H.B. No. 2489
AN ACT
relating to renaming the Texas Natural Resources Information System
as the Texas Geographic Information Office and the duties of
certain officers of that entity.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 16.017(b), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The executive administrator shall operate as part of the
Texas Geographic Information Office [Natural Resources Information
System] a strategic mapping program to acquire, store, and
distribute digital, geospatial information.
SECTION 2. The heading to Section 16.021, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 16.021. TEXAS GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION OFFICE [NATURAL
RESOURCES INFORMATION SYSTEM].
SECTION 3. Sections 16.021(a), (b), (c), and (e), Water
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The executive administrator shall establish the Texas
Geographic Information Office [Natural Resources Information
System (TNRIS)] to serve Texas agencies and citizens as a
centralized clearinghouse and referral center for:
(1) natural resource data;
(2) census data;
(3) data related to emergency management; and
(4) other socioeconomic data.
(b) The executive administrator may, on behalf of the Texas
Geographic Information Office [TNRIS], enter into partnerships
with private entities to provide additional funding for improved
access to Texas Geographic Information Office [TNRIS] information.
The board shall adopt administrative rules to describe the process
of establishing partnerships, define the types of partnerships that
may be formed, establish the fee collection process, and define the
nondiscriminatory methods used to determine which private entities
may enter into partnerships. Any process developed by the board
must comply with all applicable laws regarding ethics, purchasing,
and contracts.
(c) The executive administrator shall designate the deputy
executive administrator [director] of the Texas Geographic
Information Office [Natural Resources Information System] to serve
as the state geographic information officer. The state geographic
information officer shall:
(1) coordinate the acquisition and use of
high-priority imagery and data sets;
(2) establish, support, and disseminate authoritative
statewide geographic data sets;
(3) support geographic data needs of emergency
management responders during emergencies;
(4) monitor trends in geographic information
technology; and
(5) support public access to state geographic data and
resources.
(e) The executive administrator shall:
(1) further develop the Texas Geographic Information
Office [Natural Resources Information System] by promoting and
providing for effective acquisition, archiving, documentation,
indexing, and dissemination of natural resource and related digital
and nondigital data and information;
(2) obtain information in response to disagreements
regarding names and name spellings for natural and cultural
features in the state and provide this information to the Board on
Geographic Names of the United States Department of the Interior;
(3) make recommendations to the Board on Geographic
Names of the United States Department of the Interior for naming any
natural or cultural feature subject to the limitations provided by
Subsection (f);
(4) make recommendations to the Department of
Information Resources to adopt and promote standards that
facilitate sharing of digital natural resource data and related
socioeconomic data among federal, state, and local governments and
other interested parties;
(5) acquire and disseminate natural resource and
related socioeconomic data describing the Texas-Mexico border
region; and
(6) coordinate, conduct, and facilitate the
development, maintenance, and use of mutually compatible statewide
digital base maps depicting natural resources and man-made
features.
SECTION 4. Section 16.023(b), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The account may be appropriated only to the board to:
(1) develop, administer, and implement the strategic
mapping program;
(2) provide grants to political subdivisions for
projects related to the development, use, and dissemination of
digital, geospatial information; and
(3) administer, implement, and operate other programs
of the Texas Geographic Information Office [Natural Resources
Information System], including:
(A) the operation of a Texas-Mexico border region
information center for the purpose of implementing Section
16.021(e)(5);
(B) the acquisition, storage, and distribution
of historical maps, photographs, and paper map products;
(C) the maintenance and enhancement of
information technology; and
(D) the production, storage, and distribution of
other digital base maps, as determined by the executive
administrator.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2489 was passed by the House on April
14, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 3, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2489 was passed by the Senate on May
17, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor