H.B. No. 3059
AN ACT
relating to the export fee charged for the transfer of groundwater
from a groundwater conservation district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 36.122, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (e) and (p) and adding Subsections (e-1),
(e-2), and (e-3) to read as follows:
(e) Except as provided by Subsection (e-1), the [The]
district may impose an export fee or surcharge using one of the
following methods:
(1) a fee negotiated between the district and the
exporter;
(2) for a tax-based district, a rate not to exceed 20
cents [the equivalent of the district's tax rate per hundred
dollars of valuation] for each thousand gallons of water exported
from the district [or 2.5 cents per thousand gallons of water, if
the district assesses a tax rate of less than 2.5 cents per hundred
dollars of valuation]; or
(3) for a fee-based district, a rate not to exceed the
greater of 20 cents for each thousand gallons or a 50 percent
surcharge, in addition to the district's production fee, for water
exported from the district.
(e-1) Effective January 1, 2024, the maximum allowable rate
a district may impose for an export fee or surcharge under
Subsection (e)(2) or (e)(3) increases by three percent each
calendar year.
(e-2) A district governed by a special law in regard to an
export fee or surcharge on water exported from the district may
charge an export fee or surcharge in accordance with that special
law or in accordance with Subsections (e) and (e-1).
(e-3) An export fee or surcharge imposed under Subsection
(e) or an increase in an imposed export fee or surcharge is not
valid unless it is approved by the board after a public hearing.
(p) Subsections [Subsection] (e), (e-1), and (e-2) do
[does] not apply to a district that is collecting an export fee or
surcharge on March 1, 2001.
SECTION 2. Section 36.207, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 36.207. USE OF FEES. (a) A district may use funds
obtained from administrative, production, or export fees collected
under a special law governing the district or this chapter for any
purpose consistent with the district's approved management plan,
including, without limitation, making grants, loans, or
contractual payments to achieve, facilitate, or expedite
reductions in groundwater pumping or the development or
distribution of alternative water supplies or to maintain the
operability of wells significantly affected by groundwater
development to allow for the highest practicable level of
groundwater production while achieving the desired future
conditions established under Section 36.108.
(b) A district may use funds obtained from the amount that
an export fee is increased under Section 36.122(e-1) on or after
January 1, 2024, only for costs related to assessing and addressing
impacts associated with groundwater development, including:
(1) maintaining operability of wells significantly
affected by groundwater development;
(2) developing or distributing alternative water
supplies; and
(3) conducting aquifer monitoring, data collection,
and aquifer science.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3059 was passed by the House on April
18, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 117, Nays 27, 1 present, not
voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
H.B. No. 3059 on May 23, 2023, and requested the appointment of a
conference committee to consider the differences between the two
houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
on H.B. No. 3059 on May 28, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 119,
Nays 25, 2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3059 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 18, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays
6; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
3059 on May 27, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays 6.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor