| 1 | 1 | | 87R13520 ANG-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Creighton S.B. No. 2157 |
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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 desired future conditions for groundwater that are |
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| 8 | 8 | | declared unreasonable. |
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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 36.1071, Water Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to |
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| 12 | 12 | | read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (b) The management plan, or any amendments to the plan, |
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| 14 | 14 | | shall: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) be developed using the district's best available |
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| 16 | 16 | | data and forwarded to the regional water planning group for use in |
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| 17 | 17 | | their planning process; and |
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| 18 | 18 | | (2) include the: |
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| 19 | 19 | | (A) most recently approved desired future |
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| 20 | 20 | | conditions adopted under Section 36.108; and |
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| 21 | 21 | | (B) amount of modeled available groundwater |
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| 22 | 22 | | corresponding to the most recently approved desired future |
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| 23 | 23 | | conditions. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (b-1) A district shall amend a management plan before the |
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| 25 | 25 | | second anniversary of the adoption of desired future conditions |
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| 26 | 26 | | included under Subsection (b). |
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| 27 | 27 | | (b-2) If a petition challenging the reasonableness of a |
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| 28 | 28 | | desired future condition is filed under Section 36.1083(b), the |
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| 29 | 29 | | executive administrator shall consider the management plan |
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| 30 | 30 | | administratively complete if the district includes: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (1) the most recently approved desired future |
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| 32 | 32 | | conditions adopted under Section 36.108; |
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| 33 | 33 | | (2) the amount of modeled available groundwater |
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| 34 | 34 | | corresponding to the desired future conditions; |
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| 35 | 35 | | (3) a statement of the status of the petition |
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| 36 | 36 | | challenging the reasonableness of a desired future condition; and |
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| 37 | 37 | | (4) the information required by Subsections (a) and |
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| 38 | 38 | | (e). |
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| 39 | 39 | | SECTION 2. Section 36.1083(a)(1), Water Code, is amended to |
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| 40 | 40 | | read as follows: |
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| 41 | 41 | | (1) "Affected person" means: |
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| 42 | 42 | | (A) an owner of land in a district in the same |
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| 43 | 43 | | management area in which a petition is filed; |
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| 44 | 44 | | (B) a district; |
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| 45 | 45 | | (C) a regional water planning group that has |
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| 46 | 46 | | approved a regional water plan that includes a water management |
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| 47 | 47 | | strategy applicable to the district that adopted the desired future |
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| 48 | 48 | | conditions; |
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| 49 | 49 | | (D) a person who holds or is applying for a permit |
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| 50 | 50 | | from a district in the same management area in which a petition is |
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| 51 | 51 | | filed; |
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| 52 | 52 | | (E) a person who has groundwater rights in a |
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| 53 | 53 | | district in the same management area in which a petition is filed; |
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| 54 | 54 | | or |
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| 55 | 55 | | (F) any other person defined as affected by |
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| 56 | 56 | | commission rule [has the meaning assigned by Section 36.1082]. |
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| 57 | 57 | | SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 58 | 58 | | a petition filed under Section 36.1083, Water Code, as amended by |
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| 59 | 59 | | this Act, on or after the effective date of this Act. A petition |
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| 60 | 60 | | filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law |
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| 61 | 61 | | in effect on the date the hearing was conducted, and the former law |
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| 62 | 62 | | is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 63 | 63 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |
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