BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2103

By: Bowers

Natural Resources

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The Texas Water Development Board has requested that certain water planning entities be granted the ability to hold meetings by telephone conference call or videoconference call, when appropriate, so as to enable more Texans to join the meetings and provide their input while decreasing travel costs. C.S.H.B. 2103 seeks to provide this authority.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2103 amends the Water Code to authorize the district representatives for a management area to hold a joint meeting by telephone conference call or videoconference call and to authorize the following entities to hold an open or closed meeting by such means:

·         the interregional planning council appointed by the Texas Water Development Board;

·         each regional water planning group;

·         each flood planning group; and

·         any committee or subcommittee of the council or those groups.

A meeting held using these remote means is subject to applicable requirements of state open meetings law.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 2103 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes provisions not in the original authorizing the district representatives for a management area to hold a joint meeting by telephone conference call or videoconference call and subjecting these meetings to applicable requirements of state open meetings law.