Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2894 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R18512 SMH-F
2	2	By: Lucio III H.B. No. 2894
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2894:
4	4	By: Larson C.S.H.B. No. 2894
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to a requirement that the Texas Commission on
10	10	Environmental Quality provide an expedited procedure for acting on
11	11	certain applications for an amendment to a water right by certain
12	12	applicants that use desalinated seawater.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Section 11.122, Water Code, is amended by adding
15	15	Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to read as follows:
16	16	(b-1) A holder of a water right that begins using
17	17	desalinated seawater after acquiring the water right has a right to
18	18	expedited consideration of an application for an amendment to the
19	19	water right if the amendment:
20	20	(1) authorizes the applicant to divert water from a
21	21	diversion point that is different from or in addition to the point
22	22	or points from which the applicant was authorized to divert water
23	23	before the requested amendment;
24	24	(2) authorizes the applicant to divert from the
25	25	different or additional diversion point an amount of water that is
26	26	equal to or less than the amount of desalinated seawater used by the
27	27	applicant;
28	28	(3) authorizes the applicant to divert from all of the
29	29	diversion points authorized by the water right an amount of water
30	30	that is equal to or less than the amount of water the applicant was
31	31	authorized to divert under the water right before the requested
32	32	amendment;
33	33	(4) authorizes the applicant to divert water from all
34	34	of the diversion points authorized by the water right at a combined
35	35	rate that is equal to or less than the combined rate at which the
36	36	applicant was authorized to divert water under the water right
37	37	before the requested amendment; and
38	38	(5) does not authorize the water diverted from the
39	39	different or additional diversion point to be transferred to
40	40	another river basin.
41	41	(b-2) The executive director or the commission shall
42	42	prioritize the technical review of an application that is subject
43	43	to Subsection (b-1) over the technical review of applications that
44	44	are not subject to that subsection.
45	45	SECTION 2. Section 2003.047, Government Code, is amended by
46	46	amending Subsection (e-3) and adding Subsection (e-6) to read as
47	47	follows:
48	48	(e-3) The deadline specified by Subsection (e-2) or (e-6),
49	49	as applicable, may be extended:
50	50	(1) by agreement of the parties with the approval of
51	51	the administrative law judge; or
52	52	(2) by the administrative law judge if the judge
53	53	determines that failure to extend the deadline would unduly deprive
54	54	a party of due process or another constitutional right.
55	55	(e-6) For a matter pertaining to an application described by
56	56	Section 11.122(b-1), Water Code, the administrative law judge must
57	57	complete the proceeding and provide a proposal for decision to the
58	58	commission not later than the 270th day after the date the matter
59	59	was referred to the office.
60	60	SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
61	61	an application for an amendment to a water right that is filed with
62	62	the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or after the
63	63	effective date of this Act. An application filed with the
64	64	commission before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
65	65	law as it existed immediately before the effective date of this Act,
66	66	and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
67	67	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.