Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB712 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R4623 SGM-F
2	2	By: Kolkhorst S.B. No. 712
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to renaming the Texas Natural Resources Information System
8	8	as the Texas Geographic Information Office and the duties of
9	9	certain officers of that entity.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 16.017(b), Water Code, is amended to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(b) The executive administrator shall operate as part of the
14	14	Texas Geographic Information Office [Natural Resources Information
15	15	System] a strategic mapping program to acquire, store, and
16	16	distribute digital, geospatial information.
17	17	SECTION 2. The heading to Section 16.021, Water Code, is
18	18	amended to read as follows:
19	19	Sec. 16.021. TEXAS GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION OFFICE [NATURAL
20	20	RESOURCES INFORMATION SYSTEM].
21	21	SECTION 3. Sections 16.021(a), (b), (c), and (e), Water
22	22	Code, are amended to read as follows:
23	23	(a) The executive administrator shall establish the Texas
24	24	Geographic Information Office [Natural Resources Information
25	25	System (TNRIS)] to serve Texas agencies and citizens as a
26	26	centralized clearinghouse and referral center for:
27	27	(1) natural resource data;
28	28	(2) census data;
29	29	(3) data related to emergency management; and
30	30	(4) other socioeconomic data.
31	31	(b) The executive administrator may, on behalf of the Texas
32	32	Geographic Information Office [TNRIS], enter into partnerships
33	33	with private entities to provide additional funding for improved
34	34	access to Texas Geographic Information Office [TNRIS] information.
35	35	The board shall adopt administrative rules to describe the process
36	36	of establishing partnerships, define the types of partnerships that
37	37	may be formed, establish the fee collection process, and define the
38	38	nondiscriminatory methods used to determine which private entities
39	39	may enter into partnerships. Any process developed by the board
40	40	must comply with all applicable laws regarding ethics, purchasing,
41	41	and contracts.
42	42	(c) The executive administrator shall designate the deputy
43	43	executive administrator [director] of the Texas Geographic
44	44	Information Office [Natural Resources Information System] to serve
45	45	as the state geographic information officer. The state geographic
46	46	information officer shall:
47	47	(1) coordinate the acquisition and use of
48	48	high-priority imagery and data sets;
49	49	(2) establish, support, and disseminate authoritative
50	50	statewide geographic data sets;
51	51	(3) support geographic data needs of emergency
52	52	management responders during emergencies;
53	53	(4) monitor trends in geographic information
54	54	technology; and
55	55	(5) support public access to state geographic data and
56	56	resources.
57	57	(e) The executive administrator shall:
58	58	(1) further develop the Texas Geographic Information
59	59	Office [Natural Resources Information System] by promoting and
60	60	providing for effective acquisition, archiving, documentation,
61	61	indexing, and dissemination of natural resource and related digital
62	62	and nondigital data and information;
63	63	(2) obtain information in response to disagreements
64	64	regarding names and name spellings for natural and cultural
65	65	features in the state and provide this information to the Board on
66	66	Geographic Names of the United States Department of the Interior;
67	67	(3) make recommendations to the Board on Geographic
68	68	Names of the United States Department of the Interior for naming any
69	69	natural or cultural feature subject to the limitations provided by
70	70	Subsection (f);
71	71	(4) make recommendations to the Department of
72	72	Information Resources to adopt and promote standards that
73	73	facilitate sharing of digital natural resource data and related
74	74	socioeconomic data among federal, state, and local governments and
75	75	other interested parties;
76	76	(5) acquire and disseminate natural resource and
77	77	related socioeconomic data describing the Texas-Mexico border
78	78	region; and
79	79	(6) coordinate, conduct, and facilitate the
80	80	development, maintenance, and use of mutually compatible statewide
81	81	digital base maps depicting natural resources and man-made
82	82	features.
83	83	SECTION 4. Section 16.023(b), Water Code, is amended to
84	84	read as follows:
85	85	(b) The account may be appropriated only to the board to:
86	86	(1) develop, administer, and implement the strategic
87	87	mapping program;
88	88	(2) provide grants to political subdivisions for
89	89	projects related to the development, use, and dissemination of
90	90	digital, geospatial information; and
91	91	(3) administer, implement, and operate other programs
92	92	of the Texas Geographic Information Office [Natural Resources
93	93	Information System], including:
94	94	(A) the operation of a Texas-Mexico border region
95	95	information center for the purpose of implementing Section
96	96	16.021(e)(5);
97	97	(B) the acquisition, storage, and distribution
98	98	of historical maps, photographs, and paper map products;
99	99	(C) the maintenance and enhancement of
100	100	information technology; and
101	101	(D) the production, storage, and distribution of
102	102	other digital base maps, as determined by the executive
103	103	administrator.
104	104	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.