bill defining renewable biomass and renewable chemicals

The text as introduced · 407 words

89R5854 DRS-F

By: Hancock
S.B. No. 2982

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.