83rd Texas Legislature Regular Session, January 8, 2013

Session began at noon on Tuesday, January 8, 2012, and CEC is sharing information during the session about what bills our member groups and readers are tracking.

As of January 8, 2013, 438 bills have been filed by the House and 152 bills have been filed by the Senate. Bills filed so far touch on issues including public beaches, climate adaptation planning, eminent domain for recreation, community gardens, solid waste management, transportation, the sporting goods sales tax, emmissions inspections, municipal land development, TCEQ rules, water efficiency and water rates, and salvage yards, to name a few. Learn more at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/Reports/General.aspx.

The following are select bills (SB=Senate Bill, HB=House Bill, and HJR=House Joint Resolution) which may be of interest to the region’s environmental community:

• SB 78: Relating to the development of a climate adaptation plan by certain entities.
• SB 96: Relating to prohibiting the use of eminent domain to take private property for recreational purposes.
• SB 133: Relating to the use of certain state property for community food gardens.
• SB 136: Relating to unit operations for oil, gas, or oil and gas production or carbon dioxide storage.
• SB 145: Relating to a credit or refund for diesel fuel taxes paid on diesel fuel used in this state by auxiliary power units or power take-off equipment.
• HB 36: Relating to the criminal penalty for and certain civil consequences of damaging property with graffiti.
• HB 46: Relating to the regulation of raw milk and raw milk products.
• HB 83: Relating to the implementation of county solid waste management programs in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality.
• HB 84: Relating to the establishment and operation of a motor-bus-only lane pilot program in certain counties.
• HB 100: Relating to unit operations for oil, gas, or oil and gas production or carbon dioxide storage.
• HB 105: Relating to the allocation of the proceeds from taxes imposed on the sale, storage, or use of sporting goods.
• HB 114: Relating to voluntary emissions inspections in border counties.
• HB 116: Relating to the sunset review of regional mobility authorities.
• HB 118: Relating to voting eligibility requirements for members of a metropolitan planning organization policy board.
• HB 121: Relating to requiring that members of the governing board of certain metropolitan rapid transit authorities be elected.
• HB 139: Relating to the exercise of urban renewal powers by certain counties.
• HB 141: Relating to county and municipal land development regulation.
• HB 147: Relating to the regulatory analysis of rules proposed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
• HB 162: Relating to the allocation of the proceeds from taxes imposed on the sale, storage, or use of sporting goods.
• HB 168: Relating to the operation, powers, and duties of certain water districts.
• HB 178: Relating to exemption from the sales tax for certain water efficient products for a limited period.
• HB 187: Relating to the authority of the Near Northside Management District to undertake tax increment financing.
• HB 203: Relating to changing the name of the Railroad Commission of Texas to the Texas Oil and Gas Commission.
• HB 218: Relating to prohibiting the manufacture and sale of certain children’s products containing bisphenol-A or certain other substances.
• HB 227: Relating to the appropriation of money from the economic stabilization fund to be used for the purposes of the water infrastructure fund during the next state fiscal biennium.
• HB 246: Relating to the rates charged by water and sewer utilities.
• HB 248: Relating to the regulation of automotive wrecking and salvage yards in certain counties.
• HB 252: Relating to water shortage reporting by water utilities.
• HB 254: Relating to an exemption for farms from payment for wastewater service.
• HB 258: Relating to liability of certain public utilities that allow certain uses of land that the public utility owns, occupies, or leases.
• HB 263: Relating to combination resident hunting and fishing licenses for military personnel.
• HB 303: Relating to this state’s goal for renewable energy.
• HB 307: Relating to safety equipment requirements for certain cyclists; creating an offense.
• HB 311: Relating to the exemption of rural transit districts from motor fuel taxes.
• HB 314: Relating to the abolition of the Alternative Fuels Research and Education Division program administered by the Railroad Commission of Texas.
• HB 325: Relating to the boundaries of and the nature of the state’s interest in public beaches.
• HB 332: Relating to tort liability arising from a volunteer’s operation of a Parks and Wildlife Department motor-driven vehicle or motor-driven equipment.
• HB 341: Relating to the exclusion of mineral interests from the property interests that may be condemned by a regional tollway authority.
• HB 371: Relating to the offer of certain unusable remainder real property acquired by the Texas Department of Transportation to nonprofit corporations.
• HJR 22: Proposing a constitutional amendment limiting the uses of revenue from motor vehicle registration fees, taxes on motor fuels and lubricants, and certain revenue received from the federal government.
• HJR 23: Proposing a constitutional amendment concerning the limitation on the rate of growth of state appropriations.
• HJR 40: Proposing a constitutional amendment relating to the appropriation of the net revenue received from the imposition of the state sales and use tax on sporting goods.
• HJR 54: Proposing a constitutional amendment establishing the boundaries of public beaches and declaring that the state holds public beaches in trust for the use of the public.