Relating to the establishment, administration, and use of the Texas land, water, and wildlife conservation account.

89(R) HB 4212 - Engrossed version - Bill Text

By: Curry, González of El Paso, Barry,

H.B. No. 4212

Garcia of Bexar, Bell of Kaufman, et al.

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

31.205(g);

(2)

oversee the research, recommendations, and

allocation of funding for initiatives relating to habitat

management, population restoration of wild game species, litter

prevention and reduction, 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 31.212.

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.

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 31.206;

(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 31.206; 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.

(h)

Once the account balance is greater than $1 million, the

conservation board shall assess the staffing needs of the

conservation board.

Sec.

31.206.

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.

31.207.

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 31.206.

(b)

The conservation board shall provide guidance to

applicants for projects that are eligible under more than one

funding category.

Sec.

31.208.

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 31.206(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

31.206(a)(1); and

(2)

50 percent of the funding in any cycle to natural

resource conservation projects as described by Section

31.206(a)(2).

Sec.

31.209.

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.

31.210.

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.

31.211.

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.

31.212.

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 31.212, Natural Resources Code, as added by this Act, not

later than September 1, 2027.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.