Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4212 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R9280 JAM-F
2	2	By: Curry H.B. No. 4212
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the establishment, administration, and use of the Texas
10	10	land, water, and wildlife conservation account.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Chapter 31, Natural Resources Code, is amended
13	13	by adding Subchapter F to read as follows:
14	14	SUBCHAPTER F. TEXAS LAND, WATER, AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION ACCOUNT
15	15	Sec. 31.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
16	16	(1) "Account" means the Texas land, water, and
17	17	wildlife conservation account.
18	18	(2) "Agricultural conservation easement" has the
19	19	meaning assigned by Section 84.002, Parks and Wildlife Code.
20	20	(3) "Conservation board" means the Texas land, water,
21	21	and wildlife conservation board.
22	22	(4) "Conservation easement" has the meaning assigned
23	23	by Section 183.001, Natural Resources Code.
24	24	(5) "Public access" means a land or water area for
25	25	human use and enjoyment that is relatively free of man-made
26	26	structures and includes land and water parks owned or operated by
27	27	the state or a political subdivision.
28	28	Sec. 31.202. TEXAS LAND, WATER, AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
29	29	BOARD. (a) The Texas land, water, and wildlife conservation board
30	30	is composed of eight members as follows:
31	31	(1) the commissioner;
32	32	(2) the executive director of the Texas Commission on
33	33	Environmental Quality or the executive director's designee;
34	34	(3) the executive director of the Parks and Wildlife
35	35	Department or the executive director's designee;
36	36	(4) the executive administrator of the Texas Water
37	37	Development Board or the executive administrator's designee;
38	38	(5) the executive director of the State Soil and Water
39	39	Conservation Board;
40	40	(6) a member of the public appointed by the governor;
41	41	(7) a member of the public appointed by the lieutenant
42	42	governor; and
43	43	(8) a member of the public appointed by the speaker of
44	44	the house of representatives.
45	45	(b) The commissioner serves as the presiding officer of the
46	46	conservation board. The conservation board may select an assistant
47	47	presiding officer and secretary from among its members.
48	48	(c) A member of the conservation board is not entitled to
49	49	compensation but is entitled to reimbursement of expenses for
50	50	service on the conservation board.
51	51	(d) The conservation board shall meet at least four times
52	52	each year at a time and place determined by the presiding officer.
53	53	(e) The conservation board may meet at other times the
54	54	presiding officer considers appropriate. The presiding officer may
55	55	call a meeting on the presiding officer's own motion.
56	56	Sec. 31.203. DUTIES OF CONSERVATION BOARD. The
57	57	conservation board shall:
58	58	(1) manage the account in accordance with the
59	59	agreement entered into with the land office under Section
60	60	31.206(g);
61	61	(2) oversee the research, recommendations, and
62	62	allocation of funding for initiatives relating to habitat
63	63	management, population restoration of wild game species, and
64	64	beneficial land, water, and wildlife conservation practices in this
65	65	state;
66	66	(3) support research organizations and entities that
67	67	advance the interests of Texas hunters and landowners and foster
68	68	rural economic development;
69	69	(4) encourage interagency coordination, best
70	70	practices standardization, and cost-saving measures in the
71	71	activities described by Subdivisions (1) and (2);
72	72	(5) evaluate volunteer research initiatives related
73	73	to land, water, and wildlife management and best practices; and
74	74	(6) submit to the legislature the report described by
75	75	Section 31.213.
76	76	Sec. 31.204. TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE. The presiding
77	77	officer of the conservation board may establish a technical
78	78	advisory committee composed of individuals with professional or
79	79	academic experience in a field related to the conservation board's
80	80	duties.
81	81	Sec. 31.205. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT. The land office shall
82	82	provide administrative support to the conservation board.
83	83	Sec. 31.206. TEXAS LAND, WATER, AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
84	84	ACCOUNT. (a) The Texas land, water, and wildlife conservation
85	85	account is a separate account in the general revenue fund.
86	86	(b) The account may be used only as provided by this
87	87	subchapter.
