83R439 TRH-D
By: Dutton H.J.R. No. 54
A JOINT RESOLUTION
proposing a constitutional amendment establishing the boundaries
of public beaches and declaring that the state holds public beaches
in trust for the use of the public.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 33, Article I, Texas Constitution, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) In this section, "public beach" means a state-owned
beach bordering on the seaward shore of the Gulf of Mexico,
extending from mean low tide to the landward boundary of
state-owned submerged land, and any larger area extending from the
line of mean low tide to the line of vegetation bordering on the
Gulf of Mexico, as the line of vegetation may shift over time as a
result of avulsive events or other natural forces [to which the
public has acquired a right of use or easement to or over the area by
prescription or dedication or has established and retained a right
by virtue of continuous right in the public under Texas common law].
(a-1) In accordance with longstanding custom, the state
holds public beaches in trust for the free and unrestricted use of
the public.
SECTION 2. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 5, 2013.
The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
proposition: "The constitutional amendment establishing the
boundaries of public beaches and declaring that the state holds
public beaches in trust for the use of the public."