Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB668 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R1323 BRG-F
2	2	By: Harris H.B. No. 668
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the regulation of groundwater conservation districts.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 36.066, Water Code, is amended by
10	10	amending Subsection (g) and adding Subsection (i) to read as
11	11	follows:
12	12	(g) If the district prevails in any suit other than a suit in
13	13	which it voluntarily intervenes, the district may seek and the
14	14	court may [shall] grant, in the interests of justice and as provided
15	15	by Subsection (h), in the same action, recovery for attorney's
16	16	fees, costs for expert witnesses, and other costs incurred by the
17	17	district before the court. The amount of the attorney's fees shall
18	18	be fixed by the court.
19	19	(i) Notwithstanding Section 36.052(a), Subsections (g) and
20	20	(h) of this section prevail over any other special law inconsistent
21	21	with those subsections unless the other law prohibits an award of
22	22	attorney's fees or costs.
23	23	SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
24	24	by adding Section 36.1025 to read as follows:
25	25	Sec. 36.1025. PETITION TO CHANGE RULES. (a) A person with
26	26	groundwater ownership and rights may petition the district where
27	27	the property that gives rise to the ownership and rights is located
28	28	to adopt a rule or modify a rule adopted under this chapter.
29	29	(b) A petition submitted under this section must include:
30	30	(1) an explanation of why the adoption or modification
31	31	of the rule requested is necessary to be consistent with:
32	32	(A) ownership and rights recognized under
33	33	Section 36.002; or
34	34	(B) conservation or beneficial use of the
35	35	groundwater resources located in the district, in regard to either:
36	36	(i) the entire district; or
37	37	(ii) an aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer,
38	38	or geologic strata located in the district; and
39	39	(2) proof that the petitioner has complied with the
40	40	notice requirements described by Subsection (c).
41	41	(c) A petitioner under this section must provide written
42	42	notice of the petition to each person with groundwater ownership
43	43	and rights in the geographic area that would be affected by the
44	44	adoption or modification of the rule described in the petition.
45	45	(d) The district may consider the petition at a public
46	46	hearing or a regularly scheduled board meeting. If a district meets
47	47	quarterly, the district must grant or deny the petition not later
48	48	than the 90th day after the date the district received the petition.
49	49	(e) After a hearing held under Subsection (d), the district
50	50	shall grant or deny the petition and may grant or deny the petition
51	51	wholly or partly. The district shall provide an explanation for the
52	52	action the district takes on the petition, including a
53	53	determination about the consistency of the action with the concerns
54	54	raised by the petitioner's explanation required by Subsection
55	55	(b)(1).
56	56	(f) As soon as practicable after a petition or a portion of a
57	57	petition is granted, the district shall engage in rulemaking
58	58	consistent with the granted petition or the granted portion of the
59	59	petition.
60	60	SECTION 3. Section 36.114(h), Water Code, is amended to
61	61	read as follows:
62	62	(h) An application is administratively complete if it
63	63	contains the information set forth under Sections 36.113 and
64	64	36.1131 and, if applicable, the applicant has submitted proof of
65	65	notice required under Section 36.1141. A district shall not require
66	66	that additional information be included in an application for a
67	67	determination of administrative completeness.
68	68	SECTION 4. Subchapter D, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
69	69	by adding Section 36.1141 to read as follows:
70	70	Sec. 36.1141. NOTICE REQUIRED FOR APPLICATION FOR PERMIT OR
71	71	PERMIT AMENDMENT. (a) Not later than the date that a person submits
72	72	an application for a permit or permit amendment to a district, the
73	73	person shall provide notice by certified mail, return receipt
74	74	requested, to each person with a real property interest in the
75	75	groundwater beneath the land within the space prescribed by the
76	76	district's spacing rules for the proposed or existing well.
77	77	(b) The notice required under Subsection (a) must inform the
78	78	recipient of the notice that the recipient may contest the
79	79	application for the permit or permit amendment.
80	80	(c) A person who provides notice under Subsection (a) shall
81	81	submit proof of providing the notice with the person's application
82	82	for the permit or permit amendment.
83	83	SECTION 5. Section 36.415, Water Code, is amended by adding
84	84	Subsection (c) to read as follows:
85	85	(c) For purposes of this section, a person entitled to
86	86	receive notice under Section 36.1141 is considered to have a
87	87	personal justiciable interest described by Subsection (b).
88	88	SECTION 6. Section 36.066, Water Code, as amended by this
89	89	Act, applies only to a suit involving a groundwater conservation
90	90	district that is filed on or after the effective date of this Act. A
91	91	suit filed before the effective date of this Act is subject to the
92	92	law in effect on the date the suit is filed, and that law is
93	93	continued in effect for that purpose.
94	94	SECTION 7. Sections 36.114 and 36.415, Water Code, as
95	95	amended by this Act, and Section 36.1141, Water Code, as added by
96	96	this Act, apply only to an application for a permit or permit
97	97	amendment submitted on or after the effective date of this Act. An
98	98	application submitted before the effective date of this Act is
99	99	subject to the law in effect on the date the application is
100	100	submitted, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
101	101	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.