88	88	(c) The account consists of:
89	89	(1) money transferred to the account by the land
90	90	office;
91	91	(2) money appropriated to the account by law;
92	92	(3) the proceeds of fees or other sources of revenue
93	93	dedicated by law for deposit to the account;
94	94	(4) interest and other earnings on the investment of
95	95	money in the account;
96	96	(5) gifts, grants, or donations to the account; and
97	97	(6) money from other sources designated by the
98	98	conservation board for deposit to the account as authorized by law.
99	99	(d) The conservation board may use the account only to:
100	100	(1) award a grant to an entity for a public parks or
101	101	natural areas project or a natural resource conservation project as
102	102	provided by Section 31.207;
103	103	(2) award a grant to provide matching funds to an
104	104	entity to participate in a federal program for a public parks or
105	105	natural areas project or a natural resource conservation project as
106	106	provided by Section 31.207; or
107	107	(3) pay the necessary and reasonable expenses to
108	108	administer the account, not to exceed two percent of money
109	109	disbursed from the account in any given year.
110	110	(e) The conservation board shall allocate from money in the
111	111	account described by Subsection (c)(4) amounts necessary to pay the
112	112	expenses of administering the account.
113	113	(f) The account may not be used:
114	114	(1) to facilitate the use of eminent domain for the
115	115	acquisition of real property; or
116	116	(2) for the acquisition or transfer of real property
117	117	to be managed by the federal government.
118	118	(g) The land office shall enter into an agreement with the
119	119	conservation board for the management, operation, and financial
120	120	support of the account. The agreement must establish:
121	121	(1) the expectations and goals of the land office
122	122	regarding the management of the account, including the transfer of
123	123	any state money from the account; and
124	124	(2) standards for the management of the account.
125	125	Sec. 31.207. ELIGIBLE PROJECTS AND PERSONS ELIGIBLE FOR
126	126	GRANT; PRIORITY. (a) Projects eligible for a grant awarded from
127	127	the account include:
128	128	(1) a public parks or natural areas project that
129	129	benefits, protects, or enhances:
130	130	(A) public access in general; or
131	131	(B) a recreational trail or trail easement;
132	132	(2) a natural resource conservation project that
133	133	benefits, protects, or enhances:
134	134	(A) farm, ranch, or forest land through a project
135	135	under Chapter 84, Parks and Wildlife Code, or by other means,
136	136	including by:
137	137	(i) creating a conservation easement or an
138	138	agricultural conservation easement; or
139	139	(ii) conserving forest lands;
140	140	(B) wildlife or a wildlife habitat, including
141	141	acquisition of a land or conservation easement for protection of a
142	142	wetland or wildlife habitat;
143	143	(C) a project that uses water resources for water
144	144	quality and quantity, including:
145	145	(i) aquifer recharge area protection;
146	146	(ii) acquisition of land or conservation
147	147	easements for protection and enhancement of a water resource; and
148	148	(iii) dedication for 10 years or more of a
149	149	water right or permit allocation to maintain or improve instream
150	150	flows, spring flows, and bay and estuary inflows; and
151	151	(D) a restoration project that:
152	152	(i) prevents soil erosion, reduces loss of
153	153	wildlife habitat, or restores native grassland on agricultural
154	154	land;
155	155	(ii) restores critical wildlife habitat,
156	156	maintains or enhances fish or wildlife habitat, or restores a
157	157	wetland; or
158	158	(iii) enhances spring flow, restores a
159	159	stream, river, or riparian area, or improves water quality; and
160	160	(3) a wildlife conservation project that:
161	161	(A) studies the population decline of game
162	162	species in the state;
163	163	(B) studies the economic impact of game species
164	164	populations to rural areas of the state; or
165	165	(C) facilitates the long-term protection of
166	166	restoration of declining game species.
167	167	(b) The conservation board may award a grant under this
168	168	subchapter only to a district or authority created under Section
169	169	52, Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, a
170	170	municipality, a county, a state agency, or a nongovernmental
171	171	entity.
