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Amend CSSB 3 (house committee printing) as follows:
(1) In ARTICLE 2 of the bill, add the following
appropriately numbered SECTION and renumber subsequent SECTIONS of
that ARTICLE accordingly:
SECTION 2.____. The change in law made by this article to
Section 16.315, Water Code, takes effect September 1, 2007, but
only if Article 4 of this Act does not take effect.
(2) Between ARTICLES 3 and 4 of the bill (page 63, between
lines 17 and 18), insert the following new ARTICLE and renumber the
subsequent ARTICLES of the bill accordingly:
ARTICLE 4. TRANSFER OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE NATIONAL FLOOD
INSURANCE PROGRAM FROM THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY TO THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD AND ADMINISTRATION AND
FUNDING OF THE PROGRAM
SECTION 4.01. Section 251.004, Insurance Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 251.004. DEPOSIT OF MAINTENANCE TAXES. (a) Except as
provided by Subsection (b), maintenance [Maintenance] taxes
collected under this subtitle shall be deposited in the general
revenue fund and reallocated to the Texas Department of Insurance
operating account.
(b) Each state fiscal year, the comptroller shall
reallocate to the floodplain management account established under
Section 16.3161, Water Code, the first $3.05 million of the
maintenance taxes collected under Chapter 252 and deposited in the
general revenue fund.
SECTION 4.02. Subsection (a), Section 5.013, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission has general jurisdiction over:
(1) water and water rights including the issuance of
water rights permits, water rights adjudication, cancellation of
water rights, and enforcement of water rights;
(2) continuing supervision over districts created
under Article III, Sections 52(b)(1) and (2), and Article XVI,
Section 59, of the Texas Constitution;
(3) the state's water quality program including
issuance of permits, enforcement of water quality rules, standards,
orders, and permits, and water quality planning;
(4) the determination of the feasibility of certain
federal projects;
(5) the adoption and enforcement of rules and
performance of other acts relating to the safe construction,
maintenance, and removal of dams;
(6) conduct of the state's hazardous spill prevention
and control program;
(7) the administration of the state's program relating
to inactive hazardous substance, pollutant, and contaminant
disposal facilities;
(8) the administration of a portion of the state's
injection well program;
(9) the administration of the state's programs
involving underground water and water wells and drilled and mined
shafts;
(10) the state's responsibilities relating to regional
waste disposal;
(11) the responsibilities assigned to the commission
by Chapters 361, 363, 382, and 401, Health and Safety Code;
(12) [the administration of the national flood
insurance program;
[(13)] administration of the state's water rate
program under Chapter 13 of this code; and
(13) [(14)] any other areas assigned to the commission
by this code and other laws of this state.
SECTION 4.03. Subsection (a), Section 6.012, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The board has general jurisdiction over:
(1) the development of a statewide water plan;
(2) the administration of the state's various water
assistance and financing programs including those created by the
constitution; [and]
(3) the administration of the National Flood Insurance
Program; and
(4) other areas specifically assigned to the board by
this code or other law.
SECTION 4.04. Section 16.314, Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 16.314. COOPERATION OF BOARD [COMMISSION]. In
recognition of the necessity for a coordinated effort at all levels
of government, the board [commission] shall cooperate with the
Federal Emergency Management Agency in the planning and carrying
out of state participation in the National Flood Insurance Program;
however, the responsibility for qualifying for the National Flood
Insurance Program shall belong to any interested political
subdivision, whether presently in existence or created in the
future.
