Sec. 61.011. POLICY AND RULES

(a) It is declared and affirmed to be the public policy of this state that the public, individually and collectively, shall have the free and unrestricted right of ingress and egress to and from the state-owned beaches bordering on the seaward shore of the Gulf of Mexico, or if the public has acquired a right of use or easement to or over an area by prescription, dedication, or has retained a right by virtue of continuous right in the public, the public shall have the free and unrestricted right of ingress and egress to the larger area extending from the line of mean low tide to the line of vegetation bordering on the Gulf of Mexico.

(b) The legislature recognizes that, in order to provide and maintain public facilities and public services to enhance access to and safe and healthy use of the public beaches by the public, adequate funds are required to provide public facilities and public services. Any local government responsible for the regulation, maintenance, and use of such beaches may charge reasonable fees pursuant to its authority to cover the cost of discharging its responsibilities with respect to such beaches, provided such fees do not exceed the cost of such public facilities and services, and do not unfairly limit public access to and use of such beaches.

(c) The commissioner shall strictly and vigorously enforce the prohibition against encroachments on and interferences with the public beach easement.

(d) The commissioner shall promulgate rules, consistent with the policies established in this section, on the following matters only:

(1) acquisition by local governments or other appropriate entities or public dedication of access ways sufficient to provide adequate public ingress and egress to and from the beach within the area described in Subdivision (6);

(2) protection of the public easement from erosion or reduction caused by development or other activities on adjacent land and beach cleanup and maintenance;

(3) local government prohibitions of vehicular traffic on public beaches, provision of off-beach parking, the use on a public beach of a golf cart, as defined by Section 502.001, Transportation Code, for the transportation of a person with a physical disability, and other minimum measures needed to mitigate for any adverse effect on public access and dune areas;

(4) imposition of beach access, user, or parking fees and reasonable exercises of the police power by local governments with respect to public beaches;

(5) contents and certification of beach access and use plans and standards for local government review of construction on land adjacent to and landward of public beaches, including procedures for expedited review of beach access and use plans under Section 61.015;

(6) construction on land adjacent to and landward of public beaches and lying in the area either up to the first public road generally parallel to the beach or to any closer public road not parallel to the beach, or to within 1,000 feet of mean high tide, whichever is greater, that affects or may affect public access to and use of public beaches;

(7) the temporary suspension under Section 61.0185 of enforcement of the prohibition against encroachments on and interferences with the public beach easement and the ability of a property owner to make repairs to a house while a suspension is in effect;

(8) the determination of the line of vegetation or natural line of vegetation;

(9) the factors to be considered in determining whether a structure, improvement, obstruction, barrier, or hazard on the public beach:

(A) constitutes an imminent hazard to safety, health, or public welfare; or

(B) substantially interferes with the free and unrestricted right of the public to enter or leave the public beach or traverse any part of the public beach; and

(10) the procedures for determining whether a structure is not insurable property for purposes of Section 2210.004, Insurance Code, because of the factors listed in Subsection (h) of that section.

(e) Repealed by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 245, Sec. 9.

(f) Chapter 2007, Government Code, does not apply to rules adopted under Subsection (d)(7).

Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2477, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 295, Sec. 5, eff. June 7, 1991; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 245, Sec. 1, 9, eff. June 18, 2003. Amended by: Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1256 , Sec. 10, eff. September 1, 2007. Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 40 , Sec. 1, eff. May 19, 2009.