Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB10 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R16344 JAM-F
2	2	By: King of Uvalde H.B. No. 10
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to financial assistance provided and programs
8	8	administered by the Texas Water Development Board.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 15, Water Code, is amended by adding
11	11	Subchapter G-1 to read as follows:
12	12	SUBCHAPTER G-1. NEW WATER SUPPLY FOR TEXAS FUND
13	13	Sec. 15.451. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "fund" means
14	14	the new water supply for Texas fund.
15	15	Sec. 15.452. FUND. The new water supply for Texas fund is a
16	16	special fund in the state treasury. The fund consists of:
17	17	(1) money appropriated to the board for a purpose of
18	18	the fund;
19	19	(2) money the board transfers to the fund from an
20	20	available source;
21	21	(3) depository interest allocable to the fund and
22	22	other investment returns on money in the fund;
23	23	(4) money from gifts, grants, or donations to the
24	24	fund; and
25	25	(5) any other fees or sources of revenue that the
26	26	legislature may dedicate for deposit to the fund.
27	27	Sec. 15.453. USE OF FUND. (a) The board by rule shall
28	28	undertake to finance projects through the fund that will lead to the
29	29	acquisition or creation of seven million acre-feet of new water
30	30	supplies by December 31, 2033.
31	31	(b) The fund may be used only to provide low-interest loans
32	32	to political subdivisions and wholesale water providers to develop
33	33	water supply projects that create new water sources for the state
34	34	including:
35	35	(1) the acquisition of water from other states;
36	36	(2) the development of infrastructure to transport
37	37	water from other states;
38	38	(3) desalination projects, including marine and
39	39	brackish water desalination;
40	40	(4) produced water treatment projects; and
41	41	(5) research into new technology that may lead to the
42	42	development of significant new water supply sources, as determined
43	43	by the board based on the amount of water the technology may
44	44	produce.
45	45	(c) The fund may be used to provide zero interest loans,
46	46	negative interest loans, or loan forgiveness for any purpose
47	47	described by Subsection (b) under criteria developed by the board.
48	48	Loans made under this subchapter may provide for repayment terms of
49	49	up to 40 years, in the board's discretion.
50	50	(d) Financial assistance described by Subsection (c) for a
51	51	purpose described by Subsection (b) may be provided for a public
52	52	works project that includes the participation of or a financial
53	53	contribution from a nongovernmental entity, including a wholesale
54	54	water provider, only if a political subdivision is a participant in
55	55	the project.
56	56	(e) The board may not provide financial assistance from the
57	57	fund if the balance of the fund is less than $50 million.
58	58	Sec. 15.454. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. (a) The board shall
59	59	adopt rules necessary to administer this subchapter, including
60	60	rules establishing procedures for the application for and award of
61	61	loans, the distribution of loans, the investment of funds, and the
62	62	administration of loans and the fund.
63	63	(b) In passing on an application from a political
64	64	subdivision or wholesale water provider for financial assistance,
65	65	the board shall consider:
66	66	(1) the needs of the area to be served by the project,
67	67	the expected benefit of the project to the area, the relationship of
68	68	the project to the water needs of this state overall, and the
69	69	relationship of the project to the state water plan;
70	70	(2) the amount of water expected to be produced by the
71	71	project; and
72	72	(3) the availability of revenue to the political
73	73	subdivision or wholesale water provider from all sources for the
74	74	ultimate repayment of the cost of the project, including all
75	75	interest.
76	76	(c) The board by resolution may approve an application if,
77	77	after considering the factors listed in Subsection (b) and other
78	78	relevant factors, the board finds that:
79	79	(1) the public interest is served by state assistance
80	80	for the project; and
81	81	(2) the revenue or taxes pledged by the political
82	82	subdivision or wholesale water provider will be sufficient to meet
83	83	all the obligations assumed by the political subdivision or
84	84	wholesale water provider during the succeeding period of not more
85	85	than 30 years.
86	86	(d) The repayment of principal or interest on a loan made
87	87	under this subchapter must be deposited to the credit of the Texas
88	88	water fund.
89	89	(e) An application from a political subdivision or
90	90	wholesale water provider for financial assistance under this
91	91	subchapter must comply with the requirements of Section 16.4021.
92	92	(f) Sections 17.183-17.187 apply to the construction of
93	93	projects funded under this subchapter.
94	94	SECTION 2. Chapter 15, Water Code, is amended by adding
95	95	Subchapter H-1 to read as follows:
96	96	SUBCHAPTER H-1. TEXAS WATER FUND
97	97	Sec. 15.501. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "fund" means
98	98	the Texas water fund.
99	99	Sec. 15.502. FUND. (a) The Texas water fund is a special
100	100	fund in the state treasury outside the general revenue fund. The
101	101	fund is administered by the board.
102	102	(b) The board may use the fund only to disburse money to:
103	103	(1) the water assistance fund established under
104	104	Subchapter B;
105	105	(2) the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas
106	106	established under Subchapter G;
107	107	(3) the new water supply for Texas fund established
108	108	under Subchapter G-1;
109	109	(4) a revolving fund established under Subchapter J;
110	110	(5) the rural water assistance fund established under
111	111	Subchapter R; and
112	112	(6) the Texas Water Development Fund established under
113	113	Subchapter C, Chapter 17.
114	114	(c) The board has legal title to money and investments in
115	115	the fund.
116	116	(d) The comptroller may not use the fund for certification
117	117	under Section 49a, Article III, Texas Constitution.
118	118	(e) Money in the fund may be used only as provided by this
119	119	subchapter.
