recommend an implementation strategy to the commissioners court.
 2-2     The commissioners court may reject or adopt the implementation
 2-3     strategy.  If the commissioners court rejects the strategy, it
 2-4     shall specify to the coordinator the reasons for such rejection,
 2-5     and the coordinator shall develop a new implementation strategy to
 2-6     present to the commissioners court within six months of the
 2-7     rejection.  On adoption of an implementation strategy, the
 2-8     commissioners court may fund the program as provided in Section 5
 2-9     of this Act.
2-10           SECTION 5.  FUNDING.  The commissioners court of a county
2-11     electing to participate in the County Park Beautification and
2-12     Improvement Program under this Act may solicit and accept bequests,
2-13     donations, grants, and other money, goods, and services from
2-14     federal, state, and private sources to finance and further the
2-15     goals of the program but may not levy any tax or receive any
2-16     legislative appropriation to fund such participation.  The state is
2-17     not liable for debts or other obligations incurred by a county in
2-18     implementing or planning to implement the program under this Act.
2-19           SECTION 6.  EMERGENCY.  The importance of this legislation
2-20     and the 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.