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Amend CSHB 7 by striking Section 9.01 of the bill and 
substituting:        
	SECTION 9.01.  (a)  It is the policy of this state to be 
effective and efficient with public funds, to provide for effective 
and efficient management of natural resources, to provide for 
effective and consistent enforcement of state and federal laws, to 
protect the health and safety of the people of this state, to 
promote fair economic development, and to serve the people of this 
state by making the government more visible, accessible, coherent, 
consistent, and accountable to the people of this state.  The 
legislature finds that the Texas Commission on Environmental 
Quality's procedures for processing permits is cumbersome, 
confusing, lengthy, and inefficient for citizens, business, 
political subdivisions, and the commission and finds that the 
commission's procedures for assessing and enforcing penalties for 
noncompliance with state and federal environmental laws may need to 
be updated and strengthened to deter noncompliance.
	(b)  The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's 
permitting and enforcement processes warrant, and the legislature 
directs, an in-depth evaluation, including the identification of 
problems, potential options, and solutions.  The evaluation must 
solicit and consider input from all stakeholders, and the 
evaluation process must include public hearings and the opportunity 
for submission of written and oral comments.  At least two of the 
public hearings must be held in affected communities outside the 
greater Austin area.  The solutions identified in the final 
assessment of the commission's permitting and enforcement 
processes must ensure that:
		(1)  all relevant environmental protection standards 
are maintained at a level that at least equals the current level;
		(2)  the commission's permitting processes are 
streamlined;                 
		(3)  the commission's permitting processes are 
user-friendly to citizens and promote sound economic development;
		(4)  the commission's enforcement procedures and 
penalties for noncompliance reflect any potential economic benefit 
to the offender;
		(5)  the commission's enforcement procedures account 
for the full cost to human health of noncompliance;
		(6)  the division of responsibility between the 
commission and the office of the attorney general is efficient and 
effectively obtains the maximum degree of environmental compliance 
possible; and
		(7)  all stakeholder concerns are considered.                                 
	(c)  The comptroller of public accounts shall conduct the 
evaluation and final assessment required by Subsection (b) of this 
section and shall submit the comptroller's findings not later than 
December 1, 2004, to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the 
speaker of the house of representatives, the Texas Commission on 
Environmental Quality, and the presiding officer of the standing 
committee of each house of the legislature that has primary 
jurisdiction over environmental issues.
	(d)  It is the intent of the legislature to effectuate the 
appropriate solutions through legislation at the earliest 
opportunity after receipt of the comptroller's final assessment.