| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the creation of a task force to evaluate recreational |
|
|
use of rivers. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. RECREATIONAL RIVER USE TASK FORCE. (a) In this |
|
|
Act, "task force" means the Recreational River Use Task Force |
|
|
established under this section. |
|
|
(b) The Recreational River Use Task Force is established for |
|
|
the purposes of: |
|
|
(1) assessing the effects of recreational use of |
|
|
rivers on: |
|
|
(A) state and local economies; |
|
|
(B) environmental health; and |
|
|
(C) water quality; and |
|
|
(2) evaluating: |
|
|
(A) the safety of recreational users of rivers; |
|
|
(B) the quality of the recreational experience of |
|
|
river users; and |
|
|
(C) the public policy implications of increased |
|
|
recreational use of rivers. |
|
|
(c) The task force shall focus its efforts on areas of heavy |
|
|
recreational use of rivers. |
|
|
(d) The task force is composed of the following 11 members: |
|
|
(1) one representative of the Economic Development and |
|
|
Tourism Division of the governor's office, appointed by the |
|
|
governor; |
|
|
(2) one representative of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage |
|
|
Commission's Education and Prevention Division, appointed by the |
|
|
governor; |
|
|
(3) one representative of a river authority, appointed |
|
|
by the lieutenant governor; |
|
|
(4) one representative of an entity that is |
|
|
distinguished by its efforts in water resource protection, |
|
|
appointed by the lieutenant governor; |
|
|
(5) one elected official of a county in which |
|
|
recreational use of a river is high, appointed by the lieutenant |
|
|
governor; |
|
|
(6) one representative of a river recreation business, |
|
|
appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; |
|
|
(7) one owner of residential riverfront property, |
|
|
appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; |
|
|
(8) one elected official of a municipality in which |
|
|
recreational use of a river is high, appointed by the speaker of the |
|
|
house of representatives; |
|
|
(9) the presiding officer of the Texas Commission on |
|
|
Environmental Quality, or the officer's designee; |
|
|
(10) the presiding officer of the Parks and Wildlife |
|
|
Commission, or the officer's designee; and |
|
|
(11) the director of the Texas State University |
|
|
Meadows Center for Water and the Environment. |
|
|
(e) The members of the task force shall elect a presiding |
|
|
officer. |
|
|
(f) The Parks and Wildlife Department shall provide staff |
|
|
support to the task force. |
|
|
(g) The task force shall appoint a scientific advisory |
|
|
committee to serve as impartial scientific advisors for the task |
|
|
force. The director of the Texas State University Meadows Center |
|
|
for Water and the Environment shall serve as the presiding officer |
|
|
of the scientific advisory committee. |
|
|
(h) The task force shall hold public hearings to achieve the |
|
|
purposes described by Subsection (b). |
|
|
(i) A member of the task force or the scientific advisory |
|
|
committee is not entitled to receive compensation for service on |
|
|
the task force or committee but is entitled to reimbursement of the |
|
|
travel expenses incurred by the member while conducting the |
|
|
business of the task force or committee. |
|
|
(j) The task force may accept gifts and grants from any |
|
|
source to be used to carry out a function of the task force or the |
|
|
scientific advisory committee. |
|
|
SECTION 2. FINAL REPORT. Not later than November 1, 2016, |
|
|
the task force shall submit a final report to the governor, the |
|
|
lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, |
|
|
the authors and sponsors of the Act creating the task force, and the |
|
|
members of the House Natural Resources Committee and the Senate |
|
|
Committee on Natural Resources and Economic Development. The report |
|
|
shall include a summary and analysis of: |
|
|
(1) hearings and studies conducted by the task force; |
|
|
(2) legislation proposed by the task force; and |
|
|
(3) other findings and recommendations made by the |
|
|
task force. |
|
|
SECTION 3. APPOINTMENTS. Not later than December 1, 2015, |
|
|
the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house |
|
|
of representatives shall make the appointments to the task force as |
|
|
described by Section 1(d) of this Act. |
|
|
SECTION 4. EXPIRATION. The task force is abolished and this |
|
|
Act expires August 31, 2017. |
|
|
SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect |
|
|
immediately 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. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for |
|
|
immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |