Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB538 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R2148 JXC-D
2	2	By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 538
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to state and local planning for and responses to drought.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 10.003, Water Code, is amended to read as
10	10	follows:
11	11	Sec. 10.003. CREATION AND MEMBERSHIP. (a) The council is
12	12	composed of 25 [23] members appointed by the board. The board shall
13	13	appoint:
14	14	(1) one member to represent each of the following
15	15	entities or interest groups:
16	16	(A) [(1)] Texas Commission on Environmental
17	17	Quality;
18	18	(B) [(2)] Department of Agriculture;
19	19	(C) [(3)] Parks and Wildlife Department;
20	20	(D) [(4)] State Soil and Water Conservation
21	21	Board;
22	22	(E) [(5)] Texas Water Development Board;
23	23	(F) [(6)] regional water planning groups;
24	24	(G) [(7)] federal agencies;
25	25	(H) [(8)] municipalities;
26	26	(I) [(9)] groundwater conservation districts;
27	27	(J) [(10)] river authorities;
28	28	(K) [(11)] environmental groups;
29	29	(L) [(12)] irrigation districts;
30	30	(M) [(13)] institutional water users;
31	31	(N) [(14)] professional organizations focused on
32	32	water conservation;
33	33	(O) [(15)] higher education;
34	34	(P) [(16)] agricultural groups;
35	35	(Q) [(17)] refining and chemical manufacturing;
36	36	(R) [(18)] electric generation;
37	37	(S) [(19)] mining and recovery of minerals;
38	38	(T) [(20)] landscape irrigation and
39	39	horticulture;
40	40	(U) [(21)] water control and improvement
41	41	districts;
42	42	(V) [(22)] rural water users; and
43	43	(W) [(23)] municipal utility districts; and
44	44	(2) two members to represent investor-owned
45	45	utilities.
46	46	(b) Each entity or interest group described by Subsection
47	47	(a) may recommend one or more persons to fill a [the] position on
48	48	the council held by a [the] member who represents that entity or
49	49	interest group. If one or more persons are recommended for a
50	50	position on the council, the board shall appoint one of the persons
51	51	recommended to fill the position.
52	52	SECTION 2. Section 10.004(a), Water Code, is amended to
53	53	read as follows:
54	54	(a) Members of the council serve staggered terms of six
55	55	years, with [seven or] eight or nine members' terms, as applicable,
56	56	expiring August 31 of each odd-numbered year.
57	57	SECTION 3. Section 10.010, Water Code, is amended to read as
58	58	follows:
59	59	Sec. 10.010. POWERS AND DUTIES OF COUNCIL. (a) The council
60	60	shall:
61	61	(1) monitor trends in water conservation
62	62	implementation;
63	63	(2) monitor new water conservation technologies for
64	64	possible inclusion by the board as best management practices in the
65	65	best management practices guide described by Section 16.0552
66	66	[developed by the water conservation implementation task force
67	67	under Chapter 109, Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular Session,
68	68	2003];
69	69	(3) monitor the effectiveness of the statewide water
70	70	conservation public awareness program developed under Section
71	71	16.401 and associated local involvement in implementation of the
72	72	program;
73	73	(4) develop and implement a state water management
74	74	resource library;
75	75	(5) develop and implement a public recognition program
76	76	for water conservation;
77	77	(6) monitor the implementation of water conservation
78	78	strategies by water users included in regional water plans; and
79	79	(7) monitor target and goal guidelines for water
80	80	conservation to be considered by the board and commission.
81	81	(b) To assist with drought preparedness and response, the
82	82	council shall:
83	83	(1) monitor and recommend strategies for responding to
84	84	drought;
85	85	(2) monitor new drought response technologies for
86	86	possible inclusion by the board as best management practices in the
87	87	best management practices guide described by Section 16.0552; and
88	88	(3) recommend methodologies for conducting drought
89	89	contingency plan evaluations described by Section 11.1272(g).
90	90	SECTION 4. Section 11.1272, Water Code, is amended by
91	91	adding Subsections (f), (g), (h), and (i) to read as follows:
92	92	(f) A wholesale or retail public water supplier or
93	93	irrigation district may review and update the supplier's or
94	94	district's drought contingency plan and submit to the commission
95	95	the reviewed or updated plan.
96	96	(g) A wholesale or retail public water supplier or
97	97	irrigation district may include in each reviewed or updated drought
98	98	contingency plan submitted to the commission an evaluation of the
99	99	effectiveness of strategies in the plan that were implemented by
100	100	the supplier or district during any previous period of significant
101	101	drought. The commission by rule may define "significant drought"
102	102	for purposes of this subsection.
103	103	(h) A wholesale or retail public water supplier shall notify
104	104	the commission not later than the fifth business day after the date
105	105	the supplier implements, changes the manner of implementing, or
106	106	ceases to implement a mandatory provision of the supplier's drought
107	107	contingency plan. The commission by rule shall establish criteria
108	108	for determining the actions that must be reported under this
109	109	subsection.
110	110	(i) The commission shall maintain on its Internet website a
111	111	list of wholesale and retail public water suppliers that are
112	112	currently implementing a drought contingency plan that displays for
113	113	each supplier:
114	114	(1) the degree of drought severity in the county or
115	115	counties in which the service area of the supplier is located;
116	116	(2) whether the service area of the supplier is in a
117	117	county subject to a declaration under Section 418.014 or 418.108,
118	118	Government Code, of a state of disaster due to drought conditions;
119	119	and
120	120	(3) the drought response stage the supplier is
121	121	implementing.
122	122	SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 16, Water Code, is amended
123	123	by adding Section 16.0552 to read as follows:
124	124	Sec. 16.0552. BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES GUIDE. (a) In this
125	125	section, "best management practices" has the meaning assigned by
126	126	Section 11.002.
127	127	(b) The board, in coordination with the commission and the
128	128	Water Conservation Advisory Council, shall:
129	129	(1) regularly review and update the water conservation
130	130	best management practices guide developed by the water conservation
131	131	implementation task force under Chapter 109 (S.B. 1094), Acts of
132	132	the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003; and
133	133	(2) include in the guide best management practices for
134	134	drought response.
135	135	(c) The board shall make the guide available on its Internet
136	136	website.
137	137	SECTION 6. As soon as practicable after the effective date
138	138	of this Act, the Texas Water Development Board shall appoint two
139	139	additional members to the Water Conservation Advisory Council as
140	140	required by Section 10.003(a)(2), Water Code, as added by this Act.
141	141	The members appointed under this section serve terms expiring
142	142	August 31, 2023.
143	143	SECTION 7. As soon as practicable after the effective date
144	144	of this Act, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall
145	145	adopt rules as necessary to implement Section 11.1272, Water Code,
146	146	as amended by this Act.
147	147	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.