Texas 2017 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1318 Comm Sub / Bill

Filed 05/09/2017

                    By: Lucio III H.B. No. 1318
 Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1318:
 By:  Larson C.S.H.B. No. 1318


 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 AN ACT
 relating to regulation of production of wells for retail public
 utilities by a groundwater conservation district.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 SECTION 1.  Section 36.116(c), Water Code, is amended to
 read as follows:
 (c)  In regulating a retail public utility's [the
 ]
 production of groundwater based on tract size or acreage, a
 district shall [may] consider the aggregate contiguous acreage
 owned or leased by the retail public utility in the district. A
 district shall also consider the aggregate contiguous acreage owned
 or leased by the retail public utility's customers inside the
 district if the customer dedicates its acreage for this purpose in
 an amount of acreage per customer sufficient to provide service to
 that customer, but not to exceed five acres per customer. The
 district may not include the acreage associated with a customer's
 permitted wells and registered wells with the aggregated acreage
 dedicated to the retail public utility [service needs or service
 area of a retail public utility]. The board shall record in its
 minutes the factors provided by this subsection considered by the
 district. For the purposes of this subsection:
 (1)  "Retail[, "retail] public utility" has [shall
 have] the meaning assigned [provided] by Section 13.002.
 (2)  "Contiguous acreage" includes acreage connected
 through a retail public utility's distribution system.
 SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.