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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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proposing a constitutional amendment regarding the terminology |
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used in the Texas Constitution to refer to the partially landlocked |
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body of water on the southeastern periphery of the North American |
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continent. |
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BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 33(a), Article I, Texas Constitution, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) In this section, "public beach" means a state-owned |
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beach bordering on the seaward shore of the Gulf of America [Gulf of |
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Mexico], extending from mean low tide to the landward boundary of |
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state-owned submerged land, and any larger area extending from the |
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line of mean low tide to the line of vegetation bordering on the |
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Gulf of America [Gulf of Mexico] to which the public has acquired a |
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right of use or easement to or over the area by prescription or |
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dedication or has established and retained a right by virtue of |
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continuous right in the public under Texas common law. |
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SECTION 2. Section 1-i, Article VIII, Texas Constitution, |
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is amended to read as follows: |
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Sec. 1-i. The legislature by general law may provide ad |
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valorem tax relief for mobile marine drilling equipment designed |
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for offshore drilling of oil or gas wells that is being stored while |
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not in use in a county bordering on the Gulf of America [Gulf of |
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Mexico] or on a bay or other body of water immediately adjacent to |
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the Gulf of America [Gulf of Mexico]. |
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SECTION 3. Section 1-A, Article IX, Texas Constitution, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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Sec. 1-A. The Legislature may authorize the governing body |
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of any county bordering on the Gulf of America [Gulf of Mexico] or |
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the tidewater limits thereof to regulate and restrict the speed, |
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parking and travel of motor vehicles on beaches available to the |
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public by virtue of public right and the littering of such beaches. |
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Nothing in this amendment shall increase the rights of any |
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riparian or littoral landowner with regard to beaches available to |
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the public by virtue of public right or submerged lands. |
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The Legislature may enact any laws not inconsistent with this |
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Section which it may deem necessary to permit said counties to |
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implement, enforce and administer the provisions contained herein. |
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Should the Legislature enact legislation in anticipation of |
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the adoption of this amendment, such legislation shall not be |
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invalid by reason of its anticipatory character. |
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SECTION 4. Section 7(a), Article XI, Texas Constitution, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) All counties and cities bordering on the coast of the |
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Gulf of America [Gulf of Mexico] are hereby authorized upon a vote |
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of the majority of the qualified voters voting thereon at an |
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election called for such purpose to levy and collect such tax for |
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construction of sea walls, breakwaters, or sanitary purposes, as |
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may now or may hereafter be authorized by law, and may create a debt |
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for such works and issue bonds in evidence thereof. But no debt for |
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any purpose shall ever be incurred in any manner by any city or |
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county unless provision is made, at the time of creating the same, |
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for levying and collecting a sufficient tax to pay the interest |
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thereon and provide at least two per cent (2%) as a sinking fund, |
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except as provided by Subsection (b); and the condemnation of the |
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right of way for the erection of such works shall be fully provided |
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for. |
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SECTION 5. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be |
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submitted to the voters at an election to be held on November 4, |
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2025. The ballot shall be printed to provide for voting for or |
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against the proposition: "The constitutional amendment changing |
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references in the Texas Constitution to the partially landlocked |
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body of water on the southeastern periphery of the North American |
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continent, commonly known as the "Gulf of Mexico," to the "Gulf of |
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America." |
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* * * * * |