Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1666 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Estes S.B. No. 1666
2	2	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1666:
3	3	By: Hardcastle C.S.S.B. No. 1666
4	4
5	5
6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to the establishment of the Texas Bioenergy Policy Council
9	9	and the Texas Bioenergy Research Committee.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Title 3, Agriculture Code, is amended by adding
12	12	Chapter 50D to read as follows:
13	13	CHAPTER 50D. TEXAS BIOENERGY POLICY COUNCIL AND TEXAS BIOENERGY
14	14	RESEARCH COMMITTEE
15	15	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
16	16	Sec. 50D.001. PURPOSE. The purpose of the Texas Bioenergy
17	17	Policy Council and the Texas Bioenergy Research Committee is to
18	18	promote the goal of making biofuels a significant part of the energy
19	19	industry in this state not later than January 1, 2019.
20	20	Sec. 50D.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
21	21	(1) "Alternative chemical feedstock" means a
22	22	feedstock that is produced by a thermochemical process that
23	23	converts alternative sources of fuel, including biomass, or other
24	24	renewable sources, to a raw material to be used in the chemical
25	25	manufacturing process.
26	26	(2) "Policy council" means the Texas Bioenergy Policy
27	27	Council.
28	28	(3) "Research committee" means the Texas Bioenergy
29	29	Research Committee.
30	30	Sec. 50D.003. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT. The department:
31	31	(1) shall provide administrative support, including
32	32	staff, to the policy council; and
33	33	(2) may allocate appropriate administrative support
34	34	to the research committee.
35	35	[Sections 50D.004-50D.010 reserved for expansion]
36	36	SUBCHAPTER B. TEXAS BIOENERGY POLICY COUNCIL
37	37	Sec. 50D.011. COMPOSITION. (a) The policy council is
38	38	composed of the following 18 members:
39	39	(1) the commissioner, who serves as chair of the
40	40	policy council;
41	41	(2) one representative of the Railroad Commission of
42	42	Texas;
43	43	(3) one representative of the Texas Commission on
44	44	Environmental Quality;
45	45	(4) one representative of the Public Utility
46	46	Commission of Texas;
47	47	(5) one representative of the Texas Water Development
48	48	Board;
49	49	(6) the chancellor of The Texas A&M University System,
50	50	or the person designated by the chancellor;
51	51	(7) the chancellor of the Texas Tech University
52	52	System, or the person designated by the chancellor;
53	53	(8) the chancellor of The University of Texas System,
54	54	or the person designated by the chancellor;
55	55	(9) one member of the senate appointed by the
56	56	lieutenant governor;
57	57	(10) one member of the house of representatives
58	58	appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; and
59	59	(11) eight members appointed by the governor, with
60	60	each of the following industries or groups represented by one
61	61	member:
62	62	(A) research and development of feedstock and
63	63	feedstock production;
64	64	(B) retail distribution of energy;
65	65	(C) transportation of biomass feedstock;
66	66	(D) agricultural production for bioenergy
67	67	production or agricultural waste used for production of bioenergy;
68	68	(E) production of biodiesel from nonfood
69	69	feedstocks;
70	70	(F) production of ethanol from nonfood
71	71	feedstocks;
72	72	(G) bio-based electricity generation; and
73	73	(H) chemical manufacturing.
74	74	(b) The eight members of the policy council appointed by the
75	75	governor serve at the governor's pleasure and have two-year
76	76	staggered terms, with the terms of either three or four members
77	77	expiring on January 1 of each year.
78	78	(c) The governor shall fill any vacancy in a position
79	79	appointed by the governor for the remainder of the unexpired term.
80	80	(d) Appointments to the policy council must be made without
81	81	regard to the race, color, disability, sex, religion, age, or
82	82	national origin of the appointees.
83	83	(e) The policy council is subject to Chapters 551 and 2001,
84	84	Government Code.
85	85	Sec. 50D.012. REMOVAL OF POLICY COUNCIL MEMBERS. (a) A
86	86	member of the policy council may be removed from the policy council
87	87	if the member:
88	88	(1) is not able to devote the time necessary to perform
89	89	the member's duties as a member;
90	90	(2) cannot because of illness or disability discharge
91	91	the member's duties or cannot discharge those duties for a
92	92	substantial part of the term for which the member is appointed; or
93	93	(3) is absent from more than half of the regularly
94	94	scheduled policy council meetings that the member is eligible to
95	95	attend during a calendar year, unless the absence is excused by a
96	96	majority vote of the policy council.
