85th Texas Legislature Regular Session Update – February 28, 2017

The Texas Legislature has filed the following bills for consideration during Texas’ 85th legislative session. The session began on January 10, 2017. March 10, 2017, is the deadline for filing most bills. You can read more on the Texas Senate News page and on the Texas House of Representatives News page.

Air Alliance Houston encourages you to learn about the importance of HB 1927. This bill pertains to citizens knowing what toxic chemicals are being released into the air by manufacturing facilities. The Houston Chronicle published an informative article stating this “Bill would create alerts for chemical releases,” in which Air Alliance Houston’s Adrian Shelley is quoted. Air Alliance Houston provides an informative Toxic Alert Fact Sheet that explains what the bill entails and what toxic emergencies Houston had in 2016.

The Texas Campaign for the Environment is currently proposing action on recycling used batteries (HB 1874). If batteries are disposed in landfills, they have a potential harm of leaking into nearby water sources as well as into the ground. If you would like to learn more about the background of this issue or how to take action, the Texas Campaign for the Environment has a post about recycling batteries and what steps should be taken in order for this to be resolved.

Committees have been assigned for the 85th Legislature

House:

• Agriculture & Livestock
• Culture, Recreation, & Tourism
• Energy Resources
• Environmental Regulation
• Land & Resource Management
• Natural Resources - scheduled to meet March 1
• Public Health
• Transportation
• Urban Affairs

Senate:

• Agriculture, Water, & Rural Affairs
• Health & Human Services 
• Intergovernmental Relations
• Natural Resources & Economic Development – scheduled to meet March 2

Bills Assigned to a Committee

• Agriculture, Water, & Rural Affairs
  • SB 722 - fee for participation in the Managed Lands Deer Program of the Parks and Wildlife Department.
  • SB 821 – membership for Texas Water Development Board
  • SB 822 – property at University of Texas to be transferred to Parks & Wildlife
  • SB 866 – use of money in state water pollution control fund
  • SB 898 – regulation of trees and timber
• Business & Commerce
  • SB 733 – sanitation requirements for artificial bodies of water
  • SB 736 – authority of General Land Office to sell retail electric power
• Energy Resources
  • HB 1818 – Railroad Commission of Texas; imposing fees
• Environmental Regulation
  • HB 1437 – use of projects for litter reductions
• Intergovernmental Relations
  • SB 347 – open meetings & public information laws to regional water planning groups
  • SB 744 – tree planting credit
  • SB 749 – change fee by Bastrop County Water Control & Improvement
• Natural Resources
  • HB 1318 – regulation of production of wells
• Natural Resources & Economic Development
  • SB 26 – Texas Emissions Reduction Plan, scheduled for public hearing on March 2
  • SB 743 – abolition of fee given by General Land Office
  • SB 864 – right to use state water
• Public Health
  • HB 1348 – smoking ban on premises for businesses
• Ways & Means
  • HB 1351 – local motor fuel taxes on natural gas

House Bills

• HB 2240 - Relating to a requirement that certain recipients of financial assistance from the Texas Water Development Board adopt certain restrictions on water use by their customers.
• HB 2241 - Relating to the treatment of a replacement structure for a structure that was rendered uninhabitable or unusable by a casualty or by wind or water damage as a new improvement for ad valorem tax purposes.
• HB 2264 - Relating to the priority applicable to certain interbasin transfers of water.
• HB 2274 - Relating to registration and regulation of dangerous wild animals; providing penalties, creating a criminal offense, and authorizing a fee.
• HB 2277 - Relating to fixing the median cost of high-cost gas wells
• HB 2314 - Relating to liability for interest if land appraised for ad valorem tax purposes as agricultural or open-space land is sold or diverted to a different use.
• HB 2319 - Relating to weight limitations for natural gas motor vehicles.
• HB 2322 - Relating to the applicability of petitions to release an area for certificates of public convenience and necessity for water or sewer services.
• HB 2334 - Relating to the imposition of a criminal penalty for the violation of a rule adopted or order issued under the Flood Control and Insurance Act.
• HB 2362 - Relating to creating a fund to provide grants to certain local entities in areas of the state affected by decreased oil and gas production for economic development and diversification projects.
• HB 2363 - Relating to export fees charged by the Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District; changing a fee.
• HB 2369 - Relating to municipal rates for water and sewer service charged to public school districts.
• HB 2376 - Relating to the fee collected for an on-site wastewater treatment permit application.
• HB 2377 - Relating to the development of brackish groundwater.
• HB 2378 - Relating to extensions of an expired permit for the transfer of groundwater from a groundwater conservation district.
• HB 2386 - Relating to volunteer firefighter supervision of outdoor burning of waste consisting of plant growth.
• HB 2395 - Relating to testing for lead contamination in public school drinking water.
• HB 2424 - Relating to the territory of the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District.
• HB 2479 - Relating to inaccurate or incomplete permit applications for solid waste facilities.
• HB 2488 - Relating to the treatment and recycling for beneficial use of drill cuttings.
• HB 2497 - Relating to the notice of intent to obtain a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
• HB 2517 - Relating to a prohibition of the land application of grit or grease trap waste.
• HB 2533 - Relating to civil suits brought by local governments or certain other persons for violations of certain laws under the jurisdiction of, or rules adopted or orders or permits issued by, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
• HB 2535 - Relating to the ownership and local regulation of trees and timber.
• HB 2539 - Relating to the applicability of the law governing the mineral use of subdivided land.

Senate Bills

• SB 300 - Relating to the continuation and functions of the Railroad Commission of Texas; providing for the imposition of fees.
• SB 1006 - Relating to the eligibility of land used as an ecological laboratory for appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes as qualified open-space land.
• SB 1008 - Relating to funding for the economic stabilization fund, including the rates of severance taxes on oil and gas production.
• SB 1045 - Relating to the consolidation of public notice requirements for certain air quality permit applications.
• SB 1046 - Relating to sources of funding for the Texas emissions reduction plan.
• SB 1053 - Relating to an appeal of a desired future condition in a groundwater management area.
• SB 1082 - Relating to the ownership and local regulation of trees and timber.
• SB 1105 - Relating to the abolishment of the used oil recycling account, deposits of used oil recycling fees, and use of the water resource management account.
• SB 1115 - Relating to the revocation of certain water utilities’ certificate of public convenience and necessity for major rules violations.
• SB 1120 - Relating to the prohibition of local motor fuel taxes on compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas.
• SB 1137 - Relating to the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact waste disposal facility.
• SJR 41 - Proposing a constitutional amendment to provide for foregoing the transfer of oil and gas production tax revenue to the economic stabilization fund if the ending fund balance for the preceding fiscal year is greater than $5 billion and for reducing the rates of oil and gas production taxes by amounts sufficient to equal the foregone transfer.

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