SECTION 4.05. Section 16.315, Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 16.315. POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS; COMPLIANCE WITH
FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS. All political subdivisions are hereby
authorized to take all necessary and reasonable actions that are
not less stringent than [to comply with] the requirements and
criteria of the National Flood Insurance Program, including but not
limited to:
(1) making appropriate land use adjustments to
constrict the development of land which is exposed to flood damage
and minimize damage caused by flood losses;
(2) guiding the development of proposed future
construction, where practicable, away from a location which is
threatened by flood hazards;
(3) assisting in minimizing damage caused by floods;
(4) authorizing and engaging in continuing studies of
flood hazards in order to facilitate a constant reappraisal of the
flood insurance program and its effect on land use requirements;
(5) engaging in floodplain management, [and] adopting
and enforcing permanent land use and control measures that are not
less stringent than those [consistent with the criteria]
established under the National Flood Insurance Act, and providing
for the imposition of penalties on landowners who violate this
subchapter or rules adopted or orders issued under this subchapter;
(6) declaring property, when such is the case, to be in
violation of local laws, regulations, or ordinances which are
intended to discourage or otherwise restrict land development or
occupancy in flood-prone areas and notifying the director, or
whomever the director designates, of such property;
(7) consulting with, giving information to, and
entering into agreements with the Federal Emergency Management
Agency for the purpose of:
(A) identifying and publishing information with
respect to all flood areas, including coastal areas; and
(B) establishing flood-risk zones in all such
areas and making estimates with respect to the rates of probable
flood-caused loss for the various flood-risk zones for each of
these areas;
(8) cooperating with the director's studies and
investigations with respect to the adequacy of local measures in
flood-prone areas as to land management and use, flood control,
flood zoning, and flood damage prevention;
(9) taking steps, using regional, watershed, and
multi-objective approaches, to improve the long-range management
and use of flood-prone areas;
(10) purchasing, leasing, and receiving property from
the director when such property is owned by the federal government
and lies within the boundaries of the political subdivision
pursuant to agreements with the Federal Emergency Management Agency
or other appropriate legal representative of the United States
Government;
(11) requesting aid pursuant to the entire
authorization from the board [commission];
(12) satisfying criteria adopted and promulgated by
the board [commission] pursuant to the National Flood Insurance
Program;
(13) adopting permanent land use and control measures
with enforcement provisions that are not less stringent than [which
are consistent with] the criteria for land management and use
adopted by the director;
(14) adopting more comprehensive floodplain
management rules that the political subdivision determines are
necessary for planning and appropriate to protect public health and
safety;
(15) participating in floodplain management and
mitigation initiatives such as the National Flood Insurance
Program's Community Rating System, Project Impact, or other
initiatives developed by federal, state, or local government; and
(16) collecting reasonable fees to cover the cost of
administering a local floodplain management program.
SECTION 4.06. Section 16.316, Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 16.316. COORDINATION OF LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL
PROGRAMS BY BOARD [COMMISSION]. (a) The board [commission] shall
aid, advise, and coordinate the efforts of present and future
political subdivisions endeavoring to qualify for participation in
the National Flood Insurance Program.
(b) Pursuant to the National Flood Insurance Program and
state and local efforts complementing the program, the board
[commission] shall aid, advise, and cooperate with political
subdivisions, the Texas Department of Insurance, and the Federal
Emergency Management Agency when aid, advice, and cooperation are
requested or deemed advisable by the board [commission].
(c) The aforementioned aid may include but is not
necessarily limited to:
(1) coordinating local, state, and federal programs
relating to floods, flood losses, and floodplain management;
(2) evaluating the present structure of all federal,
state, and political subdivision flood control programs within or
adjacent to the state, including an assessment of the extent to
which public and private floodplain management activities have been
instituted;
(3) carrying out studies with respect to the adequacy
of present public and private measures, laws, regulations, and
ordinances in flood-prone areas as to land management and use,
flood control, flood zoning, and flood damage prevention;
(4) evaluating all available engineering, hydrologic,
and geologic data relevant to flood-prone areas and flood control
in those areas; [and]
(5) carrying out floodplain studies and mapping
programs of floodplains, flood-prone areas, and flood-risk zones;
(6) encouraging the Federal Emergency Management
Agency to evaluate flood-prone areas by river basin and river
system;
(7) coordinating the use of federal, state, and local
grant money;
(8) making floodplain maps and floodplain information
accessible to the public, including in an electronic format through
the board's Internet website; and
(9) maintaining at least one staff member in each of
the board's field offices to encourage participation in the
National Flood Insurance Program by performing education and
outreach and coordinating the efforts of political subdivisions.
