Highlights of the 79th Texas Legislature - Senate

NATURAL RESOURCES/GENERAL
Classification of Open-Space Land in Appraisals—S.B. 760
By Senator Armbrister—House Sponsor: Representative Straus
Chief appraisers in many counties include all open space land within their jurisdiction into broad, general classes of
land use, such as "irrigated cropland," "dry cropland," "native pasture," or "improved pasture." This practice can
result in uneven and inequitable valuation of land for tax purposes. This bill:
Provides chief appraisers with direction and tools to establish subcategories of open-space lands within existing
classes of land use.
Coastal Erosion and Public Access to Beaches—S.B. 1044
By Senator Janek—House Sponsor: Representative Eiland
The Texas coast suffers one of the highest rates of coastal erosion in the country. Healthy full beaches are
necessary for maintaining wildlife, protecting homes along the shore, and encouraging tourism, which many coastal
communities depend upon for their tax base. This bill:
Provides funding for qualified coastal projects to mitigate coastal erosion.
Creates the Coastal Protection and Improvement Fund consisting of gifts and grants and appropriations of money by
the legislature, administered by the commissioner of the General Land Office.
Directs the comptroller of public accounts to deposit a portion of the collections from the hotel occupancy tax
received from coastal counties into the fund.
Pipeline Contamination Reporting—S.B. 1130
By Senator Hinojosa—House Sponsor: Representative Hilderbran
Often when a pipeline company is laying new pipe, the company will use an existing easement where other
preexisting pipelines have already been placed and the pipeline company may come across pollution that was
caused from leaks in the preexisting pipe. Current law requires a pipeline company to report any leaks or ground
contamination that is caused by its own equipment but does not require a company to report contamination caused
by another company. This bill:
Requires a common carrier or an owner or operator of a pipeline to report pollution observed or detected when in the
process of the placement, repair, replacement, or maintenance of any pipeline.
Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Program—S.B. 1273
By Senator Jackson—House Sponsor: Representative Geren
Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) programs are voluntary transactions between landowners and public or
private entities in which the development rights to real property are sold in order to preserve the land in its natural
state. Through PDR programs, a cash payment is made to a landowner for the value of the development rights
associated with a land parcel. The owner continues to own the land and is compensated for relinquishing the right to
develop it commercially. Agriculture and other uses of the land continue. The cost associated with PDR programs is
HIGHLIGHTS - 79 TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE 193