Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1624 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
	1	+	89R7958 KRM-F
1	2		By: Johnson S.B. No. 1624
2		-	(In the Senate - Filed February 25, 2025; March 10, 2025,
3		-	read first time and referred to Committee on Water, Agriculture and
4		-	Rural Affairs; April 14, 2025, reported adversely, with favorable
5		-	Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0;
6		-	April 14, 2025, sent to printer.)
7		-	Click here to see the committee vote
8		-	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1624 By: Perry
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13	7		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
14	8		AN ACT
15	9		relating to the purposes for which the Texas Water Bank and the
16	10		Texas Water Trust may accept and hold water rights.
17	11		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
18		-	SECTION 1. Section 15.703(a), Water Code, is amended to
	12	+	SECTION 1. Section 12.028(b), Parks and Wildlife Code, is
	13	+	amended to read as follows:
	14	+	(b) Consistent with Section 11.0235(b), Water Code, and the
	15	+	department's duties and responsibilities, the department shall
	16	+	encourage and facilitate the dedication of water rights in the
	17	+	Texas Water Trust through lease, donation, purchase, or other means
	18	+	of voluntary transfer for conservation or environmental needs,
	19	+	including for the purpose of maintaining or improving:
	20	+	(1) water supply management;
	21	+	(2) instream flows;
	22	+	(3) [(2)] water quality;
	23	+	(4) [(3)] fish and wildlife habitat; and
	24	+	(5) [(4)] bay and estuary inflows.
	25	+	SECTION 2. Section 15.703(a), Water Code, is amended to
19	26		read as follows:
20	27		(a) The board may take all actions necessary to operate the
21	28		water bank and to facilitate the transfer of water rights from the
22	29		water bank for future beneficial use including but not limited to:
23	30		(1) negotiating a sale price and terms acceptable to
24	31		the depositor and purchaser;
25	32		(2) maintaining a registry of water bank deposits and
26	33		those water users in need of additional supplies;
27	34		(3) informing water users in need of additional supply
28	35		of water rights available in the bank;
29	36		(4) encouraging water right holders to implement water
30	37		conservation practices and deposit the right to use the conserved
31	38		water into the bank;
32	39		(5) establishing requirements for deposit of a water
33	40		right into the water bank including minimum terms for deposit;
34	41		(6) purchasing, holding, and transferring water or
35	42		water rights in its own name;
36	43		(7) establishing regional water banks;
37	44		(8) acting as a clearinghouse for water marketing
38	45		information including water availability, pricing of water
39	46		transactions, environmental considerations, and potential buyers
40	47		and sellers of water rights;
41	48		(9) preparing and publishing a manual on structuring
42	49		water transactions;
43	50		(10) accepting and holding donations of water rights
44		-	to meet conservation ~~needs~~ or environmental needs, including
45		-	instream flow, water quality, fish and wildlife ~~habitat, or bay and~~
46		-	estuary inflow needs;
	51	+	to meet conservation or environmental needs, including water supply
	52	+	management, instream flow, water quality, fish and wildlife
	53	+	habitat, or bay and estuary inflow needs;
47	54		(11) entering into contracts with persons to pay for
48	55		feasibility studies or the preparation of plans and specifications
49	56		relating to water conservation efforts or to estimate the amount of
50	57		water that would be saved through conservation efforts; and
51	58		(12) other actions to facilitate water transactions.
52		-	SECTION 2. Section 15.7031(a), Water Code, is amended to
	59	+	SECTION 3. Section 15.7031(a), Water Code, is amended to
53	60		read as follows:
54	61		(a) The Texas Water Trust is established within the water
55		-	bank to hold water rights dedicated to conservation needs or
56		-	environmental needs, including instream flow [flows], water
57		-	quality, fish and wildlife habitat, or bay and estuary inflow needs
58		-	[inflows].
59		-	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
60		-	* * * * *
	62	+	bank to hold water rights dedicated to conservation or
	63	+	environmental needs, including water supply management, instream
	64	+	flow [flows], water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, or bay and
	65	+	estuary inflow needs [inflows].
	66	+	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.