H.B. No. 3459

AN ACT

relating to access to and protection of certain coastal areas.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 61.001, Natural Resources Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (7-a) to read as follows:

(7-a) "Meteorological event" means atmospheric conditions or phenomena resulting in avulsion, erosion, accretion, or other impacts to the shoreline that alter the location of the line of vegetation.

SECTION 2. Section 61.011(d), Natural Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:

(d) The commissioner shall promulgate rules, consistent with the policies established in this section, on the following matters only:

(1) acquisition by local governments or other appropriate entities or public dedication of access ways sufficient to provide adequate public ingress and egress to and from the beach within the area described in Subdivision (6);

(2) protection of the public easement from erosion or reduction caused by development or other activities on adjacent land and beach cleanup and maintenance;

(3) local government prohibitions of vehicular traffic on public beaches, provision of off-beach parking, the use on a public beach of a golf cart, as defined by Section 502.001, Transportation Code, for the transportation of a person with a physical disability, and other minimum measures needed to mitigate for any adverse effect on public access and dune areas;

(4) imposition of beach access, user, or parking fees and reasonable exercises of the police power by local governments with respect to public beaches;

(5) contents and certification of beach access and use plans and standards for local government review of construction on land adjacent to and landward of public beaches, including procedures for expedited review of beach access and use plans under Section 61.015;

(6) construction on land adjacent to and landward of public beaches and lying in the area either up to the first public road generally parallel to the beach or to any closer public road not parallel to the beach, or to within 1,000 feet of mean high tide, whichever is greater, that affects or may affect public access to and use of public beaches;

(7) the temporary suspension under Section 61.0185 of enforcement of the prohibition against encroachments on and interferences with the public beach easement and the ability of a property owner to make repairs to a house while a suspension is in effect;

(8) the determination of the line of vegetation or natural line of vegetation;

(9) the factors to be considered in determining whether a structure, improvement, obstruction, barrier, or hazard on the public beach:

(A) constitutes an imminent hazard to safety, health, or public welfare; or

(B) substantially interferes with the free and unrestricted right of the public to enter or leave the public beach or traverse any part of the public beach; [and]

(10) the procedures for determining whether a structure is not insurable property for purposes of Section 2210.004, Insurance Code, because of the factors listed in Subsection (h) of that section; and

(11) the temporary suspension under Section 61.0171 of the determination of the "line of vegetation" or the "natural line of vegetation."

SECTION 3. Section 61.016, Natural Resources Code, is amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:

(d) The "line of vegetation" is dynamic and may move landward or seaward due to the forces of erosion or natural accretion. For the purposes of determining the public beach easement, if the "line of vegetation" is obliterated due to a meteorological event, the landward boundary of the area subject to the public easement shall be the line established by order under Section 61.0171(a) or as determined by the commissioner under Section 61.0171(f).

SECTION 4. Section 61.017(a), Natural Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The "line of vegetation" is not affected by the occasional sprigs of salt grass on mounds and dunes or seaward from them or [and] by artificial fill, the addition or removal of turf, beach nourishment projects or artificial placement of dredged or fill material, whether conducted by public or private entities, or [by] other artificial changes in the natural vegetation of the area.

SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 61, Natural Resources Code, is amended by adding Section 61.0171 to read as follows:

Sec. 61.0171. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF LINE OF VEGETATION DETERMINATION. (a) The commissioner may, by order, suspend action on conducting a line of vegetation determination for a period of up to three years from the date the order is issued if the commissioner determines that the line of vegetation was obliterated as a result of a meteorological event. For the duration of the order, the public beach shall extend to a line 200 feet inland from the line of mean low tide as established by a licensed state land surveyor.

(b) An order issued under this section shall be:

(1) posted on the land office's Internet website;

(2) published by the land office as a miscellaneous document in the Texas Register; and

(3) filed for record by the land office in the real property records of the county in which the area of beach subject to the order is located.

(c) Issuance of an order under this section is purely within the discretion of the commissioner. This section does not create:

(1) a duty on the part of the commissioner to issue an order related to the line of vegetation; or

(2) a private cause of action for:

(A) issuance of an order under this section; or

(B) failure to issue an order under this section.

(d) Chapter 2007, Government Code, does not apply to an order issued under this section.

(e) If the commissioner issues an order under this section, a limitations period established by statute, under common law, or in equity that may be asserted or claimed in any action under this chapter is suspended and does not run against this state, the public, or private land owners for the period the order is in effect.

(f) Following the expiration of an order issued under this section, the commissioner shall make a determination regarding the line of vegetation in accordance with Sections 61.016 and 61.017 and taking into consideration the effect of the meteorological event on the location of the public beach easement.

