| 1 | 1 | | By: Schofield (Senate Sponsor - Bettencourt) H.B. No. 4659 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House May 8, 2023; |
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| 3 | 3 | | May 10, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Water, |
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| 4 | 4 | | Agriculture & Rural Affairs; May 19, 2023, reported favorably by |
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| 5 | 5 | | the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 19, 2023, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | 6 | | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 10 | 10 | | AN ACT |
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| 11 | 11 | | relating to a study of the financing of regional facilities that |
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| 12 | 12 | | convert groundwater to surface water. |
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| 13 | 13 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 14 | 14 | | SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) "Board" means the Texas Water Development Board. |
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| 16 | 16 | | (2) "Facility" means a regional water facility that |
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| 17 | 17 | | converts groundwater to surface water. |
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| 18 | 18 | | SECTION 2. WORKING GROUP. (a) A working group composed of |
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| 19 | 19 | | representatives of the Texas Water Development Board and the Texas |
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| 20 | 20 | | Public Finance Authority is formed to study, review, and report to |
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| 21 | 21 | | the legislature on the methods used to finance or refinance |
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| 22 | 22 | | regional water facilities that convert groundwater to surface |
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| 23 | 23 | | water. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (b) The working group may include representatives of local |
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| 25 | 25 | | governments of Harris and Fort Bend Counties that have borrowed |
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| 26 | 26 | | money from the board for a facility. |
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| 27 | 27 | | (c) The chair of the board, or a designee of the chair of the |
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| 28 | 28 | | board, shall serve as the chair of the working group. |
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| 29 | 29 | | (d) The working group shall convene at the call of the |
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| 30 | 30 | | chair. |
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| 31 | 31 | | SECTION 3. STUDY. The working group shall study: |
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| 32 | 32 | | (1) the useful life of regional water facilities that |
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| 33 | 33 | | convert groundwater to surface water, including associated |
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| 34 | 34 | | improvements during a facility's useful life; |
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| 35 | 35 | | (2) the typical period of time necessary to pay the |
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| 36 | 36 | | costs associated with developing a financed facility; |
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| 37 | 37 | | (3) the economic effect on current water users paying |
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| 38 | 38 | | the cost of a facility that will provide service to future water |
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| 39 | 39 | | users; |
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| 40 | 40 | | (4) the financing terms of current and anticipated |
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| 41 | 41 | | facilities; |
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| 42 | 42 | | (5) the ability to distribute the costs associated |
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| 43 | 43 | | with the development of a facility to the users who benefit from the |
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| 44 | 44 | | facility, including: |
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| 45 | 45 | | (A) the fairness and equity benefits to water |
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| 46 | 46 | | users of extending the financing of a facility compared to the |
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| 47 | 47 | | potential increase in financing costs associated with an extension |
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| 48 | 48 | | of financing; |
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| 49 | 49 | | (B) the ability to use methods of financing or |
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| 50 | 50 | | refinancing to accomplish this distribution; |
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| 51 | 51 | | (C) policies and procedures of this state and the |
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| 52 | 52 | | board that may be used to accomplish this distribution; |
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| 53 | 53 | | (D) whether the board's financing terms and |
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| 54 | 54 | | conditions can be improved to better accomplish this distribution, |
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| 55 | 55 | | including whether the board may forgive a loan or a portion of a |
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| 56 | 56 | | loan to better accomplish this distribution; |
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| 57 | 57 | | (E) whether potential measures that could |
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| 58 | 58 | | accomplish this distribution are precluded by state law; and |
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| 59 | 59 | | (F) what changes to state law may be necessary to |
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| 60 | 60 | | accomplish this distribution; |
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| 61 | 61 | | (6) whether financial assistance administered by the |
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| 62 | 62 | | board may be used to refinance or restructure existing financing of |
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| 63 | 63 | | a facility; and |
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| 64 | 64 | | (7) whether a facility is eligible for grant funding. |
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| 65 | 65 | | SECTION 4. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. (a) The working |
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| 66 | 66 | | group shall recommend any changes and improvements relating to the |
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| 67 | 67 | | financing of regional facilities that convert groundwater to |
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| 68 | 68 | | surface water that may be implemented by this state, the board, or |
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| 69 | 69 | | another state agency without further legislative authorization. |
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| 70 | 70 | | (b) Not later than September 1, 2024, the working group |
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| 71 | 71 | | shall report the working group's findings and recommendations to |
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| 72 | 72 | | the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of |
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| 73 | 73 | | representatives, and the governor. |
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| 74 | 74 | | (c) A member of the house or the senate may request to be |
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| 75 | 75 | | kept informed of the working group's progress throughout the |
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| 76 | 76 | | duration of the study. |
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| 77 | 77 | | SECTION 5. EXPIRATION. This Act expires September 1, 2025. |
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| 78 | 78 | | SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect |
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| 79 | 79 | | immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members |
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| 80 | 80 | | elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas |
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| 81 | 81 | | Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for |
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| 82 | 82 | | immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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| 83 | 83 | | * * * * * |
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