H.B. No. 4785
AN ACT
relating to the powers and financing of the Brazoria County
Groundwater Conservation District.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 10(b), Chapter 772 (H.B. 3602), Acts of
the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, is amended to read as
follows:
(b) On the uniform election date [first Tuesday after the
first Monday] in May [November] of each subsequent second year
following the election, the appropriate number of directors shall
be elected.
SECTION 2. Section 12, Chapter 772 (H.B. 3602), Acts of the
78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 12. FEES. Unless exempt under this Act or Chapter 36,
Water Code, the board may establish by schedule and impose:
(1) a production fee based on the amount of
groundwater authorized by permit to be withdrawn from a well or the
amount of groundwater actually withdrawn from a well in an amount
not to exceed 17 cents per thousand gallons [under Section 36.205,
Water Code];
(2) an export fee for groundwater transferred out of
the district in an amount not to exceed 150 percent of the maximum
wholesale water rate charged by the City of Houston; and
(3) other fees as authorized by Chapter 36, Water
Code.
SECTION 3. A director of the board of the Brazoria County
Groundwater Conservation District who is serving on the day before
the effective date of this Act shall serve until the director's term
expires. A director whose term expires in November 2010 shall serve
until the director's successor has qualified following the
directors' election held on the uniform election date in May 2012 in
accordance with Section 10, Chapter 772 (H.B. 3602), Acts of the
78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003, as amended by this Act. A
director whose term expires in November 2012 shall serve until the
director's successor has qualified following the directors'
election held on the uniform election date in May 2014.
SECTION 4. (a) The legal notice of the intention to
introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
Government Code.
(b) The governor, one of the required recipients, has
submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
(c) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
representatives within the required time.
(d) All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
and accomplished.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 4785 was passed by the House on May
15, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 4785 was passed by the Senate on May
26, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor