| TO: | Honorable Harvey Hilderbran, Chair, House Committee on State Cultural and Recreational Resources |
| FROM: | John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB1837 by Baxter (Relating to federal approval of land for habitat conservation.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted |
The bill would amend the Parks and Wildlife Code to require units of local government that entered into a conservation agreement with the US Department of the Interior developed in consultation with the US Parks and Wildlife Department to amend the plan or agreement to include land or conservation easements acquired with public money for any other environmentally related purpose after the original plan was submitted to the federal government. The bill would apply to conservation plans and agreements for which a federal permit was received prior to September 1, 1999; for which more than 1,000 acres of land was planned for acquisition; and for which the planned acquisitions are not complete by September 1, 2003.
The permit holder would be required to amend a plan or agreement not later than December 1, 2003 for all land and conservation easements acquired before that date. The permit holder would be required to prepare and file an additional amendment for every 1,000 acres of land or conservation easements acquired on or after December 1, 2003, not later than 60 days after the last acquisition. If the federal agency approves the use of all or part of the land listed in the amended plan or agreement, the local government unit would be required to reduce the number of acres that need to be acquired to complete land acquisition.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2003 and Section 83.021, Parks and Wildlife Code, that would be created by the bill would expire on September 1, 2005.
Revision of plans would require administrative costs that would include a review of the existing plan and other land or conservation easements acquired with public money for other environmentally related purposes, as well as preparing and submitting the revised plan. If the local government entity acquired land for other environmental purposes and if that land is accepted into the amended plan, the amount of land still to be acquired would be reduced proportionately.
| Source Agencies: | 802 Parks and Wildlife Department
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| LBB Staff: | JK, CL, DLBa
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