Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3813 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R14727 T
2	2	By: Keffer H.B. No. 3813
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the purpose and operation of groundwater conservation
8	8	districts.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 36.0015, Water Code, is amended to read
11	11	as follows:
12	12	Sec. 36.0015. PURPOSE. In order to provide for the
13	13	conservation, preservation, protection, recharging, and prevention
14	14	of waste of groundwater, and of groundwater reservoirs or their
15	15	subdivisions, and to control subsidence caused by withdrawal of
16	16	water from those groundwater reservoirs or their subdivisions,
17	17	consistent with the objectives of Section 59, Article XVI, Texas
18	18	Constitution, groundwater conservation districts may be created as
19	19	provided by this chapter. Groundwater conservation districts
20	20	created as provided by this chapter are the state's preferred
21	21	method of groundwater management in order to protect property
22	22	rights, balance the development and conservation of groundwater to
23	23	meet the state's needs, and utilize the best available science,
24	24	through rules developed, adopted, and promulgated by a district in
25	25	accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
26	26	SECTION 2. Section 36.066, Water Code, is amended by
27	27	amending subsection (g) and adding a subsection (h) to read as
28	28	follows:
29	29	Sec. 36.066. SUITS. (g) If the district prevails in any
30	30	suit other than a suit in which it voluntarily intervenes, the
31	31	district may seek and the court may, in the interests of justice and
32	32	as provided by subsection (h), [shall] grant, in the same action,
33	33	recovery for attorney's fees, costs for expert witnesses, and other
34	34	costs incurred by the district before the court. The amount of the
35	35	attorney's fees shall be fixed by the court.
36	36	(h) If the district prevails on some, but not all, of the
37	37	issues in the suit, the court may award attorney's fees and costs
38	38	only for those issues on which the district prevails. The district
39	39	has the burden of segregating its attorney's fees and costs in order
40	40	for the court to make an award.
41	41	SECTION 3. Section 36.122, Water Code, subsections (a),
42	42	(b), (c), (e), and (h), are amended to read as follows:
43	43	Sec. 36.122. EXPORT [TRANSFER] OF GROUNDWATER OUT OF
44	44	DISTRICT. (a) If an application for a permit or an amendment to a
45	45	permit under Section 36.113 proposes the export [transfer] of
46	46	groundwater outside of a district's boundaries, the district may
47	47	also consider the provisions of this section in determining whether
48	48	to grant or deny the permit or permit amendment.
49	49	(b) A district may promulgate rules requiring a person to
50	50	obtain a permit or an amendment to a permit under Section 36.113
51	51	from the district to export [for the transfer of] groundwater [out
52	52	of the district] to:
53	53	(1) increase, on or after March 2, 1997, the amount of
54	54	groundwater to be exported [transferred] under a continuing
55	55	arrangement in effect before that date; or
56	56	(2) export [transfer] groundwater [out of the
57	57	district] on or after March 2, 1997, under a new arrangement.
58	58	(c) Except as provided in Section 36.113(e), the district
59	59	may not impose more restrictive permit conditions on exporters
60	60	[transporters] than the district imposes on existing in-district
61	61	users. The district may not deny a permit based on the fact that the
62	62	applicant seeks to export groundwater. A district may not prohibit
63	63	the export of groundwater.
64	64	(e) The district may impose an export [a reasonable] fee or
65	65	surcharge [for an export fee] using one of the following methods:
66	66	(1) a fee negotiated between the district and the
67	67	exporter [transporter];
68	68	(2) a rate not to exceed the equivalent of the
69	69	district's tax rate per hundred dollars of valuation for each
70	70	thousand gallons of water exported from [transferred out of] the
71	71	district or 2.5 cents per thousand gallons of water, if the district
72	72	assesses a tax rate of less than 2.5 cents per hundred dollars of
73	73	valuation; or
74	74	(3) for a fee-based district, a 50 percent export
75	75	surcharge, in addition to the district's production fee, for water
76	76	exported from [transferred out of] the district.
77	77	(h) In addition to conditions provided by Section 36.1131,
78	78	the permit shall specify:
79	79	(1) the amount of water that may be exported from
80	80	[transferred out of] the district; and
81	81	(2) the period for which the water may be exported
82	82	[transferred].
83	83	(p) Subsection (e) does not apply to a district that is
84	84	collecting an export fee or surcharge on March 1, 2001.
85	85	SECTION 4. Subsections (f), (g), (k), (l), (m), (n), (o),
86	86	and (q), Section 36.122, Water Code, are repealed.
87	87	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
88	88	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
89	89	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
90	90	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
91	91	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.