84R14727 T
By: Keffer H.B. No. 3813
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the purpose and operation of groundwater conservation
districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 36.0015, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 36.0015. PURPOSE. In order to provide for the
conservation, preservation, protection, recharging, and prevention
of waste of groundwater, and of groundwater reservoirs or their
subdivisions, and to control subsidence caused by withdrawal of
water from those groundwater reservoirs or their subdivisions,
consistent with the objectives of Section 59, Article XVI, Texas
Constitution, groundwater conservation districts may be created as
provided by this chapter. Groundwater conservation districts
created as provided by this chapter are the state's preferred
method of groundwater management in order to protect property
rights, balance the development and conservation of groundwater to
meet the state's needs, and utilize the best available science,
through rules developed, adopted, and promulgated by a district in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 2. Section 36.066, Water Code, is amended by
amending subsection (g) and adding a subsection (h) to read as
follows:
Sec. 36.066. SUITS. (g) If the district prevails in any
suit other than a suit in which it voluntarily intervenes, the
district may seek and the court may, in the interests of justice and
as provided by subsection (h), [shall] grant, in the same action,
recovery for attorney's fees, costs for expert witnesses, and other
costs incurred by the district before the court. The amount of the
attorney's fees shall be fixed by the court.
(h) If the district prevails on some, but not all, of the
issues in the suit, the court may award attorney's fees and costs
only for those issues on which the district prevails. The district
has the burden of segregating its attorney's fees and costs in order
for the court to make an award.
SECTION 3. Section 36.122, Water Code, subsections (a),
(b), (c), (e), and (h), are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 36.122. EXPORT [TRANSFER] OF GROUNDWATER OUT OF
DISTRICT. (a) If an application for a permit or an amendment to a
permit under Section 36.113 proposes the export [transfer] of
groundwater outside of a district's boundaries, the district may
also consider the provisions of this section in determining whether
to grant or deny the permit or permit amendment.
(b) A district may promulgate rules requiring a person to
obtain a permit or an amendment to a permit under Section 36.113
from the district to export [for the transfer of] groundwater [out
of the district] to:
(1) increase, on or after March 2, 1997, the amount of
groundwater to be exported [transferred] under a continuing
arrangement in effect before that date; or
(2) export [transfer] groundwater [out of the
district] on or after March 2, 1997, under a new arrangement.
(c) Except as provided in Section 36.113(e), the district
may not impose more restrictive permit conditions on exporters
[transporters] than the district imposes on existing in-district
users. The district may not deny a permit based on the fact that the
applicant seeks to export groundwater. A district may not prohibit
the export of groundwater.
(e) The district may impose an export [a reasonable] fee or
surcharge [for an export fee] using one of the following methods:
(1) a fee negotiated between the district and the
exporter [transporter];
(2) a rate not to exceed the equivalent of the
district's tax rate per hundred dollars of valuation for each
thousand gallons of water exported from [transferred out of] the
district or 2.5 cents per thousand gallons of water, if the district
assesses a tax rate of less than 2.5 cents per hundred dollars of
valuation; or
(3) for a fee-based district, a 50 percent export
surcharge, in addition to the district's production fee, for water
exported from [transferred out of] the district.
(h) In addition to conditions provided by Section 36.1131,
the permit shall specify:
(1) the amount of water that may be exported from
[transferred out of] the district; and
(2) the period for which the water may be exported
[transferred].
(p) Subsection (e) does not apply to a district that is
collecting an export fee or surcharge on March 1, 2001.
SECTION 4. Subsections (f), (g), (k), (l), (m), (n), (o),
and (q), Section 36.122, Water Code, are repealed.
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, 2015.