97	97	(b) An action of the policy council is not invalid because a
98	98	ground for removal of a policy council member exists at the time the
99	99	action is taken.
100	100	(c) If the commissioner has knowledge that a potential
101	101	ground for removal of a policy council member exists, the
102	102	commissioner shall notify the governor and attorney general of the
103	103	potential ground for removal.
104	104	Sec. 50D.013. DUTIES OF POLICY COUNCIL. (a) The policy
105	105	council shall:
106	106	(1) provide a vision for unifying this state's
107	107	agricultural, energy, and research strengths in a successful launch
108	108	of a cellulosic biofuel and bioenergy industry;
109	109	(2) foster development of cellulosic-based and
110	110	bio-based fuels and build on the Texas emerging technology fund's
111	111	investments in leading-edge energy research and efforts to
112	112	commercialize the production of bioenergy;
113	113	(3) pursue the creation of a next-generation biofuels
114	114	energy research program at a university in this state;
115	115	(4) work to procure federal and other funding to aid
116	116	this state in becoming a bioenergy leader;
117	117	(5) study the feasibility and economic development
118	118	effect of a blending requirement for biodiesel or cellulosic fuels;
119	119	(6) pursue the development and use of thermochemical
120	120	process technologies to produce alternative chemical feedstocks;
121	121	(7) study the feasibility and economic development of
122	122	the requirements for pipeline-quality, renewable natural gas; and
123	123	(8) perform other advisory duties as requested by the
124	124	commissioner regarding the responsible development of bioenergy
125	125	resources in this state.
126	126	(b) The policy council shall meet regularly as necessary at
127	127	the call of the commissioner.
128	128	Sec. 50D.014. REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES. A member of the
129	129	policy council may not receive compensation for service on the
130	130	council. Subject to availability of funds, a policy council member
131	131	may receive reimbursement for the actual and necessary expenses
132	132	incurred while conducting policy council business.
133	133	[Sections 50D.015-50D.020 reserved for expansion]
134	134	SUBCHAPTER C. TEXAS BIOENERGY RESEARCH COMMITTEE
135	135	Sec. 50D.021. COMPOSITION. (a) The research committee is
136	136	composed of the following 18 members:
137	137	(1) the commissioner or the person designated by the
138	138	commissioner, who serves as the chair of the research committee;
139	139	(2) one representative of the Railroad Commission of
140	140	Texas;
141	141	(3) one representative of the Texas Commission on
142	142	Environmental Quality;
143	143	(4) one representative of the Public Utility
144	144	Commission of Texas;
145	145	(5) one representative of the Texas Water Development
146	146	Board;
147	147	(6) one researcher or specialist in the bioenergy
148	148	field from each of the following university systems, appointed by
149	149	the chancellor of the system:
150	150	(A) The Texas A&M University System;
151	151	(B) the Texas Tech University System; and
152	152	(C) The University of Texas System;
153	153	(7) one representative of the Texas Agricultural
154	154	Finance Authority, appointed by the commissioner to serve as a
155	155	nonvoting member;
156	156	(8) one representative of the Texas emerging
157	157	technology fund, appointed by the governor to serve as a nonvoting
158	158	member; and
159	159	(9) eight members appointed by the governor, with each
160	160	of the following industries or groups represented by one member:
161	161	(A) research and development of feedstock and
162	162	feedstock production;
163	163	(B) retail distribution of energy;
164	164	(C) transportation of biomass feedstock;
165	165	(D) agricultural production for bioenergy
166	166	production or agricultural waste used for production of bioenergy;
167	167	(E) production of biodiesel from nonfood
168	168	feedstocks;
169	169	(F) production of ethanol from nonfood
170	170	feedstocks;
171	171	(G) bio-based electricity generation; and
172	172	(H) chemical manufacturing.
