| 2 | 4 | | |
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| 3 | 5 | | |
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| 4 | 6 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 7 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 8 | | relating to information relied on by the Railroad Commission of |
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| 7 | 9 | | Texas for purposes of rules involving rainfall estimates. |
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| 8 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 81, Natural Resources |
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| 10 | 12 | | Code, is amended by adding Section 81.076 to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 13 | | Sec. 81.076. RULES REFERENCING RAINFALL INTENSITY, |
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| 12 | 14 | | DURATION, AND FREQUENCY. (a) This section applies only to a |
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| 13 | 15 | | commission rule the adoption of which involved an evaluation of |
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| 14 | 16 | | rainfall intensity, duration, or frequency. |
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| 15 | 17 | | (b) The commission shall update rules as necessary to |
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| 16 | 18 | | incorporate the latest available rainfall intensity, duration, and |
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| 17 | 19 | | frequency data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric |
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| 18 | 20 | | Administration or a comparable source at least once every five |
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| 19 | 21 | | years. |
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| 20 | 22 | | (c) The commission shall update rules as necessary to |
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| 21 | 23 | | incorporate the latest available rainfall intensity, duration, and |
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| 22 | 24 | | frequency data from each new volume of the Precipitation-Frequency |
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| 23 | 25 | | Atlas of the United States published by the National Oceanic and |
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| 24 | 26 | | Atmospheric Administration. |
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| 25 | 27 | | (d) During each rulemaking required by Subsection (b), the |
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| 26 | 28 | | commission shall consider: |
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| 27 | 29 | | (1) the value of costs avoided by the state as a result |
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| 28 | 30 | | of updating the rainfall intensity, frequency, and duration data; |
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| 29 | 31 | | (2) a description of the variance between the existing |
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| 30 | 32 | | and newly available rainfall intensity, frequency, and duration |
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| 31 | 33 | | data; and |
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| 32 | 34 | | (3) the accuracy of the newly available rainfall |
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| 33 | 35 | | intensity, frequency, and duration data in comparison to the |
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| 34 | 36 | | existing rainfall intensity, frequency, and duration data. |
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| 35 | 37 | | SECTION 2. Not later than January 1, 2026, the Railroad |
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| 36 | 38 | | Commission of Texas shall adopt the first updated rules required by |
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| 37 | 39 | | Section 81.076, Natural Resources Code, as added by this Act. |
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| 38 | 40 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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