(d) On the basis of such studies and evaluations, the board
[commission], to the extent of its capabilities, shall periodically
identify and publish information and maps with respect to all
floodplain areas, including the state's coastal area, which have
flood hazards, and where possible aid the federal government in
identifying and establishing flood-risk zones in all such areas.
SECTION 4.07. Subchapter I, Chapter 16, Water Code, is
amended by adding Section 16.3161 to read as follows:
Sec. 16.3161. FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT ACCOUNT. (a) The
floodplain management account is a special fund in the state
treasury outside the general revenue fund. The fund is composed of:
(1) money deposited to the credit of the account under
Section 251.004, Insurance Code;
(2) money directly appropriated to the board; and
(3) money from gifts or grants from the United States
government, local or regional governments, private sources, or
other sources.
(b) The account shall be administered by the board in
accordance with this section.
(c) The board may use the account to fund the performance of
the board's functions under Section 16.316.
(d) The board may invest, reinvest, and direct the
investment of any available money in the account as provided by law
for the investment of money under Section 404.024, Government Code.
SECTION 4.08. Section 16.317, Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 16.317. COOPERATION OF TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE.
Pursuant to the National Flood Insurance Program, the Texas
Department of Insurance shall aid, advise, and cooperate with
political subdivisions, the board [commission], and the Federal
Emergency Management Agency when such aid, advice, and cooperation
are requested or deemed advisable by the Texas Department of
Insurance.
SECTION 4.09. Section 16.318, Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 16.318. RULES. Political subdivisions which qualify
for the National Flood Insurance Program, the Texas Department of
Insurance, and the board [commission] may adopt and promulgate
reasonable rules which are necessary for the orderly effectuation
of the respective authorizations herein.
SECTION 4.10. (a) Not later than January 1, 2008:
(1) all powers, duties, obligations, rights,
contracts, leases, records, assets, property, funds, and
appropriations of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
that relate primarily to the administration of the National Flood
Insurance Program are transferred to the Texas Water Development
Board;
(2) all rules, policies, forms, procedures, and
decisions of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that
relate primarily to the administration of the National Flood
Insurance Program are continued in effect as rules, policies,
forms, procedures, and decisions of the Texas Water Development
Board, until superseded by a rule or other appropriate action of the
Texas Water Development Board; and
(3) any investigation, complaint, action, contested
case, or other proceeding involving the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality that relates primarily to the administration
of the National Flood Insurance Program is transferred without
change in status to the Texas Water Development Board, and the Texas
Water Development Board assumes, without a change in status, the
position of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in any
investigation, complaint, action, contested case, or other
proceeding that relates primarily to the administration of the
National Flood Insurance Program involving the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
(b) The transfer of the powers and duties of the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality that relate primarily to the
administration of the National Flood Insurance Program to the Texas
Water Development Board does not affect the validity of a right,
privilege, or obligation accrued, a contract or acquisition made,
any liability incurred, a permit or license issued, a penalty,
forfeiture, or punishment assessed, a rule adopted, a proceeding,
investigation, or remedy begun, a decision made, or other action
taken by or in connection with the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
SECTION 4.11. This article takes effect September 1, 2007,
but only if before that date the 80th Legislature appropriates at
least $6.1 million to the Texas Water Development Board for the
state fiscal biennium beginning September 1, 2007, specifically
for the purpose of administering the National Flood Insurance
Program. If before that date the 80th Legislature does not
appropriate at least that amount to the Texas Water Development
Board for that state fiscal biennium specifically for that purpose,
this article has no effect.