By: Johnson (Senate Sponsor - Fraser) H.B. No. 2615
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 2013;
May 7, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural
Resources; May 16, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 11, Nays 0;
May 16, 2013, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 2615 By: Fraser
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the use of state water; providing a penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 11.031, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b) and (d) and adding Subsections (b-1) and
(g) to read as follows:
(b) A person who fails to file an annual report with the
commission as required by Subsection (a) or fails to timely comply
with a request by the commission to make information available
under Subsection (d) [this section] is liable for [to] a penalty [of
$25, plus $1 per day] for each day the person fails to file the
statement or comply with the request after the applicable deadline
in an amount not to exceed:
(1) $100 per day if the person is the holder of a water
right authorizing the appropriation of 5,000 acre-feet or less per
year; or
(2) $500 per day if the person is the holder of a water
right authorizing the appropriation of more than 5,000 acre-feet
per year [he fails to file the statement after March 1. However,
the maximum penalty under this section is $150].
(b-1) The state may sue to recover a [the] penalty under
Subsection (b).
(d) Each person who has a water right issued by the
commission or who impounds, diverts, or otherwise uses state water
shall maintain water use information required under Subsection (a)
on a monthly basis during the months a water rights holder uses
permitted water. The person shall make the information available
to the commission on the commission's request. The executive
director shall establish a reasonable deadline by which a person
must make available information requested by the commission under
this subsection.
(g) The commission shall establish a process by which a
report required under Subsection (a) may be submitted
electronically through the Internet.
SECTION 2. Section 11.173(b), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A permit, certified filing, or certificate of
adjudication or a portion of a permit, certified filing, or
certificate of adjudication is exempt from cancellation under
Subsection (a):
(1) to the extent of the owner's participation in the
Conservation Reserve Program authorized by the Food Security Act,
Pub.L. No. 99-198, Secs. 1231-1236, 99 Stat. 1354, 1509-1514
(1985) or a similar governmental program;
(2) if a significant portion of the water authorized
to be used pursuant to a permit, certified filing, or certificate of
adjudication has been used in accordance with a specific
recommendation for meeting a water need included in the regional
water plan approved pursuant to Section 16.053;
(3) if the permit, certified filing, or certificate of
adjudication:
(A) was obtained to meet demonstrated long-term
public water supply or electric generation needs as evidenced by a
water management plan developed by the holder; and
(B) is consistent with projections of future
water needs contained in the state water plan;
(4) if the permit, certified filing, or certificate of
adjudication was obtained as the result of the construction of a
reservoir funded, in whole or in part, by the holder of the permit,
certified filing, or certificate of adjudication as part of the
holder's long-term water planning; or
(5) to the extent the nonuse resulted from:
(A) the implementation of water conservation
measures under a water conservation plan submitted by the holder of
the permit, certified filing, or certificate of adjudication as
evidenced by implementation reports submitted by the holder;
(B) a suspension, adjustment, or other
restriction on the use of the water authorized to be appropriated
under the permit, certified filing, or certificate of adjudication
imposed under an order issued by the executive director; or
(C) an inability to appropriate the water
authorized to be appropriated under the permit, certified filing,
or certificate of adjudication due to drought conditions.
SECTION 3. Section 11.031, Water Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to a report due or a request for information made
on or after the effective date of this Act. A report due or request
made before that date is governed by the law in effect on the date
the report is due or the request is made, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
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