| 1 | 1 | | By: Ashby (Senate Sponsor - Kolkhorst) H.B. No. 4609 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House May 3, 2023; |
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| 3 | 3 | | May 5, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Water, |
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| 4 | 4 | | Agriculture & Rural Affairs; May 19, 2023, reported favorably by |
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| 5 | 5 | | the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 19, 2023, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | 6 | | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | COMMITTEE VOTE |
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| 10 | 10 | | YeaNayAbsentPNV |
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| 11 | 11 | | PerryX |
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| 12 | 12 | | HancockX |
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| 13 | 13 | | BlancoX |
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| 14 | 14 | | FloresX |
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| 15 | 15 | | GutierrezX |
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| 16 | 16 | | JohnsonX |
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| 17 | 17 | | KolkhorstX |
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| 18 | 18 | | SparksX |
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| 19 | 19 | | SpringerX |
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| 20 | 20 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 21 | 21 | | AN ACT |
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| 22 | 22 | | relating to a study by the Texas A&M Forest Service of the potential |
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| 23 | 23 | | effects of wildfires in this state. |
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| 24 | 24 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 25 | 25 | | SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act: |
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| 26 | 26 | | (1) "Fuel loading" means the amount of combustible |
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| 27 | 27 | | material in a defined space expressed quantitatively in terms of |
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| 28 | 28 | | weight of fuel per unit area. |
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| 29 | 29 | | (2) "Service" means the Texas A&M Forest Service. |
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| 30 | 30 | | SECTION 2. STUDY. (a) The service shall conduct a study to |
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| 31 | 31 | | determine the status and condition of fuel loading in wildfire risk |
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| 32 | 32 | | zones in this state and the corresponding risk of wildfire to the |
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| 33 | 33 | | residents, homes, businesses, and ecology of this state. |
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| 34 | 34 | | (b) In conducting the study, the service shall: |
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| 35 | 35 | | (1) establish wildfire risk zones based on fuel |
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| 36 | 36 | | loading and the risk of wildfire to the residents, homes, |
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| 37 | 37 | | businesses, and ecology of this state within geographic areas |
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| 38 | 38 | | defined by the service; and |
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| 39 | 39 | | (2) solicit and consider information from: |
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| 40 | 40 | | (A) the Department of Public Safety; |
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| 41 | 41 | | (B) the Department of Agriculture, including the |
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| 42 | 42 | | Prescribed Burning Board; |
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| 43 | 43 | | (C) the Texas Division of Emergency Management; |
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| 44 | 44 | | (D) the Parks and Wildlife Department; |
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| 45 | 45 | | (E) the Texas Commission on Environmental |
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| 46 | 46 | | Quality; |
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| 47 | 47 | | (F) the State Soil and Water Conservation Board; |
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| 48 | 48 | | (G) the comptroller of public accounts; and |
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| 49 | 49 | | (H) other natural resource representatives as |
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| 50 | 50 | | necessary. |
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| 51 | 51 | | (c) The study must: |
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| 52 | 52 | | (1) for each wildfire risk zone established under |
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| 53 | 53 | | Subsection (b)(1) of this section, consider: |
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| 54 | 54 | | (A) the risk that fuel loading poses; |
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| 55 | 55 | | (B) the projected loss of life, property, and |
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| 56 | 56 | | natural resources should a wildfire occur in the zone; |
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| 57 | 57 | | (C) the financial impact of costs associated |
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| 58 | 58 | | with: |
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| 59 | 59 | | (i) reconstruction in the zone after a |
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| 60 | 60 | | wildfire; |
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| 61 | 61 | | (ii) potential loss of production in the |
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| 62 | 62 | | natural resource and agricultural industries in the zone after a |
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| 63 | 63 | | wildfire; and |
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| 64 | 64 | | (iii) fuel loading mitigation and asset |
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| 65 | 65 | | hardening in the zone; and |
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| 66 | 66 | | (D) whether the money invested in fuel loading |
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| 67 | 67 | | mitigation in the zone exceeds or is less than the value of property |
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| 68 | 68 | | protected by the investment and the amount of the excess or |
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| 69 | 69 | | shortage; |
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| 70 | 70 | | (2) assess the overall economic benefits to this state |
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| 71 | 71 | | of: |
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| 72 | 72 | | (A) prescribed burning; |
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| 73 | 73 | | (B) fuel loading control for wildfire |
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| 74 | 74 | | prevention; and |
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| 75 | 75 | | (C) public investment in fuel loading reduction |
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| 76 | 76 | | projects; and |
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| 77 | 77 | | (3) recommend changes to existing law to ensure that |
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| 78 | 78 | | public and private natural resource managers have the authority and |
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| 79 | 79 | | ability to appropriately mitigate fuel loading risks in each |
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| 80 | 80 | | established risk zone. |
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| 81 | 81 | | SECTION 3. REPORT. Not later than December 1, 2024, the |
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| 82 | 82 | | service shall submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the |
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| 83 | 83 | | speaker of the house of representatives, and each standing |
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| 84 | 84 | | committee of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over the |
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| 85 | 85 | | service or another state agency from which information is solicited |
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| 86 | 86 | | under this Act a written report that includes a summary of the study |
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| 87 | 87 | | and any legislative recommendations based on the study. |
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| 88 | 88 | | SECTION 4. EXPIRATION. This Act expires May 1, 2025. |
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| 89 | 89 | | SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect |
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| 90 | 90 | | immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members |
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| 91 | 91 | | elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas |
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| 92 | 92 | | Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for |
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| 93 | 93 | | immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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| 94 | 94 | | * * * * * |
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