Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2489 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	H.B. No. 2489
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to renaming the Texas Natural Resources Information System
6	6	as the Texas Geographic Information Office and the duties of
7	7	certain officers of that entity.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 16.017(b), Water Code, is amended to
10	10	read as follows:
11	11	(b) The executive administrator shall operate as part of the
12	12	Texas Geographic Information Office [Natural Resources Information
13	13	System] a strategic mapping program to acquire, store, and
14	14	distribute digital, geospatial information.
15	15	SECTION 2. The heading to Section 16.021, Water Code, is
16	16	amended to read as follows:
17	17	Sec. 16.021. TEXAS GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION OFFICE [NATURAL
18	18	RESOURCES INFORMATION SYSTEM].
19	19	SECTION 3. Sections 16.021(a), (b), (c), and (e), Water
20	20	Code, are amended to read as follows:
21	21	(a) The executive administrator shall establish the Texas
22	22	Geographic Information Office [Natural Resources Information
23	23	System (TNRIS)] to serve Texas agencies and citizens as a
24	24	centralized clearinghouse and referral center for:
25	25	(1) natural resource data;
26	26	(2) census data;
27	27	(3) data related to emergency management; and
28	28	(4) other socioeconomic data.
29	29	(b) The executive administrator may, on behalf of the Texas
30	30	Geographic Information Office [TNRIS], enter into partnerships
31	31	with private entities to provide additional funding for improved
32	32	access to Texas Geographic Information Office [TNRIS] information.
33	33	The board shall adopt administrative rules to describe the process
34	34	of establishing partnerships, define the types of partnerships that
35	35	may be formed, establish the fee collection process, and define the
36	36	nondiscriminatory methods used to determine which private entities
37	37	may enter into partnerships. Any process developed by the board
38	38	must comply with all applicable laws regarding ethics, purchasing,
39	39	and contracts.
40	40	(c) The executive administrator shall designate the deputy
41	41	executive administrator [director] of the Texas Geographic
42	42	Information Office [Natural Resources Information System] to serve
43	43	as the state geographic information officer. The state geographic
44	44	information officer shall:
45	45	(1) coordinate the acquisition and use of
46	46	high-priority imagery and data sets;
47	47	(2) establish, support, and disseminate authoritative
48	48	statewide geographic data sets;
49	49	(3) support geographic data needs of emergency
50	50	management responders during emergencies;
51	51	(4) monitor trends in geographic information
52	52	technology; and
53	53	(5) support public access to state geographic data and
54	54	resources.
55	55	(e) The executive administrator shall:
56	56	(1) further develop the Texas Geographic Information
57	57	Office [Natural Resources Information System] by promoting and
58	58	providing for effective acquisition, archiving, documentation,
59	59	indexing, and dissemination of natural resource and related digital
60	60	and nondigital data and information;
61	61	(2) obtain information in response to disagreements
62	62	regarding names and name spellings for natural and cultural
63	63	features in the state and provide this information to the Board on
64	64	Geographic Names of the United States Department of the Interior;
65	65	(3) make recommendations to the Board on Geographic
66	66	Names of the United States Department of the Interior for naming any
67	67	natural or cultural feature subject to the limitations provided by
68	68	Subsection (f);
69	69	(4) make recommendations to the Department of
70	70	Information Resources to adopt and promote standards that
71	71	facilitate sharing of digital natural resource data and related
72	72	socioeconomic data among federal, state, and local governments and
73	73	other interested parties;
74	74	(5) acquire and disseminate natural resource and
75	75	related socioeconomic data describing the Texas-Mexico border
76	76	region; and
77	77	(6) coordinate, conduct, and facilitate the
78	78	development, maintenance, and use of mutually compatible statewide
79	79	digital base maps depicting natural resources and man-made
80	80	features.
81	81	SECTION 4. Section 16.023(b), Water Code, is amended to
82	82	read as follows:
83	83	(b) The account may be appropriated only to the board to:
84	84	(1) develop, administer, and implement the strategic
85	85	mapping program;
86	86	(2) provide grants to political subdivisions for
87	87	projects related to the development, use, and dissemination of
88	88	digital, geospatial information; and
89	89	(3) administer, implement, and operate other programs
90	90	of the Texas Geographic Information Office [Natural Resources
91	91	Information System], including:
92	92	(A) the operation of a Texas-Mexico border region
93	93	information center for the purpose of implementing Section
94	94	16.021(e)(5);
95	95	(B) the acquisition, storage, and distribution
96	96	of historical maps, photographs, and paper map products;
97	97	(C) the maintenance and enhancement of
98	98	information technology; and
99	99	(D) the production, storage, and distribution of
100	100	other digital base maps, as determined by the executive
101	101	administrator.
102	102	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
103	103	______________________________ ______________________________
104	104	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
105	105	I certify that H.B. No. 2489 was passed by the House on April
106	106	14, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 3, 2 present, not
107	107	voting.
108	108	______________________________
109	109	Chief Clerk of the House
110	110	I certify that H.B. No. 2489 was passed by the Senate on May
111	111	17, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
112	112	______________________________
113	113	Secretary of the Senate
114	114	APPROVED: _____________________
115	115	Date
116	116	_____________________
117	117	Governor