78R17449 E
By: Averitt S.B. No. 1828
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1828:
By: Hardcastle C.S.S.B. No. 1828
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the composition and duties of the State Soil and Water
Conservation Board.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 201.011, Agriculture Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 201.011. COMPOSITION. (a) The State Soil and Water
Conservation Board is a state agency composed of seven [five]
members as follows:
(1) [, with] one member elected from each of the state
districts in accordance with this subchapter; and
(2) two members appointed by the governor, each of
whom is:
(A) actively engaged in the business of farming,
animal husbandry, or other business related to agriculture and who
wholly or partly owns or leases land used in connection with that
business; and
(B) not a member of the board of directors of a
conservation district, but meets the qualifications listed under
Section 201.072.
(b) For the purposes of this section, the term "actively
engaged" refers to a person who derives at least 51 percent of the
person's income from farming, animal husbandry, or other business
related to agriculture and who wholly or partly owns land used in
connection with that business.
SECTION 2. Section 201.015(b), Agriculture Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The term of office of an elected [a] member of the state
board begins on the day after the day on which the member was
elected. The term of one member appointed by the governor expires
February 1 of each odd-numbered year, and the term of the other
member appointed by the governor expires February 1 of each
even-numbered year.
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 201, Agriculture Code, is
amended by adding Section 201.0152 to read as follows:
Sec. 201.0152. APPLICATION. Sections 201.0141, 201.0142,
and 201.0151 apply to the governor's appointees under this chapter.
SECTION 4. Sections 201.016, Agriculture Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 201.016. VACANCY. Vacancies in the state district
positions on the state board are filled by election in the manner
provided by this subchapter for an unexpired term or for a full
term.
SECTION 5. Section 201.019(a) and (d), Agriculture Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) The state board shall designate one of its elected
members as chairman.
(d) The state board may delegate any power or duty under
this chapter to its chairman, one or more of its elected members, or
one of more of its agents or employees.
SECTION 6. Subchapter B, Chapter 201, Agriculture Code, is
amended by adding Sections 201.028 and 201.029 to read as follows:
Sec. 201.028. SEMIANNUAL REPORT. Not later than January 1
and July 1 of each year, the state board shall prepare and deliver
to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the
house of representatives a report relating to the status of the
board's activities, including outreach programs, grants made and
received, federal funding applied for and received, any special
projects, and the board's oversight of water conservation district
activities.
Sec. 201.029. MANAGEMENT AUDIT. (a) Not later than March
1, 2004, the state auditor, in coordination with the Legislative
Budget Board, shall conduct a management audit of the state board
and deliver a report of the audit to the governor, the lieutenant
governor, and the speaker of the house of representatives. The
audit must include an evaluation of the state board's
administrative budget.
(b) This section expires April 1, 2004.
SECTION 7. Sections 203.011, 203.012, 203.013, 203.016, and
203.051, Agriculture Code, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 203.011. AUTHORITY OF BOARD. The board has
jurisdiction over and, with the assistance of local districts,
shall administer the brush control program under this chapter.
Sec. 203.012. RULES. The board, after consulting with
local districts, shall adopt reasonable rules that are necessary to
carry out this chapter.
Sec. 203.013. AUTHORITY OF DISTRICTS. Each district [in
which all or part of a critical area is located] may carry out the
responsibilities provided by Subchapter D [of this code] as
delegated by the board [in that critical area].
Sec. 203.016. CONSULTATION. The State Soil and Water
Conservation Board [board] shall consult with:
(1) the Texas Water Development Board in regard to the
effects of the brush control program on water quantity;
(2) the department in regard to the effects of the
brush control program on agriculture; and
(3) the Parks and Wildlife Department in regard to the
effects of the brush control program on fish and wildlife.
Sec. 203.051. STATE PLAN. The board shall prepare and adopt
a state brush control plan that shall:
(1) include a comprehensive strategy for managing
brush in all areas of the state where brush is contributing to a
substantial water conservation problem; and
(2) rank [designate] areas of [critical need in] the
state in need of a [which to implement the] brush control program,
as provided by Section 203.053.
SECTION 8. Sections 203.052(b), (c), and (d), Agriculture
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) Not less than 30 days before the date the hearing is to
be held, the board shall mail written notice of the hearing to each
district in the state. The notice must:
(1) include the date and place for holding the
hearing;
(2) [and must] state the purpose for holding the
hearing; and
(3) include instructions for each district to submit
written comments on the proposed plan.
(c) At the hearing, representatives of a district and any
other person may appear and present testimony including information
and suggestions for any changes in the proposed plan. The board
shall enter into the record any written comments received on the
proposed plan and shall consider all written comments and testimony
before taking final action on the plan.
(d) After the conclusion of the hearing, the board shall
consider the testimony, including the information and suggestions
made at the hearing and in written comments, and[,] after making any
changes in the proposed plan that it finds necessary, the board
shall adopt the plan.
SECTION 9. Sections 203.053, 203.055, and 203.101,
Agriculture Code, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 203.053. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING BRUSH CONTROL
[DESIGNATING CRITICAL] AREAS. (a) In ranking [designating
critical] areas under the plan, the board shall consider:
(1) the location of various brush infestations;
(2) the type and severity of [various] brush
infestations;
(3) the various management methods that may be used to
control brush; [and]
(4) the amount of water produced by a project and the
severity of water shortage in the project area; and
(5) any other criteria that the board considers
relevant to assure that the brush control program can be most
effectively, efficiently, and economically implemented.
(b) In ranking [designating critical] areas, the board
shall give priority to areas with the most critical water
conservation needs and in which brush control and revegetation
projects will be most likely to produce substantial water
conservation.
Sec. 203.055. APPROVED METHODS FOR BRUSH CONTROL. (a) The
board shall study and must approve all methods used to control brush
under this chapter [Act] considering the overall impact of the
project [will have within critical areas].
(b) The board may approve a method for use under the
cost-sharing program provided by Subchapter E [of this chapter] if
the board finds that the proposed method:
(1) has proven to be an effective and efficient method
for controlling brush;
(2) is cost efficient;
(3) will have a beneficial impact on the development
of water sources and wildlife habitat;
(4) will maintain topsoil to prevent erosion or
silting of any river or stream; and
(5) will allow the revegetation of the area after the
brush is removed with plants that are beneficial to stream flows,
groundwater levels, and livestock and wildlife.
Sec. 203.101. GENERAL AUTHORITY. Each district may
administer the aspects of the brush control program [within any
critical area located] within the jurisdiction of that district.
SECTION 10. Section 203.154, Agriculture Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections (d) and
(e) to read as follows:
(a) Not more than 70 [80] percent of the total cost of a
single brush control project may be made available as the state's
share in cost sharing.
(c) The board may grant an exception to Subsection (b) [of
this section] if the board finds that joint participation of the
state brush control program and any federal brush control program
will:
(1) enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of a
project; [and]
(2) lessen the state's financial commitment to the
project; and
(3) not exceed 80 percent of the total cost of the
project.
(d) A political subdivision is eligible for cost sharing
under the brush control program, provided that the state's share
may not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of a single project.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
100 percent of the total cost of a single project on public lands
may be made available as the state's share in cost sharing.
SECTION 11. Sections 203.156, 203.157, and 203.158,
Agriculture Code, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 203.156. APPLICATION FOR COST SHARING. A person,
including a political subdivision, that [who] desires to
participate with the state in a brush control project and to obtain
cost-sharing participation by the state shall file an application
with the district board in the district in which the land on which
the project is to be accomplished is located. The application must
be in the form provided by board rules.
Sec. 203.157. CONSIDERATIONS IN PASSING ON APPLICATION. In
passing on an application for cost sharing, the board shall
consider:
(1) the location of [whether] the project [is to be
carried out in a critical area];
(2) the method of control that is to be used by the
project applicant;
(3) the plans for revegetation;
(4) the total cost of the project;
(5) the amount of land to be included in the project;
(6) whether the applicant for the project is
financially able to provide the applicant's [his] share of the
money for the project;
(7) the cost-share percentage, if an applicant agrees
to a higher degree of financial commitment;
(8) any comments and recommendations submitted by a
local district, the department, the Texas Water Development Board,
or [of] the Parks and Wildlife Department; and
(9) any other pertinent information considered
necessary by the board.
Sec. 203.158. APPROVAL OF APPLICATION. The board may
approve an application if, after considering the factors listed in
Section 203.157 [of this code] and any other relevant factors, the
board finds:
(1) the owner of the land fully agrees to cooperate in
the project;
(2) the method of eradication is a method approved by
the board under Section 203.055 [of this code]; and
(3) the project is a higher priority than other
projects submitted in accordance with [to be carried out in a
critical area designated under] the board's plan.
SECTION 12. Sections 203.159(a) and (c), Agriculture Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) If the demand for funds under the cost-sharing program
is greater than funds available, the board shall [may] establish
priorities favoring the areas with the most critical water
conservation needs and projects that will be most likely to produce
substantial water conservation.
(c) The quantity of stream flows or groundwater or [amount
of land dedicated to the project that will produce significant]
water conservation from the eradication of brush is a consideration
in assigning priority.
SECTION 13. (a) Section 203.001(5), Agriculture Code, is
repealed.
(b) Section 203.155, Agriculture Code, is repealed.
SECTION 14. In making initial appointments to the State
Soil and Water Conservation Board under Section 201.011,
Agriculture Code, as amended by this Act, the governor shall
designate one member to serve a term expiring February 1, 2004, and
one member to serve a term expiring February 1, 2005.
SECTION 15. The State Soil and Water Conservation Board
shall prepare and deliver the first report required by Section
201.028, Agriculture Code, as added by this Act, not later than
January 1, 2004.
SECTION 16. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.