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Committee reviews bill on Gulf Coast Protection District gates and leadership appointments
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Summary
House Bill 2970 (committee substitute) would require the Gulf Coast Protection District\'s final gate design to comply with Transportation Code chapter 66 standards for two-way vessel traffic and would permit the governor to appoint the district\'s presiding officer; committee substitute mirrors an earlier Senate bill and was left pending.
House Bill 2970, the House version of Senate Bill 410, would require that the final design of the Gulf Coast Protection District\'s coastal barrier gate system (Bolivar Gate) comply with existing requirements in Chapter 66 of the Transportation Code governing two-way vessel traffic and pilot navigation, committee sponsor Senator Middleton told the committee.
The committee substitute, Representative Middleton said, is identical to the committee substitute for SB 410 and also would allow the governor to appoint the district\'s presiding officer, aligning GCPD leadership selection with other political subdivisions. Middleton said the design requirement is meant to ensure the gates "will not interfere with our pilot\'s ability to safely navigate the waterway or our state\'s economic growth and commerce along the Houston Ship Channel."
No public testimony was registered for or against the bill at the hearing. Senator Sparks sent up the committee substitute. The committee left House Bill 2970 pending.
Discussion vs. decision: The sponsor presented a substitute that the committee agreed to send up; no committee vote was recorded in the transcript and no public witnesses opposed the measure in this session.
