By: Johnson S.B. No. 1624
(In the Senate - Filed February 25, 2025; March 10, 2025,
read first time and referred to Committee on Water, Agriculture and
Rural Affairs; April 14, 2025, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0;
April 14, 2025, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1624 By: Perry
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the purposes for which the Texas Water Bank and the
Texas Water Trust may accept and hold water rights.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 15.703(a), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The board may take all actions necessary to operate the
water bank and to facilitate the transfer of water rights from the
water bank for future beneficial use including but not limited to:
(1) negotiating a sale price and terms acceptable to
the depositor and purchaser;
(2) maintaining a registry of water bank deposits and
those water users in need of additional supplies;
(3) informing water users in need of additional supply
of water rights available in the bank;
(4) encouraging water right holders to implement water
conservation practices and deposit the right to use the conserved
water into the bank;
(5) establishing requirements for deposit of a water
right into the water bank including minimum terms for deposit;
(6) purchasing, holding, and transferring water or
water rights in its own name;
(7) establishing regional water banks;
(8) acting as a clearinghouse for water marketing
information including water availability, pricing of water
transactions, environmental considerations, and potential buyers
and sellers of water rights;
(9) preparing and publishing a manual on structuring
water transactions;
(10) accepting and holding donations of water rights
to meet conservation needs or environmental needs, including
instream flow, water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, or bay and
estuary inflow needs;
(11) entering into contracts with persons to pay for
feasibility studies or the preparation of plans and specifications
relating to water conservation efforts or to estimate the amount of
water that would be saved through conservation efforts; and
(12) other actions to facilitate water transactions.
SECTION 2. Section 15.7031(a), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The Texas Water Trust is established within the water
bank to hold water rights dedicated to conservation needs or
environmental needs, including instream flow [flows], water
quality, fish and wildlife habitat, or bay and estuary inflow needs
[inflows].
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
* * * * *