By: Taylor of Galveston	S.B. No. 1489

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the Gulf Coast Waste Disposal Authority.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 1.02, Chapter 409, Acts of the 61st
	Legislature, Regular Session, 1969, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 1.02.  FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY.  It is
	hereby found and declared that the quality of waters in Chambers,
	Galveston, and Harris Counties is materially affected by the
	disposal of wastes throughout those counties; that regional
	approaches to studying water pollution in these counties, to
	planning corrective and preventive measures, to providing
	coordinated facilities for waste disposal, and to regulating waste
	disposal would be far more effective than efforts on a county-wide,
	city-wide, or smaller scale; that solid wastes, as well as other
	kinds of waste, may impair water quality by seepage, drainage, and
	otherwise; that creation of the Gulf Coast [Waste Disposal]
	Authority would advance the established policy of the state to
	maintain the quality of the waters in the state consistent with the
	public health and public enjoyment thereof, the propagation and
	protection of terrestrial and aquatic life, the operation of
	existing industries, and the economic development of the state; and
	that impending shortage of water in the district for beneficial
	uses requires that all reasonable measures be taken to prevent and
	abate water pollution, and to reclaim polluted water for beneficial
	uses.
	SECTION 2.  Section 1.03(a)(1), Chapter 409, Acts of the
	61st Legislature, Regular Session, 1969, is amended to read as
	follows:
	(1)  "Authority" means the Gulf Coast [Waste Disposal]
	Authority created by this Act.
	SECTION 3.  Section 2.01, Chapter 409, Acts of the 61st
	Legislature, Regular Session, 1969, is amended to read as follows:
	Section 2.01.  CREATION OF AUTHORITY.  There is hereby
	created, pursuant to Article XVI, Section 59, of the Texas
	Constitution, a conservation and reclamation district to be known
	as the Gulf Coast [Waste Disposal] Authority, which shall be a
	governmental agency and body politic and corporate of the State of
	Texas.  A confirmation election shall not be necessary.
	SECTION 4.  Chapter 409, Acts of the 61st Legislature,
	Regular Session, 1969, is amended by adding Section 2.015 to read as
	follows:
	Sec. 2.015.  NAME CHANGE.  A reference in law to the Gulf
	Coast Waste Disposal Authority means the Gulf Coast Authority.
	SECTION 5.  Section 8104.006, Special District Local Laws
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 8104.006.  RELATIONSHIP TO GULF COAST [WASTE DISPOSAL]
	AUTHORITY.  The rights, powers, privileges, and functions granted
	to the authority under this chapter are subject to the powers
	granted to the Gulf Coast [Waste Disposal] Authority in Chapter
	409, Acts of the 61st Legislature, Regular Session, 1969 (Article
	7621d-2, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), to provide disposal
	systems.
	SECTION 6.  Section 8104.205, Special District Local Laws
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 8104.205.  CONSENT REQUIRED FOR WASTE TREATMENT AND
	DISPOSAL FACILITIES.  Before acquiring or constructing a waste
	treatment or disposal facility, the authority must obtain the
	consent of the:
	(1)  Gulf Coast [Waste Disposal] Authority; or
	(2)  Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, if the
	consent of the Gulf Coast [Waste Disposal] Authority is
	unreasonably withheld or delayed.
	SECTION 7.  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 September 1, 2017.