By: AnchÃa H.B. No. 4792
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to establishing the Texas Carbon Emissions Mitigation and
Severe Weather Adaptation Commission to study and address the
impacts of carbon emissions and severe weather in this state.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Texas Carbon
Emissions Mitigation and Severe Weather Adaptation Act.
SECTION 2. Subtitle C, Title 5, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 396 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 396. TEXAS CARBON EMISSIONS MITIGATION AND SEVERE WEATHER
ADAPTATION COMMISSION
Sec. 396.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Carbon Emissions
Mitigation and Severe Weather Adaptation Commission.
(2) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code.
Sec. 396.002. LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION. This chapter shall be
liberally construed to minimize future risk to the residents and
environment of this state.
Sec. 396.003. COMMISSION CREATED; COMPOSITION. (a) The
Texas Carbon Emissions Mitigation and Severe Weather Adaptation
Commission is created.
(b) The commission is composed of:
(1) one member appointed by the governor;
(2) one member appointed by the lieutenant governor;
(3) one member appointed by the governor from a list of
names submitted by the speaker of the house of representatives;
(4) one member appointed by the governor from a list of
names submitted by the most senior member of the minority party of
the house of representatives;
(5) one member appointed by the governor from a list of
names submitted by the most senior member of the minority party of
the senate; and
(6) the following members of which two-thirds are
appointed evenly between the governor and the lieutenant governor,
and the remaining one-third are appointed by the governor from a
list of names submitted by the speaker of the house of
representatives:
(A) a representative of the public energy sector;
(B) a representative of rural electric
cooperatives;
(C) a representative of the municipal
electricity sector;
(D) two representatives of separate nonprofit
environmental organizations;
(E) three scientists at separate institutions of
higher education, including one climatologist;
(F) an economist from an institution of higher
education;
(G) a representative of business and industry;
(H) a representative of the manufacturing or
mining industry;
(I) a representative of the agriculture or
forestry industry;
(J) a representative of the fossil fuel industry;
(K) a representative from the Health and Human
Services Commission;
(L) a representative from the Texas Military
Preparedness Commission;
(M) a representative from the Texas Division of
Emergency Management;
(N) a representative from the Texas Water
Development Board; and
(O) three representatives of the public.
(c) In addition to the members listed in Subsection (b), the
chairs of the commission may request the participation or input of
other individuals as the chairs determine is necessary, including:
(1) other members of the public;
(2) individuals with expertise in the area of carbon
emissions mitigation and severe weather adaptation; and
(3) local, state, and federal officials involved in
carbon emissions mitigation and severe weather adaptation
planning.
Sec. 396.004. JOINT CHAIRS; MEETINGS; COMPENSATION. (a)
The commission shall elect two of the commission's members to serve
as joint chairs of the commission.
(b) The commission shall meet at the call of either joint
chair.
(c) A commission member is not entitled to receive
compensation for service on the commission but is entitled to
reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses, including travel
expenses, incurred by the member in performing commission duties.
Sec. 396.005. TERMS; VACANCY. (a) Members of the
commission serve staggered six-year terms, with eight or nine
members' terms expiring February 1 of each odd-numbered year.
(b) A vacancy on the commission shall be filled in the same
manner as the original appointment.
Sec. 396.006. ACTIVITIES OF COMMISSION. (a) The
commission shall:
(1) establish carbon emissions mitigation and severe
weather adaptation strategies, including goals to help guide
planning and statewide implementation of the strategies, using the
latest and best available scientific analysis, risk assessment
tools, and other information the commission considers necessary to
monitor and forecast the impact of carbon emissions and severe
weather at the state, regional, and local levels;
(2) provide policy direction, facilitation,
coordination, and planning to federal, state, and local agencies,
and other persons as appropriate;
(3) identify:
(A) persons, communities, industries, and
ecosystems of this state vulnerable to impacts related to carbon
emissions and severe weather;
(B) potential economic ramifications of impacts
related to carbon emissions and severe weather; and
(C) existing carbon emissions mitigation and
severe weather adaptation efforts at the federal, state, and local
levels;
(4) make recommendations for meeting or exceeding this
state's carbon emissions mitigation and severe weather adaptation
goals established by the commission;
(5) assess the capacity and availability of existing
resources and identify new sources of revenue necessary to address
carbon emissions mitigation and severe weather adaptation; and
(6) advise the governor, legislature, and local
governments of this state on the economic and budgetary
ramifications of carbon emissions and severe weather impacts,
mitigation, and adaptation.
(b) The commission may confer with scientists and other
experts to evaluate whether more frequent or extreme winter cold
snaps are caused by the warming of the stratospheric polar vortex as
a result of carbon emissions.
Sec. 396.007. INTERNET WEBSITE. The commission shall
develop and maintain an Internet website that:
(1) includes a mission statement relating to the
duties and goals of the commission under this chapter; and
(2) describes the actions, plans, and policies of the
commission, and the results, if any, of such actions, plans, and
policies.
Sec. 396.008. BIENNIAL PROGRESS REPORT. The commission
shall identify the information necessary to track this state's
progress in implementing the carbon emissions mitigation and severe
weather adaptation strategies established by the commission under
Section 396.006 and shall submit a biennial progress report to the
governor and the legislature not later than the 20th day before the
date each regular session of the legislature convenes.
Sec. 396.009. COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW; REPORT. Not later than
the 20th day before the date the regular session of the 90th
Legislature convenes, and before the end of each successive
five-year period after that date, the commission shall conduct a
comprehensive review of the statewide implementation of the carbon
emissions mitigation and severe weather adaptation strategies
established by the commission under Section 396.006 and submit a
report on the commission's findings and recommendations to the
governor, the legislature, and the governing body of each
municipality and county in this state.
Sec. 396.010. SEA LEVEL RISE VULNERABILITY AND ADAPTATION
REPORT. (a) The commission shall develop and make publicly
available a sea level rise vulnerability and adaptation report that
identifies:
(1) the major areas of this state that are or will be
impacted by sea level rise during the next 30 years;
(2) the sea level rise impacts reasonably expected to
occur during the next 30 years in each area identified under
Subdivision (1), based on the latest and best available scientific
research;
(3) the economic ramifications of sea level rise; and
(4) applicable federal laws, policies, and programs
affecting areas of this state impacted by sea level rise.
(b) The report developed under Subsection (a) must include
the commission's recommendations for planning, management, and
adaptation relating to hazards associated with sea level rise.
(c) In developing the report under Subsection (a), the
commission shall:
(1) solicit public comment; and
(2) coordinate with the federal, state, and local
agencies involved in carbon emissions mitigation and severe weather
adaptation planning.
(d) The commission shall evaluate and update the sea level
rise vulnerability and adaptation report developed under this
section at least once every five years.
SECTION 3. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
date of this Act:
(1) the governor and lieutenant governor shall appoint
the 25 members to the Texas Carbon Emissions Mitigation and Severe
Weather Adaptation Commission as provided by Section 396.003,
Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act; and
(2) the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of
the house of representatives or their designees shall meet to
apportion the appointments under Section 396.003(b)(6), Health and
Safety Code, as added by this Act.
(b) The initial members of the Texas Carbon Emissions
Mitigation and Severe Weather Adaptation Commission appointed
under this section shall draw lots to determine which members will
serve terms expiring February 1, 2025, which members will serve
terms expiring February 1, 2027, and which members will serve terms
expiring February 1, 2029.
SECTION 4. Not later than September 30, 2024, the Texas
Carbon Emissions Mitigation and Severe Weather Adaptation
Commission shall develop and make publicly available the initial
sea level rise vulnerability and adaptation report required by
Section 396.010, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.