79R14103 SMH-F
By: Eiland, Seaman, Escobar H.B. No. 3128
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3128:
By: Escobar C.S.H.B. No. 3128
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to funding of coastal erosion response activities and the
coastal management program; imposing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 33.604, Natural Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 33.604. COASTAL EROSION RESPONSE ACCOUNT. (a) The
coastal erosion response account is an account in the coastal
protection [general revenue] fund established under Section 40.151
that may be appropriated only to the commissioner and used only for
the purpose of implementing this subchapter and Subchapter F.
(b) The account consists of:
(1) all money appropriated for the purposes of this
subchapter and Subchapter F;
(2) grants to this state from the United States for the
purposes of this subchapter and Subchapter F; [and]
(3) all money received by this state from the sale of
dredged material; and
(4) waste tire fees collected under Section 33.6045.
SECTION 2. Subchapter H, Chapter 33, Natural Resources
Code, is amended by adding Section 33.6045 to read as follows:
Sec. 33.6045. WASTE TIRE FEE. (a) A wholesale or retail
tire dealer who sells or offers to sell new tires not for resale
shall collect at the time and place of sale a waste tire fee of:
(1) 75 cents for each new automobile or truck tire that
has a rim diameter of 12 inches or more, other than an off-the-road
tire intended for use on heavy machinery, including an earthmover,
a loader/dozer, a grader, or mining equipment; or
(2) 75 cents for a new motorcycle tire, regardless of
the rim diameter.
(b) A dealer required to collect a fee under this section
may retain two and one-half cents from each fee the dealer collects.
A dealer shall account for amounts retained under this subsection
in the manner prescribed by the comptroller.
(c) A dealer required to collect a fee under this section:
(1) shall list as a separate item on an invoice a fee
due under this section; and
(2) except as provided by Subsection (d), on or before
the 20th day of the month following the end of each calendar month
and on a form and in the manner prescribed by the comptroller, shall
file a report with and shall remit to the comptroller the amount of
fees collected during the preceding calendar month.
(d) A person required to collect a fee under this section
who collects less than $50 for a calendar month or less than $150
for a calendar quarter is not required to file a monthly report but
shall file a quarterly report with and make a quarterly remittance
to the comptroller. The quarterly report and remittance shall
include fees collected during the preceding calendar quarter. The
report and remittance are due not later than the 20th day of the
month following the end of the calendar quarter.
(e) The comptroller shall deposit the amount of the fees
collected under this section to the credit of the account.
(f) The comptroller shall adopt rules necessary for the
administration, collection, reporting, and payment of the fees
payable or collected under this section.
SECTION 3. Section 33.605(a), Natural Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Money in the account may be used for any action
authorized by this subchapter or Subchapter F.
SECTION 4. Sections 40.151(a) and (b), Natural Resources
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The purpose of this subchapter is to provide immediately
available funds for response to all unauthorized discharges, for
cleanup of pollution from unauthorized discharges of oil, for
payment of damages from unauthorized discharges of oil, [and] for
erosion response projects, and for implementation of the coastal
management program.
(b) The coastal protection fund is established in the state
treasury to be used by the commissioner as a nonlapsing revolving
fund only for carrying out the purposes of this chapter and of
Subchapters F and [Subchapter] H, Chapter 33. To this fund shall be
credited all fees, penalties, judgments, reimbursements, interest
or income on the fund, [and] charges provided for in this chapter,
[and] the fee revenues levied, collected, and credited pursuant to
this chapter, and all money credited to the coastal erosion
response account under Section 33.604. The fund shall not exceed
$50 million, exclusive of the amount of money in the coastal erosion
response account.
SECTION 5. Section 40.152(a), Natural Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Money in the fund may be disbursed for the following
purposes and no others:
(1) administrative expenses, personnel and training
expenses, and equipment maintenance and operating costs related to
implementation and enforcement of this chapter;
(2) response costs related to abatement and
containment of actual or threatened unauthorized discharges of oil
incidental to unauthorized discharges of hazardous substances;
(3) response costs and damages related to actual or
threatened unauthorized discharges of oil;
(4) assessment, restoration, rehabilitation, or
replacement of or mitigation of damage to natural resources damaged
by an unauthorized discharge of oil;
(5) in an amount not to exceed $50,000 annually, the
small spill education program;
(6) in an amount not to exceed $1,250,000 annually,
interagency contracts under Section 40.302;
(7) the purchase of response equipment under Section
40.105 within two years of the effective date of this chapter, in an
amount not to exceed $4 million; thereafter, for the purchase of
equipment to replace equipment that is worn or obsolete;
(8) other costs and damages authorized by this
chapter;
(9) in an amount not to exceed $32 million each state
fiscal biennium [the interest accruing to the fund annually],
erosion response projects under Subchapter H, Chapter 33, and costs
necessary to administer the coastal management program under
Subchapter F, Chapter 33; and
(10) in conjunction with the Railroad Commission of
Texas, costs related to the plugging of abandoned or orphaned oil
wells located on state-owned submerged lands.
SECTION 6. Section 40.155, Natural Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 40.155. DETERMINATION OF FEE. (a) Except as otherwise
provided in this section, the rate of the fee shall be two cents per
barrel of crude oil until the commissioner certifies that the
unencumbered balance in the fund has reached $25 million, exclusive
of the amount of money in the coastal erosion response account. The
commissioner shall certify to the comptroller the date on which the
unencumbered balance in the fund exceeds $25 million, exclusive of
the amount of money in the coastal erosion response account. The
fee shall not be collected or required to be paid on or after the
first day of the second month following the commissioner's
certification to the comptroller that the unencumbered balance in
the fund exceeds $25 million, exclusive of the amount of money in
the coastal erosion response account.
(b) If the unencumbered balance in the fund falls below $14
million, exclusive of the amount of money in the coastal erosion
response account, the commissioner shall certify such fact to the
comptroller. On receiving the commissioner's certification, the
comptroller shall resume collecting the fee until suspended in the
manner provided in Subsection (a) [of this section].
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection (a) or (b)
[of this section], the fee shall be levied at the rate of four cents
per barrel if the commissioner certifies to the comptroller a
written finding of the following facts:
(1) the unencumbered balance in the fund is less than
$25 million, exclusive of the amount of money in the coastal erosion
response account;
(2) an unauthorized discharge of oil in excess of
100,000 gallons has occurred within the previous 30 days; and
(3) expenditures from the fund for response costs and
damages are expected to deplete the fund substantially, exclusive
of the amount of money in the coastal erosion response account.
(d) In the event of a certification to the comptroller under
Subsection (c) [of this section], the comptroller shall collect the
fee at the rate of four cents per barrel until the unencumbered
balance in the fund reaches $25 million or any lesser amount that
the commissioner determines is necessary to pay response costs and
damages without substantially depleting the fund, exclusive of the
amount of money in the coastal erosion response account. The
commissioner shall certify to the comptroller the date on which the
unencumbered balance in the fund exceeds $25 million or such other
lesser amount, exclusive of the amount of money in the coastal
erosion response account. The fee shall not be collected or
required to be paid on or after the first day of the second month
following the commissioner's certification to the comptroller.
(e) For purposes of this section, the unencumbered balance
of the fund, exclusive of the amount of money in the coastal erosion
response account, shall be determined by the unencumbered cash
balance of the fund, exclusive of that amount, at the end of each
month or on the date of a finding under Subsection (c) [of this
section].
SECTION 7. The comptroller of public accounts may adopt
emergency rules for the implementation of Section 33.6045, Natural
Resources Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect on the first day of the
first month beginning on or after the earliest date on which this
Act may take effect if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the
members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article
III, Texas Constitution.