The text as introduced · 407 words
89R5854 DRS-F
By: Paul
H.B. No. 4413
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to mass balance attribution of renewable biomass
feedstocks used to produce renewable chemicals.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 361.421, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subdivisions (8-a) and (8-b) to read as follows:
(8-a) "Renewable biomass" means:
(A) materials, pre-commercial thinnings, or
invasive species from National Forest System land and public lands,
as that term is defined by 43 U.S.C. Section 1702, that:
(i) are byproducts of preventive treatments
that are removed:
(a) to reduce hazardous fuels;
(b) to reduce or contain disease or
insect infestation; or
(c) to restore ecosystem health;
(ii) would not otherwise be used for higher
value products; and
(iii) are harvested in accordance with:
(a) applicable law and land
management plans; and
(b) requirements for old growth stand
maintenance, restoration, and management direction and large tree
retention under Sections 102(e) and (f), Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. Sections 6512(e) and (f)); or
(B) any organic matter that is available on a
renewable or recurring basis from nonfederal land or land belonging
to an Indian or Indian tribe that is held in trust by the United
States or subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by
the United States, including:
(i) renewable plant material, including:
(a) feed grains and other
agricultural commodities;
(b) plants and trees; and
(c) algae; and
(ii) waste material, including:
(a) crop residue;
(b) vegetative waste material,
including wood waste and wood residue;
(c) animal waste and byproducts,
including fats, oils, greases, and manure; and
(d) food waste and yard waste.
(8-b) "Renewable chemical" means a monomer, polymer,
plastic, formulated product, or chemical substance produced from
renewable biomass feedstocks or certified under a third-party
certification system for mass balance attribution identified by the
commission under Section 361.4215.
SECTION 2. Section 361.4215, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 361.4215. MASS BALANCE ATTRIBUTION. The commission by
rule shall identify third-party certification systems for mass
balance attribution that may be used for the purposes of Sections
361.421(6) , [ and ] (6-a) , and (8-b) .
SECTION 3. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall
adopt rules necessary to implement the changes in law made by this
Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
Monitoring 
