Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB636 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R5644 SLB-D
2	2	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 636
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the creation of a task force to evaluate recreational
8	8	use of rivers.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. RECREATIONAL RIVER USE TASK FORCE. (a) In this
11	11	Act, "task force" means the Recreational River Use Task Force
12	12	established under this section.
13	13	(b) The Recreational River Use Task Force is established for
14	14	the purposes of:
15	15	(1) assessing the effects of recreational use of
16	16	rivers on:
17	17	(A) state and local economies;
18	18	(B) environmental health; and
19	19	(C) water quality; and
20	20	(2) evaluating:
21	21	(A) the safety of recreational users of rivers;
22	22	(B) the quality of the recreational experience of
23	23	river users; and
24	24	(C) the public policy implications of increased
25	25	recreational use of rivers.
26	26	(c) The task force shall focus its efforts on areas of heavy
27	27	recreational use of rivers.
28	28	(d) The task force is composed of the following 11 members:
29	29	(1) one representative of the Economic Development and
30	30	Tourism Division of the governor's office, appointed by the
31	31	governor;
32	32	(2) one representative of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage
33	33	Commission's Education and Prevention Division, appointed by the
34	34	governor;
35	35	(3) one representative of a river authority, appointed
36	36	by the lieutenant governor;
37	37	(4) one representative of an entity that is
38	38	distinguished by its efforts in water resource protection,
39	39	appointed by the lieutenant governor;
40	40	(5) one elected official of a county in which
41	41	recreational use of a river is high, appointed by the lieutenant
42	42	governor;
43	43	(6) one representative of a river recreation business,
44	44	appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;
45	45	(7) one owner of residential riverfront property,
46	46	appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;
47	47	(8) one elected official of a municipality in which
48	48	recreational use of a river is high, appointed by the speaker of the
49	49	house of representatives;
50	50	(9) the presiding officer of the Texas Commission on
51	51	Environmental Quality, or the officer's designee;
52	52	(10) the presiding officer of the Parks and Wildlife
53	53	Commission, or the officer's designee; and
54	54	(11) the director of the Texas State University
55	55	Meadows Center for Water and the Environment.
56	56	(e) The members of the task force shall elect a presiding
57	57	officer.
58	58	(f) The Parks and Wildlife Department shall provide staff
59	59	support to the task force.
60	60	(g) The task force shall appoint a scientific advisory
61	61	committee to serve as impartial scientific advisors for the task
62	62	force. The director of the Texas State University Meadows Center
63	63	for Water and the Environment shall serve as the presiding officer
64	64	of the scientific advisory committee.
65	65	(h) The task force shall hold public hearings to achieve the
66	66	purposes described by Subsection (b).
67	67	(i) A member of the task force or the scientific advisory
68	68	committee is not entitled to receive compensation for service on
69	69	the task force or committee but is entitled to reimbursement of the
70	70	travel expenses incurred by the member while conducting the
71	71	business of the task force or committee.
72	72	(j) The task force may accept gifts and grants from any
73	73	source to be used to carry out a function of the task force or the
74	74	scientific advisory committee.
75	75	SECTION 2. FINAL REPORT. Not later than November 1, 2016,
76	76	the task force shall submit a final report to the governor, the
77	77	lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives,
78	78	the authors and sponsors of the Act creating the task force, and the
79	79	members of the House Natural Resources Committee and the Senate
80	80	Committee on Natural Resources and Economic Development. The report
81	81	shall include a summary and analysis of:
82	82	(1) hearings and studies conducted by the task force;
83	83	(2) legislation proposed by the task force; and
84	84	(3) other findings and recommendations made by the
85	85	task force.
86	86	SECTION 3. APPOINTMENTS. Not later than December 1, 2015,
87	87	the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house
88	88	of representatives shall make the appointments to the task force as
89	89	described by Section 1(d) of this Act.
90	90	SECTION 4. EXPIRATION. The task force is abolished and this
91	91	Act expires August 31, 2017.
92	92	SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
93	93	immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
94	94	elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
95	95	Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
96	96	immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2015.