1-1     By:  Jackson, Bernsen                                  S.B. No. 708
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed February 25, 1999; March 1, 1999, read
 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources;
 1-4     April 26, 1999, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
 1-5     Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0; April 26, 1999,
 1-6     sent to printer.)
 1-7     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 708               By:  Armbrister
 1-8                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-9                                   AN ACT
1-10     relating to the implementation and financing of approved management
1-11     plans for designated estuaries of national significance in the
1-12     state.
1-13           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-14           SECTION 1.  Chapter 5, Water Code, is amended by adding
1-15     Subchapter M to read as follows:
1-16                   SUBCHAPTER M.  ESTUARY MANAGEMENT PLANS
1-17           Sec. 5.551.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:
1-18                 (1)  "Approved implementation program" means an
1-19     implementation plan identified as part of an approved comprehensive
1-20     conservation and management plan.
1-21                 (2)  "Approved comprehensive conservation and
1-22     management plan" means an estuary management plan that is prepared
1-23     through the efforts of citizens, organizations, industries, local
1-24     governments, and state and national agencies working together as
1-25     part of the National Estuary Program to develop long-term
1-26     comprehensive conservation and management plans (CCMPs) and that
1-27     has been approved by the governor of Texas and the administrator of
1-28     the United States Environmental Protection Agency to protect the
1-29     environment and the economies of the state and of the regions with
1-30     estuaries.  The term includes the plans for Galveston Bay and the
1-31     Coastal Bend estuaries.
1-32                 (3)  "Implementing agency" means the entity identified
1-33     for day-to-day administration of an estuary program.  An
1-34     implementing agency may be a state agency or other local or
1-35     regional entity, as identified in an approved estuary management
1-36     plan.
1-37                 (4)  "National Estuary Program" means the cooperative
1-38     estuary management program authorized by and developed under
1-39     Section 320 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.
1-40     Section 1330), as amended.
1-41           Sec. 5.552.  RECOGNITION OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF
1-42     ESTUARIES OF TEXAS COAST.  The state recognizes the state and
1-43     national significance of estuaries on the Texas coast and that the
1-44     cooperative efforts created by the National Estuary Program serve a
1-45     public and state purpose.  By virtue of that state purpose, an
1-46     approved implementation program established under the National
1-47     Estuary Program is eligible to receive state funds through a grant
1-48     program administered by the commission.
1-49           Sec. 5.553.  FINDING OF BENEFIT AND PUBLIC PURPOSE.  The
1-50     state recognizes the importance of implementing estuary management
1-51     plans by protecting and improving water quality and restoring
1-52     estuarine habitat that makes the bays and estuaries productive,
1-53     protecting the economies of those areas, and continuing the
1-54     involvement of the public and the many interests who use and
1-55     appreciate the estuarine resources of Texas.  State and local
1-56     government participation in estuary programs to protect natural
1-57     resources serves a public use and benefit.  The state and the
1-58     implementing agencies recognize the prerogatives of local
1-59     governments and the sanctity of private property rights.  No action
1-60     by an estuary program is intended to usurp the authority of any
1-61     local government.  A local government's participation in or
1-62     withdrawal from an estuary program is at the sole discretion of the
1-63     local government and is subject only to the local government's
1-64     obligation to complete any financial commitment it has made.
 2-1           Sec. 5.554.  LEAD STATE AGENCY.  The commission is the lead
 2-2     state agency for the implementation of approved  comprehensive
 2-3     conservation and management plans developed under the National
 2-4     Estuary Program.  The commission may accept federal grants for
 2-5     purposes of this subchapter and may award grants and enter into
 2-6     contracts with an implementing agency for the implementation of
 2-7     approved plans under this subchapter.
 2-8           Sec. 5.555.  STATE AGENCY PARTICIPATION.  (a)  The following
 2-9     state agencies shall participate and provide assistance to the
2-10     estuary programs in implementing approved comprehensive
2-11     conservation and management plans:
2-12                 (1)  the General Land Office;
2-13                 (2)  the Parks and Wildlife Department;
2-14                 (3)  the Texas Department of Transportation;
2-15                 (4)  the Railroad Commission of Texas;
2-16                 (5)  the State Soil and Water Conservation Board;
2-17                 (6)  the Texas Water Development Board; and
2-18                 (7)  the Texas Department of Health.
2-19           (b)  Other state agencies may participate as necessary or
2-20     convenient.
2-21           Sec. 5.556.  ESTUARY PROGRAM OFFICES.  To accomplish the
2-22     purposes of this subchapter, the estuary program office of any
2-23     estuary of the state included in the National Estuary Program and
2-24     for which the commission is the implementing agency shall be
2-25     maintained in the region of the estuary involved.
2-26           Sec. 5.557.  IMPLEMENTATION FUNDING.  Funding for the
2-27     implementation of approved comprehensive conservation and
2-28     management plans is to be shared by the state, local governments in
2-29     the area of the estuaries, the federal government, and other
2-30     participants.
2-31           Sec. 5.558.  ELIGIBILITY FOR STATE FUNDING.  A comprehensive
2-32     conservation and management plan is eligible for state funding to
2-33     assist in implementation of the plan if:
2-34                 (1)  the estuary involved has been designated jointly
2-35     by the governor and the United States Environmental Protection
2-36     Agency as an estuary of national significance in accordance with
2-37     Section 320 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.
2-38     Section 1330), as amended; and
2-39                 (2)  the comprehensive conservation and management plan
2-40     for the estuary involved, together with the accompanying
2-41     implementation plan, has been completed and approved.
2-42           Sec. 5.559.  ADMINISTRATION.  The commission, as the lead
2-43     state agency for administering the state's share of funds, and any
2-44     state agency designated as an implementing agency for an approved
2-45     comprehensive conservation and management plan may accept and make
2-46     grants and enter into contracts to accomplish the actions
2-47     identified in the approved plan and to further the purposes of this
2-48     subchapter.
2-49           SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-50     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-51     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-52     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-53     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
2-54     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
2-55     passage, and it is so enacted.
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