173	173	(b) The eight members of the research committee appointed by
174	174	the governor serve at the governor's pleasure and have two-year
175	175	staggered terms, with the terms of either three or four members
176	176	expiring on January 1 of each year.
177	177	(c) The governor shall fill any vacancy in a position
178	178	appointed by the governor for the remainder of the unexpired term.
179	179	(d) Appointments to the research committee must be made
180	180	without regard to the race, color, disability, sex, religion, age,
181	181	or national origin of the appointees.
182	182	(e) The research committee is subject to Chapters 551 and
183	183	2001, Government Code.
184	184	Sec. 50D.022. REMOVAL OF RESEARCH COMMITTEE MEMBERS. (a) A
185	185	member of the research committee may be removed from the research
186	186	committee if the member:
187	187	(1) is not able to devote the time necessary to perform
188	188	the member's duties as a member;
189	189	(2) cannot because of illness or disability discharge
190	190	the member's duties or cannot discharge those duties for a
191	191	substantial part of the term for which the member is appointed; or
192	192	(3) is absent from more than half of the regularly
193	193	scheduled committee meetings that the member is eligible to attend
194	194	during a calendar year, unless the absence is excused by a majority
195	195	vote of the committee.
196	196	(b) An action of the research committee is not invalid
197	197	because a ground for removal of a committee member exists at the
198	198	time the action is taken.
199	199	(c) If the commissioner has knowledge that a potential
200	200	ground for removal of a committee member exists, the commissioner
201	201	shall notify the governor and attorney general of the potential
202	202	ground for removal.
203	203	Sec. 50D.023. PURPOSES AND DUTY OF RESEARCH COMMITTEE. (a)
204	204	The research committee is a research consortium among academic and
205	205	technical research leadership, with active involvement by all
206	206	sectors of the economy interested in bioenergy development.
207	207	(b) The research committee shall:
208	208	(1) identify and research appropriate and desirable
209	209	biomass feedstock for each geographic region of this state;
210	210	(2) investigate logistical challenges to the
211	211	planting, harvesting, and transporting of large volumes of biomass
212	212	and provide recommendations to the policy council that will aid in
213	213	overcoming barriers to the transportation, distribution, and
214	214	marketing of bioenergy;
215	215	(3) identify strategies for and obstacles to the
216	216	potential transition of the agriculture industry in western regions
217	217	of this state to dryland bioenergy crops that are not dependent on
218	218	groundwater resources;
219	219	(4) explore regions of this state, including coastal
220	220	areas, that may contain available marginal land for use in growing
221	221	bioenergy feedstocks;
222	222	(5) study the potential for producing oil from algae;
223	223	(6) study the potential for the advancement of
224	224	thermochemical process technologies to produce alternative
225	225	chemical feedstocks;
226	226	(7) study the potential for producing
227	227	pipeline-quality natural gas from renewable sources; and
228	228	(8) perform other research duties as requested by the
229	229	commissioner relating to the responsible development of bioenergy
230	230	resources in this state.
231	231	(c) The research committee shall meet at the call of the
232	232	commissioner.
233	233	Sec. 50D.024. REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES. A member of the
234	234	research committee may not receive compensation for service on the
235	235	committee. Subject to availability of funds, a research committee
236	236	member may receive reimbursement for the actual and necessary
237	237	expenses incurred while conducting research committee business.
238	238	SECTION 2. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
239	239	date of this Act, the appropriate persons shall appoint the members
240	240	of the Texas Bioenergy Policy Council and the Texas Bioenergy
241	241	Research Committee established by Sections 50D.011 and 50D.021,
242	242	Agriculture Code, as added by this Act.
243	243	(b) Not later than the 30th day after the date the final
244	244	member is appointed to the Texas Bioenergy Policy Council, the
245	245	commissioner of agriculture shall call the first meeting of the
246	246	policy council.
247	247	SECTION 3. This Act does not make an appropriation. A
248	248	provision in this Act that creates a new governmental program,
249	249	creates a new entitlement, or imposes a new duty on a governmental
250	250	entity is not mandatory during a fiscal period for which the
251	251	legislature has not made a specific appropriation to implement the
252	252	provision.
253	253	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
254	254	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
255	255	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
256	256	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
257	257	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.