87R1361 BRG-F
By: Burns H.B. No. 966
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the award of attorney's fees and other costs in certain
suits involving a groundwater conservation district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 36.066, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (g) and (h) and adding Subsection (i) to read
as follows:
(g) If the district prevails in any suit other than a suit in
which it voluntarily intervenes, the district may seek and the
court may [shall] grant, in the interests of justice and as provided
by Subsection (h), in the same action, recovery for attorney's
fees, costs for expert witnesses, and other costs incurred by the
district before the court. The amount of the attorney's fees shall
be fixed by the court.
(h) If the district prevails on some, but not all, of the
issues in the suit, the court may [shall] award attorney's fees and
costs only for those issues on which the district prevails. The
district has the burden of segregating the attorney's fees and
costs in order for the court to make an award.
(i) Notwithstanding Section 36.052(a), Subsections (g) and
(h) of this section prevail over any special law inconsistent with
those subsections.
SECTION 2. Section 36.102, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
follows:
(d) If the district prevails in any suit to enforce its
rules, the district may seek and the court may [shall] grant against
any person, in the same action, recovery for attorney's fees, costs
for expert witnesses, and other costs incurred by the district
before the court. The amount of the attorney's fees shall be fixed
by the court.
(f) Notwithstanding Section 36.052(a), Subsection (d) of
this section prevails over any special law inconsistent with that
subsection.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a suit involving a groundwater conservation district that is filed
on or after the effective date of this Act. A suit filed before the
effective date of this Act is subject to the law in effect on the
date the suit is filed, and that law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.