89R9280 JAM-F
By: Curry H.B. No. 4212
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment, administration, and use of the Texas
land, water, and wildlife conservation account.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 31, Natural Resources Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter F to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER F. TEXAS LAND, WATER, AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION ACCOUNT
Sec. 31.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Account" means the Texas land, water, and
wildlife conservation account.
(2) "Agricultural conservation easement" has the
meaning assigned by Section 84.002, Parks and Wildlife Code.
(3) "Conservation board" means the Texas land, water,
and wildlife conservation board.
(4) "Conservation easement" has the meaning assigned
by Section 183.001, Natural Resources Code.
(5) "Public access" means a land or water area for
human use and enjoyment that is relatively free of man-made
structures and includes land and water parks owned or operated by
the state or a political subdivision.
Sec. 31.202. TEXAS LAND, WATER, AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
BOARD. (a) The Texas land, water, and wildlife conservation board
is composed of eight members as follows:
(1) the commissioner;
(2) the executive director of the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality or the executive director's designee;
(3) the executive director of the Parks and Wildlife
Department or the executive director's designee;
(4) the executive administrator of the Texas Water
Development Board or the executive administrator's designee;
(5) the executive director of the State Soil and Water
Conservation Board;
(6) a member of the public appointed by the governor;
(7) a member of the public appointed by the lieutenant
governor; and
(8) a member of the public appointed by the speaker of
the house of representatives.
(b) The commissioner serves as the presiding officer of the
conservation board. The conservation board may select an assistant
presiding officer and secretary from among its members.
(c) A member of the conservation board is not entitled to
compensation but is entitled to reimbursement of expenses for
service on the conservation board.
(d) The conservation board shall meet at least four times
each year at a time and place determined by the presiding officer.
(e) The conservation board may meet at other times the
presiding officer considers appropriate. The presiding officer may
call a meeting on the presiding officer's own motion.
Sec. 31.203. DUTIES OF CONSERVATION BOARD. The
conservation board shall:
(1) manage the account in accordance with the
agreement entered into with the land office under Section
31.206(g);
(2) oversee the research, recommendations, and
allocation of funding for initiatives relating to habitat
management, population restoration of wild game species, and
beneficial land, water, and wildlife conservation practices in this
state;
(3) support research organizations and entities that
advance the interests of Texas hunters and landowners and foster
rural economic development;
(4) encourage interagency coordination, best
practices standardization, and cost-saving measures in the
activities described by Subdivisions (1) and (2);
(5) evaluate volunteer research initiatives related
to land, water, and wildlife management and best practices; and
(6) submit to the legislature the report described by
Section 31.213.
Sec. 31.204. TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. The presiding
officer of the conservation board may establish a technical
advisory committee composed of individuals with professional or
academic experience in a field related to the conservation board's
duties.
Sec. 31.205. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT. The land office shall
provide administrative support to the conservation board.
Sec. 31.206. TEXAS LAND, WATER, AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
ACCOUNT. (a) The Texas land, water, and wildlife conservation
account is a separate account in the general revenue fund.
(b) The account may be used only as provided by this
subchapter.
(c) The account consists of:
(1) money transferred to the account by the land
office;
(2) money appropriated to the account by law;
(3) the proceeds of fees or other sources of revenue
dedicated by law for deposit to the account;
(4) interest and other earnings on the investment of
money in the account;
(5) gifts, grants, or donations to the account; and
(6) money from other sources designated by the
conservation board for deposit to the account as authorized by law.
(d) The conservation board may use the account only to:
(1) award a grant to an entity for a public parks or
natural areas project or a natural resource conservation project as
provided by Section 31.207;
(2) award a grant to provide matching funds to an
entity to participate in a federal program for a public parks or
natural areas project or a natural resource conservation project as
provided by Section 31.207; or
(3) pay the necessary and reasonable expenses to
administer the account, not to exceed two percent of money
disbursed from the account in any given year.
(e) The conservation board shall allocate from money in the
account described by Subsection (c)(4) amounts necessary to pay the
expenses of administering the account.
(f) The account may not be used:
(1) to facilitate the use of eminent domain for the
acquisition of real property; or
(2) for the acquisition or transfer of real property
to be managed by the federal government.
(g) The land office shall enter into an agreement with the
conservation board for the management, operation, and financial
support of the account. The agreement must establish:
(1) the expectations and goals of the land office
regarding the management of the account, including the transfer of
any state money from the account; and
(2) standards for the management of the account.
