By: Hinojosa S.R. No. 1068
SENATE RESOLUTION
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the State of Texas, 84th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, That Senate Rule 12.03 be
suspended in part as provided by Senate Rule 12.08 to enable the
conference committee appointed to resolve the differences on
House Bill 928 (the management of water, including the authority
of certain entities to issue bonds to finance certain water
resource projects) to consider and take action on the following
matters:
(1) Senate Rule 12.03(4) is suspended to permit the
committee to add text on a matter not included in either the house
or senate version of the bill by adding proposed SECTIONS 5 and 11
to the bill, amending Section 11.139, Water Code, and governing
the applicability of the amendment, to read as follows:
SECTION 5. Section 11.139, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as provided by Section 11.148 [of this code],
the commission may grant an emergency permit, order, or amendment
to an existing permit, certified filing, or certificate of
adjudication after notice to the governor for an initial period
of not more than 270 [120] days if the commission finds that:
(1) emergency conditions exist which present an
imminent threat to the public health and safety and which
override the necessity to comply with established statutory
procedures; and
(2) there are no feasible practicable alternatives
to the emergency authorization.
(a-1) Such emergency action may be renewed once for not
longer than 60 days.
SECTION 11. The change in law made by Section 5 of this
Act applies only to an application for an emergency authorization
or renewal of an emergency authorization that is submitted to the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or after the
effective date of that section. An application for an emergency
authorization or renewal of an emergency authorization that is
submitted to the commission before the effective date of that
section is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
effective date of that section, and that law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
Explanation: The addition of text is necessary to extend
the initial period of certain emergency authorizations to use
state water issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality.
(2) Senate Rules 12.03(1) and (3) are suspended to permit
the committee to change, alter, or amend text and to add text on a
matter not in disagreement in proposed SECTION 12 of the bill,
the effective date provision of the bill, to read as follows:
SECTION 12. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
(b) Sections 5 and 11 of this Act take effect immediately
if this Act 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 those sections to have immediate effect, those
sections take effect September 1, 2015.
Explanation: The change in the effective date provision
is necessary to ensure that the amendment to Section 11.139,
Water Code, extending the initial period of certain emergency
authorizations to use state water issued by the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality, takes effect immediately if H.B.
No. 928 receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected
to each house.
(3) Senate Rule 12.03(4) is suspended to permit the
committee to add text on a matter not included in either the house
or senate version of the bill by adding proposed SECTION 7 to the
bill, amending Section 1372.042, Government Code, to read as
follows:
SECTION 7. Section 1372.042, Government Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (b-1) and amending Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsections (a), (a-1), and (b),
an issuer shall close on bonds issued for a water resource
project that is part of the state water plan or an approved
initially prepared regional water plan for Regional Water
Planning Area L, as designated under Section 16.053, Water Code,
submitted to the Texas Water Development Board and for which a
reservation was granted after August 15 not later than the 220th
day after the reservation date.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsections (a), (a-1), [and] (b),
and (b-1), if the 120-day period, the 150-day period, [or] the
180-day period, or the 220-day period, as applicable, expires on
or after December 24 of the year in which the reservation was
granted, the issuer shall close on the bonds before December 24,
except that if the applicable period expires after December 31 of
that year, the issuer may notify the board in writing before
December 24 of the issuer's election to carry forward the
reservation and of the issuer's expected bond closing date. In
compliance with the requirements of Section 146(f), Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, the board shall file in a timely manner a
carryforward election with respect to any bonds expected to close
after December 31 to permit the bonds to close by the expected
date, except that the board may not file the carryforward
election after February 15 of the year following the year in
which the reservation was granted. The grant of the reservation
for the balance of the 120-day period, the 150-day period, [or]
the 180-day period, or the 220-day period, as applicable, is
automatically and immediately reinstated on the board's filing
of a carryforward election with respect to the reservation.
Explanation: The addition of text is necessary to extend
the deadline for closing on bonds issued for a water resource
project that is part of the state water plan or an approved
initially prepared regional water plan for Regional Water
Planning Area L.
(4) Senate Rule 12.03(4) is suspended to permit the
committee to add text on a matter not included in either the house
or senate version of the bill by adding proposed SECTION 8 to the
bill, amending Section 501.159, Local Government Code, to read as
follows:
SECTION 8. Section 501.159, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) A corporation described by Section 501.107(a)(1) may
issue bonds to finance a water resource project for Regional
Water Planning Area L, as designated under Section 16.053, Water
Code, that involves a minimum of 30,000 acre-feet, regardless of
whether a request required by Subsection (a) has been made.
Explanation: The addition of text is necessary to allow a
development corporation in certain border counties to issue
bonds to finance a water resource project for Regional Water
Planning Area L without a request for the project by the
governing body of the development corporation or governmental
unit in which the project is located.
_______________________________
President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on May 31, 2015, by the
following vote: Yeas 25, Nays 6.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate