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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the authority of certain counties and the General Land |
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Office to temporarily close a beach or beach access point. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 61.001, Natural Resources Code, is |
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amended by adding Subdivision (4-a) to read as follows: |
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(4-a) "Launch" and "space flight activities" have the |
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meanings assigned by Section 100A.001, Civil Practice and Remedies |
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Code. |
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SECTION 2. Section 61.011(d), Natural Resources Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(d) The commissioner shall promulgate rules, consistent |
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with the policies established in this section, on the following |
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matters only: |
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(1) acquisition by local governments or other |
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appropriate entities or public dedication of access ways sufficient |
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to provide adequate public ingress and egress to and from the beach |
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within the area described in Subdivision (6); |
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(2) protection of the public easement from erosion or |
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reduction caused by development or other activities on adjacent |
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land and beach cleanup and maintenance; |
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(3) local government prohibitions of vehicular |
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traffic on public beaches, provision of off-beach parking, the use |
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on a public beach of a golf cart, as defined by Section 502.001, |
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Transportation Code, for the transportation of a person with a |
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physical disability, and other minimum measures needed to mitigate |
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for any adverse effect on public access and dune areas; |
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(4) imposition of beach access, user, or parking fees |
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and reasonable exercises of the police power by local governments |
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with respect to public beaches; |
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(5) contents and certification of beach access and use |
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plans and standards for local government review of construction on |
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land adjacent to and landward of public beaches, including |
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procedures for expedited review of beach access and use plans under |
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Section 61.015; |
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(6) construction on land adjacent to and landward of |
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public beaches and lying in the area either up to the first public |
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road generally parallel to the beach or to any closer public road |
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not parallel to the beach, or to within 1,000 feet of mean high |
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tide, whichever is greater, that affects or may affect public |
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access to and use of public beaches; |
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(7) the temporary suspension under Section 61.0185 of |
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enforcement of the prohibition against encroachments on and |
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interferences with the public beach easement and the ability of a |
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property owner to make repairs to a house while a suspension is in |
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effect; |
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(8) the determination of the line of vegetation or |
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natural line of vegetation; |
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(9) the factors to be considered in determining |
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whether a structure, improvement, obstruction, barrier, or hazard |
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on the public beach: |
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(A) constitutes an imminent hazard to safety, |
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health, or public welfare; or |
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(B) substantially interferes with the free and |
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unrestricted right of the public to enter or leave the public beach |
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or traverse any part of the public beach; [and] |
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(10) the procedures for determining whether a |
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structure is not insurable property for purposes of Section |
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2210.004, Insurance Code, because of the factors listed in |
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Subsection (h) of that section; and |
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(11) the closure of beaches for space flight |
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activities. |
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SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 61, Natural Resources |
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Code, is amended by adding Section 61.132 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 61.132. CLOSING OF BEACHES FOR SPACE FLIGHT |
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ACTIVITIES. (a) This section applies only to a county bordering on |
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the Gulf of Mexico or its tidewater limits that contains a launch |
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site the construction and operation of which have been approved in a |
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record of decision issued by the Federal Aviation Administration |
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following the preparation of an environmental impact statement by |
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that administration. |
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(b) A person planning to conduct a launch in a county to |
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which this section applies must submit to the commissioners court |
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proposed primary and backup launch dates for the launch. |
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(c) To protect the public health, safety, and welfare, the |
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commissioners court by order may temporarily close a beach in |
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reasonable proximity to the launch site or access points to the |
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beach in the county on a primary or backup launch date, subject to |
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Subsection (d). |
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(d) The commissioners court may not close a beach or access |
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points to the beach on a primary launch date consisting of any of |
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the following days without the approval of the land office: |
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(1) the Saturday or Sunday preceding Memorial Day; |
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(2) Memorial Day; |
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(3) July 4; |
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(4) Labor Day; or |
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(5) a Saturday or Sunday that is after Memorial Day but |
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before Labor Day. |
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(e) The commissioners court must comply with the county's |
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beach access and use plan adopted and certified under Section |
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61.015 and dune protection plan adopted and certified under Chapter |
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63 when closing a beach or access point under this section. |
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(f) The land office may: |
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(1) approve or deny a beach or access point closure |
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request under Subsection (d); |
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(2) enter into a memorandum of agreement with the |
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commissioners court of a county to which this section applies to |
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govern beach and access point closures made under this section; and |
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(3) adopt rules to govern beach and access point |
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closures made under this section. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |
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