172	172	(c) The conservation board by rule shall establish criteria
173	173	for setting priorities for the projects eligible to receive grants
174	174	under this subchapter. The criteria must include:
175	175	(1) the project's use of matching funds;
176	176	(2) the potential to maximize benefits in multiple
177	177	eligible project areas;
178	178	(3) the long-term sustainability and benefits of the
179	179	project;
180	180	(4) coordination and integration with other relevant
181	181	projects necessary for the success of the project;
182	182	(5) the regional and eco-regional diversity of the
183	183	project; and
184	184	(6) the overall ecological benefit of the project.
185	185	Sec. 31.208. APPLICATION PREPARATION ASSISTANCE. (a) The
186	186	conservation board shall establish a grant program to provide
187	187	financial assistance to eligible entities for conservation
188	188	planning, application preparation, and administrative costs
189	189	associated with eligible projects described by Section 31.207.
190	190	(b) The conservation board shall provide guidance to
191	191	applicants for projects that are eligible under more than one
192	192	funding category.
193	193	Sec. 31.209. FUNDING DETERMINATIONS; APPLICATION PROCESS.
194	194	(a) The conservation board shall implement an application process
195	195	to select eligible projects in accordance with the priority
196	196	criteria established under Section 31.207(c).
197	197	(b) If the conservation board receives a sufficient number
198	198	of applications for eligible projects, the conservation board shall
199	199	allocate:
200	200	(1) 50 percent of the funding in any cycle to public
201	201	parks or natural areas projects as described by Section
202	202	31.207(a)(1); and
203	203	(2) 50 percent of the funding in any cycle to natural
204	204	resource conservation projects as described by Section
205	205	31.207(a)(2).
206	206	Sec. 31.210. APPROVAL OF APPLICATIONS. The conservation
207	207	board may approve an application only if the conservation board
208	208	finds that:
209	209	(1) the application and the assistance applied for
210	210	meet the requirements of this subchapter and rules adopted under
211	211	this subchapter; and
212	212	(2) the applicant demonstrates the ability to complete
213	213	the project.
214	214	Sec. 31.211. RULES. (a) The conservation board shall adopt
215	215	rules necessary to implement this subchapter, including rules that
216	216	establish procedures for:
217	217	(1) the administration of the account; and
218	218	(2) an application for a project grant from the
219	219	account.
220	220	(b) The conservation board may adopt rules to ensure that a
221	221	policy or practice of the conservation board under this subchapter
222	222	does not prevent qualification for or the use of federal matching
223	223	funds.
224	224	Sec. 31.212. TEXAS LAND, WATER, AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
225	225	GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE. (a) The Texas land, water, and wildlife
226	226	conservation governance committee is composed of the following 11
227	227	members:
228	228	(1) one representative appointed by each board member
229	229	specified by Sections 31.202(a)(1)-(8); and
230	230	(2) three representatives appointed by the
231	231	conservation board from nongovernmental entities who have relevant
232	232	experience.
233	233	(b) The governance committee shall assist in developing and
234	234	evaluating:
235	235	(1) the application process and scoring criteria for
236	236	project funding by the conservation board;
237	237	(2) recommendations to the conservation board; and
238	238	(3) other items as directed by the conservation board.
239	239	Sec. 31.213. MONITORING AND REPORTING. (a) Not later than
240	240	September 1 of every even-numbered year, the conservation board
241	241	shall prepare and submit to the legislature a report quantifying
242	242	the benefits of projects that have received grants under this
243	243	subchapter. The report must include:
244	244	(1) recommendations for methods to effectively
245	245	conserve and restore land, water, and wildlife resources through
246	246	projects eligible to receive grants under this subchapter; and
247	247	(2) a summary analysis of the potential economic
248	248	impacts of the recommendations made under Subdivision (1).
249	249	(b) The conservation board may use money from the account to
250	250	prepare the report required by this section.
251	251	SECTION 2. The Texas land, water, and wildlife conservation
252	252	board shall submit to the legislature the initial report required
253	253	by Section 31.213, Natural Resources Code, as added by this Act, not
254	254	later than September 1, 2027.
255	255	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.