1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the authority of the Texas Transportation Commission to
1-3 acquire certain protected property.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 51.005, Transportation Code, is amended by
1-6 amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
1-7 follows:
1-8 (b) The commission may not:
1-9 (1) acquire oil, gas, sulphur, or other minerals that
1-10 may be recovered without using the surface of land acquired by the
1-11 commission for exploration, drilling, or mining purposes; [or]
1-12 (2) condemn any submerged public land under the
1-13 jurisdiction of the School Land Board; or
1-14 (3) acquire property, before September 1, 2005, for
1-15 use as a disposal site for dredged material from the Laguna Madre
1-16 if the property, on October 1, 1997, was subject to a habitat
1-17 conservation plan.
1-18 (d) In this section, "habitat conservation plan" has the
1-19 meaning assigned by Section 83.011, Parks and Wildlife Code.
1-20 SECTION 2. (a) The House Committee on Land and Resource
1-21 Management shall conduct an interim study on placement and use
1-22 options for dredged material from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway,
1-23 including:
1-24 (1) open and contained bay placement;
2-1 (2) upland placement;
2-2 (3) placement in the Gulf of Mexico;
2-3 (4) placement to maintain, expand, or enhance dredged
2-4 material islands;
2-5 (5) other placement and use options providing
2-6 environmental, recreational, economic, or other benefits; and
2-7 (6) a determination on whether differences in the
2-8 composition of the dredged material or other factors require
2-9 different placement or use policies for different reaches of the
2-10 Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.
2-11 (b) Not later than November 1, 2002, the House Committee on
2-12 Land and Resource Management shall report its findings and
2-13 recommendations to the speaker of the house of representatives and
2-14 the legislature.
2-15 (c) This section expires on November 2, 2002.
2-16 SECTION 3. If the Texas Department of Transportation is
2-17 prohibited by a federal study from using open water disposal
2-18 methods for Laguna Madre dredge spoils, Section 51.005(b)(3)
2-19 expires:
2-20 (1) on September 1, 2003, if the federal study is
2-21 issued on or before September 1, 2003, and filed by the Texas
2-22 Department of Transportation with the Texas Transportation
2-23 Commission; or
2-24 (2) on the date on which the federal study is filed by
2-25 the Texas Department of Transportation with the Texas
2-26 Transportation Commission, if the study is issued after September
2-27 1, 2003.
3-1 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
_______________________________ _______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2684 was passed by the House on May
3, 2001, by a non-record vote; that the House refused to concur in
Senate amendments to H.B. No. 2684 on May 24, 2001, and requested
the appointment of a conference committee to consider the
differences between the two houses; and that the House adopted the
conference committee report on H.B. No. 2684 on May 27, 2001, by a
non-record vote.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2684 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 21, 2001, by a viva-voce vote; at the request of
the House, the Senate appointed a conference committee to consider
the differences between the two houses; and that the Senate adopted
the conference committee report on H.B. No. 2684 on May 27, 2001,
by a viva-voce vote.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________________
Date
__________________________
Governor