Bill Text: TX HB72 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 2nd Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the establishment of the Texas Environmental Justice Advisory Council.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-08-06 - Filed [HB72 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB72-Introduced.html
| By: Reynolds | H.B. No. 72 | |
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| relating to the establishment of the Texas Environmental Justice | ||
| Advisory Council. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. The heading to Subtitle G, Title 5, Health and | ||
| Safety Code, is amended to read as follows: | ||
| SUBTITLE G. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND JUSTICE | ||
| SECTION 2. Subtitle G, Title 5, Health and Safety Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Chapter 428 to read as follows: | ||
| CHAPTER 428. TEXAS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVISORY COUNCIL | ||
| Sec. 428.0101. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
| (1) "Commission" means the Texas Commission on | ||
| Environmental Quality. | ||
| (2) "Council" means the Texas Environmental Justice | ||
| Advisory Council. | ||
| (3) "Environmental justice" means the fair treatment | ||
| of people of all races, cultures, and incomes in the development, | ||
| adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental law and | ||
| policy. | ||
| (4) "Review board" means the Environmental Justice | ||
| Review Board. | ||
| Sec. 428.0102. TEXAS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ADVISORY | ||
| COUNCIL. The Texas Environmental Justice Advisory Council is | ||
| established to advise state agencies and local governments on | ||
| environmental justice issues. | ||
| Sec. 428.0103. MEMBERSHIP. (a) The council is composed of | ||
| eight members appointed as follows: | ||
| (1) one member appointed by the commissioner of the | ||
| Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; | ||
| (2) one member appointed by the executive commissioner | ||
| of the Health and Human Services Commission; | ||
| (3) one member appointed by the attorney general; | ||
| (4) one member appointed by the executive director of | ||
| the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs; | ||
| (5) one member appointed by the commissioner of | ||
| agriculture; | ||
| (6) one member appointed by the executive director of | ||
| the Texas Department of Transportation; | ||
| (7) one member appointed by the commissioner of | ||
| education; and | ||
| (8) one member appointed by the governor. | ||
| (b) Members of the council serve two-year terms. | ||
| Sec. 428.0104. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE REVIEW BOARD. (a) | ||
| The Environmental Justice Review Board is established. The review | ||
| board is composed of 15 members appointed by the council as follows: | ||
| (1) five members from grassroots or faith-based | ||
| community organizations; and | ||
| (2) 10 members from public health, environmental, and | ||
| civil rights organizations, academia, large and small businesses, | ||
| local government officials, and organized labor. | ||
| (b) The review board shall meet at least four times a year | ||
| and select a presiding officer from its membership. | ||
| (c) The review board shall advise the council about issues | ||
| related to environmental justice and the action plans developed | ||
| under Section 428.0107. | ||
| Sec. 428.0105. STATE PROGRAM REVIEW. (a) The council shall | ||
| review each state agency and state program that serves to protect | ||
| the environment to evaluate the agency's or program's positive and | ||
| negative effects on environmental justice for affected people. | ||
| (b) Upon completing a review of a state agency or program | ||
| under Subsection (a), the council shall prepare a report | ||
| containing: | ||
| (1) the council's findings from the review; and | ||
| (2) legislative and policy recommendations to address | ||
| any environmental justice issues associated with the reviewed | ||
| agency or program. | ||
| (c) The council shall deliver a report prepared under this | ||
| section to the reviewed state agency or the state agency that | ||
| oversees the reviewed program, the governor, the lieutenant | ||
| governor, and the speaker of the house of representatives. | ||
| Sec. 428.0106. REPORT ON COMMISSION ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITS. | ||
| (a) The council shall prepare a report that reviews existing | ||
| environmental and public health information. The report must | ||
| identify each facility that has or is applying for a permit issued | ||
| by the commission. For each facility, the report must: | ||
| (1) evaluate the facility's positive and negative | ||
| effects on environmental justice for affected people; and | ||
| (2) make recommendations for permit compliance, | ||
| enforcement, remediation, siting, and other strategies to address | ||
| identified instances of lacking environmental justice. | ||
| (b) The council shall revise the report prepared under this | ||
| section biennially and deliver the revised report to the | ||
| commissioner of the commission, the commissioner of the Health and | ||
| Human Services Commission, the governor, the lieutenant governor, | ||
| and the speaker of the house of representatives. | ||
| Sec. 428.0107. COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN. (a) Representatives | ||
| of a community that is experiencing unfair treatment in the | ||
| development, adoption, implementation, or enforcement of | ||
| environmental law or policy may petition the council to create a | ||
| community action plan. | ||
| (b) The council shall prescribe the petition content and | ||
| procedure for petitioning. A petition must include a description | ||
| of how the community is disproportionately affected by: | ||
| (1) environmental health risks; or | ||
| (2) the development, adoption, implementation, or | ||
| enforcement of law or policy affecting public health or the | ||
| environment. | ||
| (c) The council shall review the submitted petitions and | ||
| select communities for which the council shall develop an action | ||
| plan under Subsection (d). The council shall develop the community | ||
| selection criteria. | ||
| (d) The council, in cooperation with the review board, shall | ||
| develop an action plan for each community whose petition is | ||
| selected under Subsection (c). The council shall work with the | ||
| citizens and local government officials of the community selected | ||
| in developing the action plan. The action plan must describe | ||
| clearly steps the community may take to improve existing and future | ||
| environmental justice for the community. In developing the action | ||
| plan for a community, the council shall: | ||
| (1) consider: | ||
| (A) the allocation of resources; | ||
| (B) the exercise of regulatory discretion; and | ||
| (C) new environmental standards and protections; | ||
| and | ||
| (2) specify: | ||
| (A) community deliverables; | ||
| (B) a time frame for implementation; and | ||
| (C) available financial and other resources to | ||
| implement the plan. | ||
| (e) The council shall present each action plan developed | ||
| under this section to the selected community and each relevant | ||
| state agency, recommending steps the community and state agency may | ||
| take to facilitate the action plan's implementation. | ||
| (f) The council shall monitor the implementation of each | ||
| action plan developed under this section. | ||
| Sec. 428.0108. RULES. The council may adopt rules | ||
| necessary to implement this chapter. | ||
| SECTION 3. (a) Not later than January 1, 2022, the | ||
| appropriate appointing authorities shall appoint the members to the | ||
| Texas Environmental Justice Advisory Council as required by Section | ||
| 428.0103, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act. The council | ||
| may not take action until a majority of the appointed members have | ||
| taken office. | ||
| (b) Not later than April 1, 2022, the Texas Environmental | ||
| Justice Advisory Council shall appoint the members to the | ||
| Environmental Justice Review Board as required by Section 428.0104, | ||
| Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act. | ||
| (c) Not later than June 1, 2022, the Texas Environmental | ||
| Justice Advisory Council shall begin accepting petitions under | ||
| Section 428.0107, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act. | ||
| (d) Not later than December 1, 2022, the Texas Environmental | ||
| Justice Advisory Council shall complete the initial report required | ||
| under Section 428.0106, Health and Safety Code, as added by this | ||
| Act. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the | ||
| legislative session. | ||