(g) The commissioner may consult with the Bureau of Economic Geology of The University of Texas at Austin or a licensed state land surveyor and consider other relevant factors when making a determination under Subsection (f) regarding the annual erosion rate for the area of beach subject to the order issued under this section.

(h) The line of vegetation, as determined by the commissioner under Subsection (f), shall constitute the landward boundary of the area subject to public easement until the line of vegetation moves landward due to a subsequent meteorological event, erosion, or public use, or until a final court adjudication establishes the line in another place.

SECTION 6. Section 61.0185(a), Natural Resources Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The commissioner by order may suspend for a period of three [two] years from the date the order is issued the submission of a request that the attorney general file a suit under Section 61.018(a) to obtain a temporary or permanent court order or injunction, either prohibitory or mandatory, to remove a house from a public beach if the commissioner determines that:

(1) the line of vegetation establishing the boundary of the public beach has moved as a result of a meteorological event;

(2) the house was located landward of the natural line of vegetation before the meteorological event; and

(3) the house does not present an imminent threat to public health and safety.

SECTION 7. The legislature finds that:

(1) the Galveston-Houston region and the region's economic and strategic infrastructure are at risk due to exposure to potential catastrophic storm surge;

(2) to protect the Galveston-Houston region's five million residents and the region's economic and strategic infrastructure, various federal, state, and local entities, led by Texas A&M University at Galveston, are studying and developing conceptual designs for a coastal barrier to protect the region from hurricane-induced storm surge;

(3) as currently envisioned, a project referred to as the "Ike Dike" would extend the protection afforded by the Galveston Seawall along the rest of Galveston Island and along the Bolivar Peninsula by creating a 17-foot-high revetment (sand covered dune with hardened cores) near the beach or by raising coastal highways;

(4) the addition of floodgates at Bolivar Roads, at the entrance to the Houston, Texas City, and Galveston Ship Channels, and at San Luis Pass would complete a coastal spine that would provide a barrier against all gulf surges into Galveston Bay;

(5) a research team is being led by Texas A&M University at Galveston through its Center for Texas Beaches and Shores using strong partnerships with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence at Jackson State University, the Netherlands' Delft University of Technology's Department of Hydraulic Engineering, and the University of Houston C. T. Bauer College of Business's Institute for Regional Forecasting;

(6) the General Land Office is a sponsor of and nonfederal partner for a United States Army Corps of Engineers study of the upper Texas coast to develop a list of specific recommended projects that may become eligible for federal appropriations;

(7) the United States Army Corps of Engineers study, which encompasses Brazoria, Galveston, Harris, Chambers, Jefferson, and Orange Counties, includes the coastal barrier/"Ike Dike" concept; and

(8) as a result of the studies and recommendations described by this section, the legislature may need to enact or amend state law to accommodate the building of a coastal barrier to protect the region from hurricane-induced storm surge.

SECTION 8. (a) The legislature shall establish a joint interim committee to conduct a study of:

(1) the effectiveness of the implementation of the changes in law made by this Act to Chapter 61, Natural Resources Code; and

(2) the feasibility and desirability of:

(A) creating and maintaining a coastal barrier system in this state that includes a series of gates and barriers to prevent storm surge damage to gulf beaches or coastal ports, industry, or property; and

(B) authorizing coastal property owners to grant easements to governmental entities to construct and maintain stabilized dunes in connection with or separately from the system.

(b) The committee is composed of:

(1) the members of the standing committee of the senate that has primary jurisdiction over natural resources;

(2) the members of the standing committee of the house of representatives that has primary jurisdiction over land and resource management;

(3) two members of the senate appointed by the lieutenant governor, each of whom represents a district in a county that borders the Gulf of Mexico; and

(4) two members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, each of whom represents a district in a county that borders the Gulf of Mexico.

(c) The lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of representatives shall jointly designate a chair or, alternatively, designate two co-chairs from among the committee membership.

(d) The committee may adopt rules necessary to carry out the committee's duties under this section.

(e) Not later than December 1, 2014, the committee shall report to the governor and the legislature the findings of the study and any recommendations developed by the committee under this section.

SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 3459 was passed by the House on May 7, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 91, Nays 42, 2 present, not voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to H.B. No. 3459 on May 22, 2013, and requested the appointment of a conference committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No. 3459 on May 26, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 120, Nays 27, 2 present, not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 3459 was passed by the Senate, with amendments, on May 21, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays 5; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No. 3459 on May 26, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 26, Nays 5.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate APPROVED: __________________

Date

__________________

Governor