Bill Text: TX HB2755 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Relating to the minimum instruction requirement for the boater education program and the disposition and use of money received by the Parks and Wildlife Department from the boater education program.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 10-2)

Status: (Passed) 2023-05-27 - Effective on 9/1/23 [HB2755 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB2755-Enrolled.html

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H.B. No. 2755

AN ACT
relating to the minimum instruction requirement for the boater
education program and the disposition and use of money received by
the Parks and Wildlife Department from the boater education
program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 11.032(b), Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The department shall deposit to the credit of the game,
fish, and water safety account all revenue, less allowable costs,
from the following sources:
(1) all types of fishing licenses and stamps and
shrimping licenses;
(2) all types of hunting licenses and stamps;
(3) trapping licenses and other licenses relating to
the taking, propagation, and sale of fur-bearing animals or their
pelts;
(4) sale of marl, sand, gravel, shell, and mudshell;
(5) oyster bed rentals and permits;
(6) federal funds received for fish and wildlife
research, management, development and conservation, resource
protection, and law enforcement, unless the funds are received for
the specific purposes of Subchapter F, Chapter 77;
(7) sale of property, less advertising costs,
purchased from this account or a special fund or account that is now
part of this account;
(8) fines and penalties collected for violations of a
law pertaining to the protection and conservation of wild birds,
wild fowl, wild animals, fish, shrimp, oysters, game birds and
animals, fur-bearing animals, alligators, and any other wildlife
resources of this state;
(9) sale of rough fish by the department;
(10) fees for importation permits;
(11) fees from supplying fish for or placing fish in
water located on private property;
(12) sale of seized pelts;
(13) sale or lease of grazing rights to and the
products from game preserves, sanctuaries, and management areas;
(14) contracts for the removal of fur-bearing animals
and reptiles from wildlife management areas;
(15) vessel registration fees;
(16) vessel manufacturer or dealer licensing fees;
(17) fines or penalties imposed by a court for
violation of water safety laws contained in Chapter 31 of this code;
(18) alligator hunter's or alligator buyer's licenses;
(19) sale of alligators or any part of an alligator by
the department;
(20) fees and revenue collected under Section
11.027(b) or (c) of this code that are associated with the
conservation of fish and wildlife;
(21) fees related to cultivated oyster mariculture;
(22) vessel and outboard motor titling fees;
(23) participation fees collected under Section
43.976; [and]
(24) money received by the department from:
(A) boater education program courses and
examinations administered under Section 31.108; and
(B) boater education deferrals issued under the
program established under Section 31.110(c); and
(25) any other source provided by law.
SECTION 2. Section 11.033(a), Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) To the extent allowed by federal law, money in the game,
fish, and water safety account may be used for the following
purposes:
(1) enforcement of fish, shrimp, and oyster laws, game
laws, and laws pertaining to sand, shell, and gravel;
(2) dissemination of information pertaining to marine
life, wild animal life, wildlife values, and wildlife management;
(3) scientific investigation and survey of marine life
for the better protection and conservation of marine life;
(4) establishment and maintenance of fish hatcheries,
fish sanctuaries, tidal water fish passes, wildlife management
areas, and public hunting grounds;
(5) propagation and distribution of marine life, game
animals, and wild birds;
(6) protection of wild birds, fish, and game;
(7) purchase, repair, and operation of boats and
dredges;
(8) research, management, and protection of the fish
and wildlife resources of this state, including alligators and
fur-bearing animals;
(9) salaries of employees and other expenses necessary
to carry out the duties of the department under laws relating to
fish, shrimp, oysters, game, water safety, and sand, shell, and
gravel;
(10) expansion and development of additional
opportunities of hunting and fishing in state-owned land and water;
(11) removing rough fish from public water;
(12) administration and enforcement of the water
safety laws as set out in Chapter 31, including administration of
the boater education program established under Section 31.108;
(13) purchasing all necessary forms and supplies,
including reimbursement of the department for any material produced
by its existing facilities or work performed by other divisions of
the department;
(14) purchase, construction, and maintenance of boat
ramps on or near public waters as provided in Chapter 31;
(15) resource protection activities;
(16) the cleanup of illegal or abandoned cultivated
oyster mariculture equipment and related debris in public water;
and
(17) any other use provided by law.
SECTION 3. Section 31.108, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (g) to
read as follows:
(a) The commission shall adopt rules to:
(1) administer a boater education program that is
designed to educate persons about the safe operation of vessels;
(2) approve boater education courses that meet or
exceed the minimum instruction requirement [, as the requirement
exists on January 1, 1997,] established by the National Association
of State Boating Law Administrators on or after January 1, 2016, and
adopted by commission rule;
(3) create an equivalency examination that may be
taken, as the commission determines is consistent with promoting
public safety in the operation of vessels, instead of the boater
education course; and
(4) ensure that boater education courses and
examinations are available in each county.
(g) Money received by the department under Subsections (e)
and (f)(1) shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of
the game, fish, and water safety account established under Section
11.032 and may be used only for the administration of the boater
education program established under this section.
SECTION 4. Section 31.110, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) Money received by the department in connection with a
boater education deferral program established by the commission
under Subsection (c) shall be deposited in the state treasury to the
credit of the game, fish, and water safety account established
under Section 11.032 and may be used only for the administration of
the boater education program established under Section 31.108.
SECTION 5. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Parks and Wildlife Commission shall adopt or modify
any rules necessary to implement the change in law made by this Act
to Section 31.108(a), Parks and Wildlife Code.
SECTION 6. Sections 31.108(g) and 31.110(d), Parks and
Wildlife Code, as added by this Act, apply only to money described
by those subsections that is received by the department on or after
the effective date of this Act. Money received by the department
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2755 was passed by the House on April
28, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 138, Nays 6, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2755 was passed by the Senate on May
12, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor