82R6606 SMH-D
	By: Deuell	S.B. No. 1516

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the collection of artifacts from public waterways.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 191, Natural Resources
	Code, is amended by adding Section 191.060 to read as follows:
	Sec. 191.060.  COLLECTION OF ARTIFACTS FROM PUBLIC
	WATERWAYS. (a)  In this section, "artifact" means an artifact,
	including a stone implement, pottery or pottery shards, a bone tool
	other than a tool made of human bone, or another item made by
	prehistoric or historic American Indians or aborigines or early
	settlers of land in this state.
	(b)  The committee may issue a permit to a private individual
	to collect artifacts from public waterways in this state other than
	a waterway located in a state park or in land administered by the
	federal government. Except as otherwise provided by this section,
	a private individual must hold a permit issued by the committee to
	collect artifacts from public waterways in this state.
	(c)  To be eligible for a permit, a private individual:
	(1)  must be at least 16 years of age;
	(2)  may not have been convicted of a misdemeanor
	during the preceding five years; and
	(3)  may not have been convicted of a felony.
	(d)  A private individual who is younger than 16 years of age
	is not required to hold a permit to collect artifacts from public
	waterways in this state if the individual engages in the collection
	of artifacts from public waterways in this state only while the
	individual is in the company of a holder of a permit issued under
	this section.
	(e)  A permit issued under this section must be renewed
	annually. The committee may charge a fee not to exceed $75 for
	renewing a permit.
	(f)  A private individual may collect artifacts only from the
	surface of the undisturbed portions of gravel bars on and the
	shorelines of all rivers, creeks, lakes, and waterways owned or
	administered by this state other than a waterway located in a state
	park or in land administered by the federal government. Artifacts
	may be collected only by hand, by the use of a stick or pole to flip
	stones or other obstacles, or by the use of a hand-held sifter no
	larger than 24 inches by 18 inches. A private individual may not
	collect artifacts by means of a shovel, trowel, rake, spade, hoe, or
	other implement the purpose of which is to remove, dislocate, or
	overturn soil.
	(g)  A private individual must report to the committee
	regularly in accordance with guidelines adopted by the committee
	regarding any artifacts found by the individual. The committee may
	provide for filing reports under this subsection electronically and
	may require an individual who files a report electronically to
	submit a digital photograph of any artifact found. The committee
	shall maintain a database of the reports filed under this
	subsection.
	(h)  This state is entitled to purchase any artifact found by
	a private individual in a public waterway in this state for the
	artifact's fair market value if the committee determines that the
	public interest would be served by this state acquiring ownership
	of the artifact. If the committee makes such a determination, the
	committee shall notify the individual. If this state purchases an
	artifact, the artifact becomes the permanent property of this
	state.
	(i)  The committee may assign to an archeologist the
	responsibility to receive reports under Subsection (g), maintain a
	database of reports filed under that subsection, and make initial
	determinations under Subsection (h) on behalf of the committee for
	a designated public waterway.
	(j)  If the committee does not notify a private individual
	who has found an artifact before the first anniversary of the date
	the individual reported the finding to the committee that the
	committee has determined that the public interest would be served
	by this state acquiring ownership of the artifact, the individual
	is the exclusive owner of the artifact with all of the rights and
	privileges of private personal property ownership, except as
	provided by this subsection.  A state agency is entitled to borrow
	for study an artifact found by a private individual on a public
	waterway before or after a determination is made under Subsection
	(h). A state agency may not borrow an artifact for more than one
	year. A state agency that borrows an artifact shall pay the
	expenses of shipping and handling the artifact.
	(k)  A private individual who engages in the collection of
	artifacts on public waterways must report to the committee:
	(1)  any discovery of human remains, including a tool
	or other artifact made of human bone, or a burial site on a public
	waterway;
	(2)  any newly discovered or unrecorded archeological
	site; or
	(3)  any illegal collection of artifacts on public
	waterways observed, including collection of artifacts:
	(A)  without a permit; or
	(B)  by illegal means, including;
	(i)  digging or excavating;
	(ii)  using a propeller of a vessel to remove
	sediment from a site; or
	(iii)  using a power hose to uncover
	artifacts.
	(l)  A holder of a permit issued under this section shall
	cooperate in a reasonable and open manner with any archeologist or
	historian employed by the committee or another state agency.
	(m)  It is a defense to prosecution for an offense under this
	chapter involving the collection of artifacts from a public
	waterway in this state before September 1, 2011, that the private
	individual who collected the artifacts:
	(1)  collected them in the manner provided by
	Subsection (f); and
	(2)  holds a permit issued under this section.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.