120	120	(f) The fund consists of:
121	121	(1) money transferred or deposited to the credit of
122	122	the fund by law, including money from any source transferred or
123	123	deposited to the credit of the fund as authorized by law;
124	124	(2) any other revenue that the legislature by statute
125	125	dedicates for deposit to the credit of the fund;
126	126	(3) investment earnings and interest earned on amounts
127	127	credited to the fund;
128	128	(4) money from gifts, grants, or donations to the
129	129	fund; and
130	130	(5) the redeposit of money disbursed from the fund.
131	131	Sec. 15.503. MANAGEMENT AND INVESTMENT OF FUND. (a) Money
132	132	in the fund shall be invested as determined by the board. The fund
133	133	may be invested with the state treasury pool.
134	134	(b) The fund and any accounts established in the fund shall
135	135	be kept and maintained by or at the direction of the board.
136	136	(c) The fund may be managed by the comptroller or a
137	137	corporate trustee that is a trust company or a bank that has the
138	138	powers of a trust company for and on behalf of the board and pending
139	139	their use for the purposes provided by this subchapter may be
140	140	invested as provided by an order, resolution, or rule of the board.
141	141	(d) The comptroller or corporate trustee shall manage the
142	142	fund in strict accordance with this subchapter and the orders,
143	143	resolutions, and rules of the board.
144	144	Sec. 15.504. USE OF FUND. (a) Subject to legislative
145	145	appropriation, the board may make disbursements from the fund to a
146	146	fund described by Section 15.502(b) for an authorized purpose of
147	147	the receiving fund.
148	148	(b) The board may not disburse money to a fund described by
149	149	Section 15.502(b) until the application for the project for which
150	150	the money is to be used has been approved.
151	151	(c) The board shall ensure that a portion of the money
152	152	disbursed from the fund is used for:
153	153	(1) water infrastructure projects, prioritized by
154	154	risk or need, for:
155	155	(A) rural political subdivisions, as defined by
156	156	Section 15.992; and
157	157	(B) municipalities with a population of less than
158	158	150,000;
159	159	(2) permit-ready water infrastructure projects; and
160	160	(3) water conservation awareness programs.
161	161	(d) Money disbursed from the fund for the purposes described
162	162	by Subsection (c) may be disbursed to funds described by Section
163	163	15.502(b) to be used to provide zero interest loans, negative
164	164	interest loans, loan forgiveness, or grants for any purpose
165	165	described by Subsection (c) under criteria developed by the board.
166	166	(e) Money deposited to the credit of the fund as provided by
167	167	Section 15.454(d) may be used only for the purposes described by
168	168	Section 15.453(b).
169	169	Sec. 15.505. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. The State Water
170	170	Implementation Fund for Texas Advisory Committee established under
171	171	Section 15.438:
172	172	(1) shall submit comments and recommendations to the
173	173	board regarding the use of money in the fund for use by the board in
174	174	adopting rules under Section 15.506;
175	175	(2) shall review the overall operation, function, and
176	176	structure of the fund at least annually and may provide comments and
177	177	recommendations to the board on any matter; and
178	178	(3) may adopt rules, procedures, and policies as
179	179	needed to administer this section and implement its
180	180	responsibilities.
181	181	Sec. 15.506. RULES. (a) The board may adopt rules
182	182	providing for the use of money in the fund that are consistent with
183	183	this subchapter.
184	184	(b) Rules adopted under this section must require each
185	185	recipient of financial assistance administered through the fund to
186	186	submit to the board a water conservation plan that complies with the
187	187	requirements of Section 16.4021.
188	188	SECTION 3. Section 15.994(c), Water Code, is amended to
189	189	read as follows:
190	190	(c) The board may use money in the fund to contract for
191	191	outreach, financial, planning, and technical assistance to assist
192	192	rural political subdivisions [in obtaining and using financing from
193	193	any source] for a purpose described by this section.
194	194	SECTION 4. Section 16.0121, Water Code, is amended by
195	195	adding Subsections (k) and (l) to read as follows:
196	196	(k) The board by rule shall establish a program to provide
197	197	technical assistance to retail public utilities in conducting water
198	198	audits required under Subsections (b) and (b-1) and in applying for
199	199	financial assistance from the board to mitigate the utility
200	200	system's water loss. Rules adopted under this section must provide
201	201	for the prioritization of technical assistance to retail public
202	202	utilities based on:
203	203	(1) water loss audits submitted to the board;
204	204	(2) the population served by the utility; and
205	205	(3) the integrity of the utility's system.
206	206	(l) The board shall submit to the legislature every fifth
207	207	year a water loss report that:
208	208	(1) summarizes the information compiled under
209	209	Subsection (f);
210	210	(2) summarizes the measures taken by retail public
211	211	utilities to reduce water loss; and
212	212	(3) identifies the retail public utilities
213	213	participating in the program established under Subsection (k) and
214	214	details the use of financial assistance provided under that
215	215	subsection.
216	216	SECTION 5. Section 16.4021(b), Water Code, is amended to
217	217	read as follows:
218	218	(b) This section applies to an application for financial
219	219	assistance under:
220	220	(1) Subchapters C, D, E, G, G-1, H, H-1, J, O, Q, and R,
221	221	Chapter 15;
222	222	(2) Subchapters E and F of this chapter; and
223	223	(3) Subchapters D, F, I, K, and L, Chapter 17.
224	224	SECTION 6. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this Act,
225	225	this Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
226	226	(b) Section 2 of this Act takes effect January 1, 2024, but
227	227	only if the constitutional amendment proposed by the 88th
228	228	Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, creating the Texas water fund
229	229	to assist in financing water projects in this state is approved by
230	230	the voters. If that constitutional amendment is not approved by
231	231	the voters, Section 2 of this Act has no effect.