Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB1818 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R9743 SMH-F
2	2	By: Rose H.B. No. 1818
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to rainwater harvesting and other water conservation
8	8	initiatives.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 447.004, Government Code, is amended by
11	11	amending Subsection (c-1) and adding Subsections (c-3) and (g) to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(c-1) The procedural standards adopted under this section
14	14	must require that:
15	15	(1) on-site reclaimed system technologies, including
16	16	rainwater harvesting, condensate collection, or cooling tower blow
17	17	down, or a combination of those system technologies, for nonpotable
18	18	indoor use and landscape watering be incorporated into the design
19	19	and construction of:
20	20	(A) [(1)] each new state building with a roof
21	21	measuring at least 10,000 square feet; and
22	22	(B) [(2)] any other new state building for which
23	23	the incorporation of such systems is feasible;
24	24	(2) rainwater harvesting system technology for
25	25	nonpotable indoor use and landscape watering be incorporated into
26	26	the design and construction of each new state building with a roof
27	27	measuring at least 10,000 square feet that is located in an area of
28	28	this state in which the average annual rainfall is at least 28
29	29	inches; and
30	30	(3) at least 25 percent of the roof area of a building
31	31	described by Subdivision (2) be used for rainwater collection.
32	32	(c-3) Notwithstanding Subsection (c-2), the procedural
33	33	standards required by Subsections (c-1)(2) and (3) apply to a
34	34	building described by Subsection (c-1)(2) unless the state agency
35	35	or institution of higher education constructing the building also
36	36	provides the state energy conservation office evidence that the
37	37	amount of rainwater that will be harvested from one or more existing
38	38	buildings at the same location is equivalent to the amount of
39	39	rainwater that could have been harvested from the new building had
40	40	rainwater harvesting system technology been incorporated into its
41	41	design and construction.
42	42	(g) The Texas Facilities Commission shall ensure that a
43	43	state agency or institution of higher education constructing a
44	44	building that is subject to the procedural standards required by
45	45	Subsection (c-1) complies with the standards.
46	46	SECTION 2. Chapter 430, Local Government Code, is amended
47	47	by adding Section 430.004 to read as follows:
48	48	Sec. 430.004. RAINWATER HARVESTING. (a) Each municipality
49	49	and county is encouraged to promote rainwater harvesting at
50	50	residential, commercial, and industrial facilities through
51	51	incentives such as the provision at a discount of rain barrels or
52	52	rebates for water storage tanks.
53	53	(b) Each municipality or county that has adopted impervious
54	54	cover or density restrictions shall consider the use in a
55	55	development of harvested rainwater as an on-site water supply
56	56	source in determining whether to grant the development a credit
57	57	against or exemption from the restrictions.
58	58	(c) The Texas Water Development Board shall hold a training
59	59	seminar on rainwater harvesting for the members of the permitting
60	60	staffs of municipalities and counties at least quarterly. Each
61	61	member of the permitting staff of each county and municipality
62	62	located wholly or partly in an area designated by the Texas
63	63	Commission on Environmental Quality as a priority groundwater
64	64	management area under Section 35.008, Water Code, and each member
65	65	of the permitting staff of each county and municipality with a
66	66	population of more than 100,000 must attend the seminar at least
67	67	once. Members of the permitting staffs of counties and
68	68	municipalities not located wholly or partly in an area designated
69	69	by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as a priority
70	70	groundwater management area under Section 35.008, Water Code, and
71	71	members of the permitting staffs of counties and municipalities
72	72	with a population of 100,000 or less are encouraged to attend the
73	73	seminar.
74	74	(d) A municipality or county may not deny a building permit
75	75	solely because the facility will implement rainwater harvesting.
76	76	SECTION 3. Section 202.007(d), Property Code, is amended to
77	77	read as follows:
78	78	(d) This section does not:
79	79	(1) restrict a property owners' association from
80	80	regulating the requirements, including size, type, shielding, and
81	81	materials, for or the location of a composting device[, rain
82	82	barrel, rain harvesting device, or any other appurtenance] if the
83	83	restriction does not prohibit the economic installation of the
84	84	device [or appurtenance] on the property owner's property where
85	85	there is reasonably sufficient area to install the device [or
86	86	appurtenance];
87	87	(2) require a property owners' association to permit a
88	88	device [or appurtenance] described by Subdivision (1) to be
89	89	installed in or on property:
90	90	(A) owned by the property owners' association;
91	91	(B) owned in common by the members of the
92	92	property owners' association; or
93	93	(C) in an area other than the fenced yard or patio
94	94	of a property owner;
95	95	(3) prohibit a property owners' association from
96	96	regulating the installation of efficient irrigation systems,
97	97	including establishing visibility limitations for aesthetic
98	98	purposes;
99	99	(4) prohibit a property owners' association from
100	100	regulating the installation or use of gravel, rocks, or cacti; or
101	101	(5) restrict a property owners' association from
102	102	regulating yard and landscape maintenance if the restrictions or
103	103	requirements do not restrict or prohibit turf or landscaping design
104	104	that promotes water conservation.
105	105	SECTION 4. Section 11.32, Tax Code, is amended to read as
106	106	follows:
107	107	Sec. 11.32. CERTAIN WATER CONSERVATION INITIATIVES. (a) In
108	108	this section:
109	109	(1) "Brush control" means the selective control,
110	110	removal, or reduction from watershed rangelands of plants that use
111	111	a large amount of water, including mesquite, salt cedar, and ashe
112	112	juniper.
113	113	(2) "Desalination" means the removal of salts from
114	114	nonpotable or brackish surface water or groundwater so that the
115	115	water is usable freshwater or high-quality drinking water.
116	116	(3) "Rainwater harvesting" means the capture and
117	117	storage of rainwater for subsequent use.
118	118	(b) A person is entitled to an exemption [The governing body
119	119	of a taxing unit by official action of the governing body adopted in
120	120	the manner required by law for official actions may exempt] from
121	121	taxation of the portion of the appraised [part or all of the
122	122	assessed] value of the person's property attributable to the
123	123	implementation on the property of rainwater harvesting or other
124	124	[which approved] water conservation initiatives, desalination
125	125	projects, or brush control initiatives [have been implemented. For
126	126	purposes of this section, approved water conservation,
127	127	desalination, and brush control initiatives shall be designated
128	128	pursuant to an ordinance or other law adopted by the governing
129	129	unit].
130	130	(c) The comptroller by rule shall adopt standards for
131	131	determining whether property qualifies for an exemption under this
132	132	section. The comptroller is entitled to request and receive
133	133	assistance from another state agency in developing the standards.
134	134	The standards may require that:
135	135	(1) a rainwater harvesting or desalination project
136	136	have a specified minimum capacity; or
137	137	(2) brush control be conducted on an area of a
138	138	specified minimum size.
139	139	(d) In determining whether property qualifies for an
140	140	exemption under this section, the chief appraiser and the appraisal
141	141	review board shall apply the standards adopted under Subsection
142	142	(c).
143	143	SECTION 5. Section 1.003, Water Code, is amended to read as
144	144	follows:
145	145	Sec. 1.003. PUBLIC POLICY. It is the public policy of the
146	146	state to provide for the conservation and development of the
147	147	state's natural resources, including:
148	148	(1) the control, storage, preservation, and
149	149	distribution of the state's storm and floodwaters and the waters of
150	150	its rivers and streams for irrigation, power, and other useful
151	151	purposes;
152	152	(2) the reclamation and irrigation of the state's
153	153	arid, semiarid, and other land needing irrigation;
154	154	(3) the reclamation and drainage of the state's
155	155	overflowed land and other land needing drainage;
156	156	(4) the conservation and development of its forest,
157	157	water, and hydroelectric power;
158	158	(5) the navigation of the state's inland and coastal
159	159	waters;
160	160	(6) the maintenance of a proper ecological environment
161	161	of the bays and estuaries of Texas and the health of related living
162	162	marine resources; [and]
163	163	(7) the voluntary stewardship of public and private
164	164	lands to benefit waters of the state; and
165	165	(8) the promotion of rainwater harvesting at public
166	166	and private facilities in this state, including residential,
167	167	commercial, and industrial buildings.
168	168	SECTION 6. If the 81st Legislature makes an appropriation
169	169	to the Texas Water Development Board to provide matching grants to
170	170	political subdivisions of this state for rainwater harvesting
171	171	demonstration projects, the board shall, not later than December 1,
172	172	2010, provide a report to the lieutenant governor and the speaker of
173	173	the house of representatives regarding the projects for which the
174	174	board has provided grants, including:
175	175	(1) a description of each project; and
176	176	(2) the amount of the grant provided for each project.
177	177	SECTION 7. Section 11.32, Tax Code, as amended by this Act,
178	178	applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed for a tax year beginning on
179	179	or after January 1, 2010.
180	180	SECTION 8. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
181	181	section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
182	182	(b) Section 4 of this Act takes effect January 1, 2010, but
183	183	only if the constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature
184	184	by general law to exempt from ad valorem taxes the portion of the
185	185	assessed value of property attributable to the implementation on
186	186	the property of a water conservation initiative, desalination
187	187	project, or brush control initiative is approved by the voters. If
188	188	that amendment is not approved by the voters, Section 4 of this Act
189	189	has no effect.