Sec. 31.207. ELIGIBLE PROJECTS AND PERSONS ELIGIBLE FOR
GRANT; PRIORITY. (a) Projects eligible for a grant awarded from
the account include:
(1) a public parks or natural areas project that
benefits, protects, or enhances:
(A) public access in general; or
(B) a recreational trail or trail easement;
(2) a natural resource conservation project that
benefits, protects, or enhances:
(A) farm, ranch, or forest land through a project
under Chapter 84, Parks and Wildlife Code, or by other means,
including by:
(i) creating a conservation easement or an
agricultural conservation easement; or
(ii) conserving forest lands;
(B) wildlife or a wildlife habitat, including
acquisition of a land or conservation easement for protection of a
wetland or wildlife habitat;
(C) a project that uses water resources for water
quality and quantity, including:
(i) aquifer recharge area protection;
(ii) acquisition of land or conservation
easements for protection and enhancement of a water resource; and
(iii) dedication for 10 years or more of a
water right or permit allocation to maintain or improve instream
flows, spring flows, and bay and estuary inflows; and
(D) a restoration project that:
(i) prevents soil erosion, reduces loss of
wildlife habitat, or restores native grassland on agricultural
land;
(ii) restores critical wildlife habitat,
maintains or enhances fish or wildlife habitat, or restores a
wetland; or
(iii) enhances spring flow, restores a
stream, river, or riparian area, or improves water quality; and
(3) a wildlife conservation project that:
(A) studies the population decline of game
species in the state;
(B) studies the economic impact of game species
populations to rural areas of the state; or
(C) facilitates the long-term protection of
restoration of declining game species.
(b) The conservation board may award a grant under this
subchapter only to a district or authority created under Section
52, Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, a
municipality, a county, a state agency, or a nongovernmental
entity.
(c) The conservation board by rule shall establish criteria
for setting priorities for the projects eligible to receive grants
under this subchapter. The criteria must include:
(1) the project's use of matching funds;
(2) the potential to maximize benefits in multiple
eligible project areas;
(3) the long-term sustainability and benefits of the
project;
(4) coordination and integration with other relevant
projects necessary for the success of the project;
(5) the regional and eco-regional diversity of the
project; and
(6) the overall ecological benefit of the project.
Sec. 31.208. APPLICATION PREPARATION ASSISTANCE. (a) The
conservation board shall establish a grant program to provide
financial assistance to eligible entities for conservation
planning, application preparation, and administrative costs
associated with eligible projects described by Section 31.207.
(b) The conservation board shall provide guidance to
applicants for projects that are eligible under more than one
funding category.
Sec. 31.209. FUNDING DETERMINATIONS; APPLICATION PROCESS.
(a) The conservation board shall implement an application process
to select eligible projects in accordance with the priority
criteria established under Section 31.207(c).
(b) If the conservation board receives a sufficient number
of applications for eligible projects, the conservation board shall
allocate:
(1) 50 percent of the funding in any cycle to public
parks or natural areas projects as described by Section
31.207(a)(1); and
(2) 50 percent of the funding in any cycle to natural
resource conservation projects as described by Section
31.207(a)(2).
Sec. 31.210. APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS. The conservation
board may approve an application only if the conservation board
finds that:
(1) the application and the assistance applied for
meet the requirements of this subchapter and rules adopted under
this subchapter; and
(2) the applicant demonstrates the ability to complete
the project.
Sec. 31.211. RULES. (a) The conservation board shall adopt
rules necessary to implement this subchapter, including rules that
establish procedures for:
(1) the administration of the account; and
(2) an application for a project grant from the
account.
(b) The conservation board may adopt rules to ensure that a
policy or practice of the conservation board under this subchapter
does not prevent qualification for or the use of federal matching
funds.
Sec. 31.212. TEXAS LAND, WATER, AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE. (a) The Texas land, water, and wildlife
conservation governance committee is composed of the following 11
members:
(1) one representative appointed by each board member
specified by Sections 31.202(a)(1)-(8); and
(2) three representatives appointed by the
conservation board from nongovernmental entities who have relevant
experience.
(b) The governance committee shall assist in developing and
evaluating:
(1) the application process and scoring criteria for
project funding by the conservation board;
(2) recommendations to the conservation board; and
(3) other items as directed by the conservation board.
Sec. 31.213. MONITORING AND REPORTING. (a) Not later than
September 1 of every even-numbered year, the conservation board
shall prepare and submit to the legislature a report quantifying
the benefits of projects that have received grants under this
subchapter. The report must include:
(1) recommendations for methods to effectively
conserve and restore land, water, and wildlife resources through
projects eligible to receive grants under this subchapter; and
(2) a summary analysis of the potential economic
impacts of the recommendations made under Subdivision (1).
(b) The conservation board may use money from the account to
prepare the report required by this section.
SECTION 2. The Texas land, water, and wildlife conservation
board shall submit to the legislature the initial report required
by Section 31.213, Natural Resources Code, as added by this Act, not
later than September 1, 2027.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.