| 2 | + | (In the Senate - Filed February 24, 2025; March 10, 2025, |
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| 3 | + | read first time and referred to Committee on Water, Agriculture and |
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| 4 | + | Rural Affairs; April 15, 2025, reported favorably by the following |
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| 5 | + | vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; April 15, 2025, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | + | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 2 | 7 | | |
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| 3 | 8 | | |
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| 4 | 9 | | |
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| 5 | 10 | | |
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| 6 | 11 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 7 | 12 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 13 | | relating to management plans adopted by groundwater conservation |
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| 9 | 14 | | districts. |
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| 10 | 15 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 16 | | SECTION 1. Section 36.1071, Water Code, is amended by |
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| 12 | 17 | | amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1), (b-2), and |
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| 13 | 18 | | (b-3) to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 19 | | (b) The management plan, or any amendments to the plan, |
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| 15 | 20 | | shall: |
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| 16 | 21 | | (1) be developed using the district's best available |
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| 17 | 22 | | data and forwarded to the regional water planning group for use in |
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| 18 | 23 | | their planning process; and |
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| 19 | 24 | | (2) include: |
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| 20 | 25 | | (A) the most recently approved desired future |
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| 21 | 26 | | conditions adopted under Section 36.108; and |
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| 22 | 27 | | (B) the amount of modeled available groundwater |
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| 23 | 28 | | corresponding to the most recently approved desired future |
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| 24 | 29 | | conditions. |
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| 25 | 30 | | (b-1) A district shall amend a management plan before the |
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| 26 | 31 | | second anniversary of the adoption of desired future conditions |
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| 27 | 32 | | included under Subsection (b). |
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| 28 | 33 | | (b-2) If a petition challenging the reasonableness of a |
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| 29 | | - | desired future condition is filed under Section 36.1083(b) and |
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| 30 | | - | until the district issues a final order under Section 36.1083(n) |
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| 31 | | - | or, if the desired future condition is found to be unreasonable in |
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| 32 | | - | the final order, a new desired future condition is adopted under |
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| 33 | | - | Section 36.108 or 36.1083 (p), the executive administrator shall |
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| 34 | | - | consider the management plan administratively complete if the |
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| 35 | | - | district includes: |
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| 34 | + | desired future condition is filed under Section 36.1083(b), the |
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| 35 | + | executive administrator shall consider the management plan |
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| 36 | + | administratively complete if the district includes: |
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| 36 | 37 | | (1) the most recently approved desired future |
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| 37 | 38 | | conditions adopted under Section 36.108; |
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| 38 | 39 | | (2) the amount of modeled available groundwater |
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| 39 | 40 | | corresponding to those desired future conditions; |
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| 40 | 41 | | (3) a statement of the status of the petition |
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| 41 | 42 | | challenging the reasonableness of a desired future condition; and |
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| 42 | 43 | | (4) the information required by Subsections (a) and |
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| 43 | 44 | | (e). |
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| 44 | 45 | | (b-3) Subsection (b-2) applies until either: |
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| 45 | 46 | | (1) the district issues a final order under Section |
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| 46 | 47 | | 36.1083(n); or |
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| 47 | 48 | | (2) if a desired future condition is found to be |
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| 48 | 49 | | unreasonable in the final order, a new desired future condition is |
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| 49 | 50 | | adopted pursuant to Section 36.108 or 36.1083(p). |
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| 50 | 51 | | SECTION 2. Section 36.1072(b), Water Code, is amended to |
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| 51 | 52 | | read as follows: |
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| 52 | 53 | | (b) Within 60 days of receipt of a district's management |
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| 53 | 54 | | plan adopted under Section 36.1071, readopted under Subsection (e) |
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| 54 | 55 | | or (g) of this section, or amended under Section 36.1073, the |
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| 55 | 56 | | executive administrator shall approve the district's plan if the |
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| 56 | 57 | | plan is administratively complete. A management plan is |
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| 57 | 58 | | administratively complete when it contains the information |
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| 58 | 59 | | required to be submitted under Sections [Section] 36.1071(a) and |
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| 59 | 60 | | (e) or meets the requirements of Section 36.1071(b-2), if |
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| 60 | 61 | | applicable. The executive administrator may determine whether |
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| 61 | 62 | | conditions justify waiver of the requirements under Section |
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| 62 | 63 | | 36.1071(e)(4). |
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| 63 | 64 | | SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act applicable to |
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| 64 | 65 | | a petition filed under Section 36.1083, Water Code, apply only to a |
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| 65 | 66 | | petition filed under that section on or after the effective date of |
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| 66 | 67 | | this Act. A petition filed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 67 | 68 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the petition was filed, |
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| 68 | 69 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 69 | 70 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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