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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the condemnation of conservation easements. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Property Code, is |
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amended by adding Section 21.0122 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 21.0122. CONSERVATION EASEMENT BY OPERATION OF LAW. |
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(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the application of any |
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law, rule, policy, ordinance, or regulation promulgated under the |
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Government Code, Local Government Code, Natural Resources Code, or |
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Water Code that has the effect of requiring that more than 55 |
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percent of the surface area of an owner's private real property |
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remain in a natural or undeveloped state, exclusive of the 100-year |
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floodplain as determined by an agency of the federal government, is |
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a conservation easement, the establishment and enforcement of which |
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requires: |
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(1) the consent of the owner under Chapter 183, |
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Natural Resources Code; or |
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(2) the exercise of the power of eminent domain under |
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this chapter. |
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(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to: |
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(1) the lawful forfeiture or seizure of contraband, as |
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defined by Article 59.01, Code of Criminal Procedure; |
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(2) the lawful seizure of property as evidence of a |
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crime or violation of law; |
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(3) the authority of a municipality, a county, another |
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political subdivision, the state, or an agency of the state with |
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respect to the implementation or enforcement of an ordinance, rule, |
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or statutory standard adopted under: |
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(A) the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 |
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U.S.C. Section 1451 et seq.); or |
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(B) Subtitle E, Title 2, Natural Resources Code; |
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(4) a permit, order, rule, regulation, or other action |
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issued, adopted, or undertaken by a municipality, a county, another |
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political subdivision, the state, or an agency of the state in |
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connection with the laws described by Subdivisions (3)(A) and (B); |
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(5) the enforcement or implementation of Subchapter B, |
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Chapter 61, Natural Resources Code, as that subchapter existed on |
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September 1, 1995, or to the enforcement or implementation of any |
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rule or similar measure adopted under that subchapter and in |
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existence on September 1, 1995; or |
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(6) an action taken by a political subdivision to |
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ensure compliance with on-site sewage facility regulations adopted |
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by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. |
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SECTION 2. 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. |