| 1 | 1 | | 87R1361 BRG-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Burns H.B. No. 966 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the award of attorney's fees and other costs in certain |
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| 8 | 8 | | suits involving a groundwater conservation district. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 36.066, Water Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | amending Subsections (g) and (h) and adding Subsection (i) to read |
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| 12 | 12 | | as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (g) If the district prevails in any suit other than a suit in |
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| 14 | 14 | | which it voluntarily intervenes, the district may seek and the |
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| 15 | 15 | | court may [shall] grant, in the interests of justice and as provided |
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| 16 | 16 | | by Subsection (h), in the same action, recovery for attorney's |
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| 17 | 17 | | fees, costs for expert witnesses, and other costs incurred by the |
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| 18 | 18 | | district before the court. The amount of the attorney's fees shall |
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| 19 | 19 | | be fixed by the court. |
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| 20 | 20 | | (h) If the district prevails on some, but not all, of the |
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| 21 | 21 | | issues in the suit, the court may [shall] award attorney's fees and |
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| 22 | 22 | | costs only for those issues on which the district prevails. The |
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| 23 | 23 | | district has the burden of segregating the attorney's fees and |
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| 24 | 24 | | costs in order for the court to make an award. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (i) Notwithstanding Section 36.052(a), Subsections (g) and |
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| 26 | 26 | | (h) of this section prevail over any special law inconsistent with |
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| 27 | 27 | | those subsections. |
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| 28 | 28 | | SECTION 2. Section 36.102, Water Code, is amended by |
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| 29 | 29 | | amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (f) to read as |
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| 30 | 30 | | follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (d) If the district prevails in any suit to enforce its |
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| 32 | 32 | | rules, the district may seek and the court may [shall] grant against |
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| 33 | 33 | | any person, in the same action, recovery for attorney's fees, costs |
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| 34 | 34 | | for expert witnesses, and other costs incurred by the district |
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| 35 | 35 | | before the court. The amount of the attorney's fees shall be fixed |
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| 36 | 36 | | by the court. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (f) Notwithstanding Section 36.052(a), Subsection (d) of |
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| 38 | 38 | | this section prevails over any special law inconsistent with that |
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| 39 | 39 | | subsection. |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 41 | 41 | | a suit involving a groundwater conservation district that is filed |
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| 42 | 42 | | on or after the effective date of this Act. A suit filed before the |
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| 43 | 43 | | effective date of this Act is subject to the law in effect on the |
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| 44 | 44 | | date the suit is filed, and that law is continued in effect for that |
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| 45 | 45 | | purpose. |
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| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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