| 1 | 1 | | 2015S0446-1 03/10/15 |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Kolkhorst S.B. No. 1936 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the recovery of damages resulting from an emergency |
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| 8 | 8 | | transfer of water authorized by the Texas Commission on |
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| 9 | 9 | | Environmental Quality. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 11.139, Water Code, is amended by |
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| 12 | 12 | | amending Subsection (j) and adding Subsection (j-1) to read as |
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| 13 | 13 | | follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (j) The person granted an emergency authorization under |
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| 15 | 15 | | Subsection (h) [of this section] is liable to the owner and the |
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| 16 | 16 | | owner's agent or lessee from whom the use is transferred for the |
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| 17 | 17 | | fair market value of the water transferred as well as for any |
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| 18 | 18 | | damages caused by the transfer of use. If [, within 60 days of the |
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| 19 | 19 | | termination of the authorization,] the parties do not agree on the |
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| 20 | 20 | | amount due, or if full payment is not made, either party may [file a |
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| 21 | 21 | | complaint with the commission to determine the amount due. The |
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| 22 | 22 | | commission may use dispute resolution procedures for a complaint |
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| 23 | 23 | | filed under this subsection. After exhausting all administrative |
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| 24 | 24 | | remedies under this subsection, an owner from whom the use is |
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| 25 | 25 | | transferred may] file suit to [recover or] determine the amount due |
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| 26 | 26 | | in a district court in the county where the owner from whom the use |
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| 27 | 27 | | is transferred resides or has its headquarters. An owner from whom |
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| 28 | 28 | | the use is transferred may file suit to recover the amount due in a |
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| 29 | 29 | | district court in the county where the owner resides or has its |
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| 30 | 30 | | headquarters. The prevailing party in a suit filed under this |
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| 31 | 31 | | subsection is entitled to recover court costs and reasonable |
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| 32 | 32 | | attorney's fees. |
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| 33 | 33 | | (j-1) Subsection (j) applies to an owner from whom the use |
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| 34 | 34 | | is transferred under Subsection (h) regardless of whether the |
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| 35 | 35 | | owner's water right is subject to interruption or curtailment |
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| 36 | 36 | | during a period of drought. |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 38 | 38 | | to an application for an emergency authorization or renewal of an |
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| 39 | 39 | | emergency authorization that is submitted to the Texas Commission |
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| 40 | 40 | | on Environmental Quality on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 41 | 41 | | An application for an emergency authorization or renewal of an |
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| 42 | 42 | | emergency authorization that is submitted to the commission before |
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| 43 | 43 | | the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect |
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| 44 | 44 | | immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is |
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| 45 | 45 | | continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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