By Brown                                              S.B. No. 1390
         77R4184 MI-F                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the penalties for operating certain facilities without
 1-3     obtaining a permit under the Texas Clean Air Act.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1. Subchapter L, Chapter 5, Water Code, is amended by
 1-6     adding Section 5.5145 to read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 5.5145.  EMERGENCY ORDER CONCERNING OPERATION OF
 1-8     CONCRETE PLANT WITHOUT PERMIT.  The commission shall issue an
 1-9     emergency order under this subchapter suspending operations of a
1-10     concrete plant that performs wet batching, dry batching, or central
1-11     mixing and is required to obtain a permit under Section 382.0518,
1-12     Health and Safety Code, and is operating without the necessary
1-13     permit.
1-14           SECTION 2. Section 7.052, Water Code, is amended by adding a
1-15     new Subsection (b), relettering existing Subsection (b) as
1-16     Subsection (c), and  amending and relettering existing Subsection
1-17     (c) as Subsection (d) to read as follows:
1-18           (b)  The amount of the penalty for operating a concrete plant
1-19     that performs wet batching, dry batching, or central mixing, that
1-20     is required to obtain a permit under Section 382.0518, Health and
1-21     Safety Code, and that is operating without the required permit is
1-22     $10,000. Each day that a continuing violation occurs is a separate
1-23     violation.
1-24           (c)  The amount of the penalty for all other violations
 2-1     within the jurisdiction of the commission to enforce may not exceed
 2-2     $10,000 a day for each violation.
 2-3           (d)  Except as provided by Subsection (b), each [(c)  Each]
 2-4     day that a continuing violation occurs may be considered a separate
 2-5     violation.  The commission may authorize an installment payment
 2-6     schedule for an administrative penalty assessed under this
 2-7     subchapter, except for an administrative penalty assessed under
 2-8     Section 7.057 or assessed after a hearing under Section 7.058.
 2-9           SECTION 3. The changes in law made by Section 5.5145, Water
2-10     Code, as added by this Act, and Section 7.052, Water Code, as
2-11     amended by this Act, apply only to a violation that occurs on or
2-12     after the effective date of this Act.  A violation that occurs
2-13     before that date is governed by the law in effect at the time the
2-14     violation occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for
2-15     that purpose.
2-16           SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.