1-1     By:  Harris                                             S.B. No. 69
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed December 1, 1998; January 25, 1999,
 1-3     read first time and referred to Committee on Administration;
 1-4     January 26, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas
 1-5     3, Nays 0; January 26, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to the creation, purpose, implementation, and funding of
 1-9     the County Park Beautification and Improvement Program.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  SHORT TITLE.  This Act shall be known and may be
1-12     cited as the County Park Beautification and Improvement Program
1-13     Act.
1-14           SECTION 2.  PURPOSE; CREATION.  It is the intent of the
1-15     legislature that each county dedicating land for use as county
1-16     parks be encouraged to beautify and improve those parks through
1-17     measures including but not limited to improvements in or additions
1-18     to lighting, directional and educational signs, litter abatement
1-19     strategies, and landscaping and landscape maintenance policies.  In
1-20     furtherance of these goals, the County Park Beautification and
1-21     Improvement Program is established.
1-22           SECTION 3.  IMPLEMENTATION.  The commissioners court of a
1-23     county may by majority vote elect to participate in the program.
1-24     On such election, the commissioners court shall designate one
1-25     person in the division of the county government responsible for the
1-26     care and maintenance of the county parks as the coordinator for the
1-27     program.  The coordinator may solicit advice and assistance from
1-28     state and county agencies and private organizations in developing
1-29     and implementing the program.
1-30           SECTION 4.  REPORT; ADOPTION.  The coordinator shall report
1-31     to the commissioners court the coordinator's findings and shall
1-32     recommend an implementation strategy to the commissioners court.
1-33     The commissioners court may reject or adopt the implementation
1-34     strategy.  If the commissioners court rejects the strategy, it
1-35     shall specify to the coordinator the reasons for such rejection,
1-36     and the coordinator shall develop a new implementation strategy to
1-37     present to the commissioners court within six months of the
1-38     rejection.  On adoption of an implementation strategy, the
1-39     commissioners court may fund the program as provided in Section 5
1-40     of this Act.
1-41           SECTION 5.  FUNDING.  The commissioners court of a county
1-42     electing to participate in the County Park Beautification and
1-43     Improvement Program under this Act may solicit and accept bequests,
1-44     donations, grants, and other money, goods, and services from
1-45     federal, state, and private sources to finance and further the
1-46     goals of the program but may not levy any tax or receive any
1-47     legislative appropriation to fund such participation.  The state is
1-48     not liable for debts or other obligations incurred by a county in
1-49     implementing or planning to implement the program under this Act.
1-50           SECTION 6.  EMERGENCY.  The importance of this legislation
1-51     and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-52     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-53     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-54     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
1-55     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
1-56     passage, and it is so enacted.
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