| 1 | 1 | | 89R14601 ANG-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Perry S.B. No. 2661 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to penalties in certain suits involving a groundwater |
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| 10 | 10 | | conservation district; increasing a penalty. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Section 36.102, Water Code, is amended by |
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| 13 | 13 | | amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (f) to read as |
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| 14 | 14 | | follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (b) Except as provided by Subsection (f), the [The] board by |
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| 16 | 16 | | rule may set reasonable civil penalties that the district may |
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| 17 | 17 | | recover from [against] any person for breach of any rule of the |
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| 18 | 18 | | district in an amount not to exceed $25,000 [$10,000] per day per |
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| 19 | 19 | | violation, and each day of a continuing violation constitutes a |
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| 20 | 20 | | separate violation. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (f) In an enforcement action brought by a district against a |
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| 22 | 22 | | person, the court may assess a penalty greater than the maximum |
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| 23 | 23 | | penalty authorized under Subsection (b) if the court determines |
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| 24 | 24 | | that the person gained an economic benefit as a result of the |
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| 25 | 25 | | violation that was greater than the maximum penalty under |
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| 26 | 26 | | Subsection (b). A penalty assessed under this subsection must be in |
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| 27 | 27 | | an amount determined by the court to be necessary and appropriate to |
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| 28 | 28 | | outweigh the economic benefit gained by the person as a result of |
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| 29 | 29 | | the violation and discourage future violations. |
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| 30 | 30 | | SECTION 2. Section 36.102, Water Code, as amended by this |
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| 31 | 31 | | Act, applies only to a suit involving a groundwater conservation |
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| 32 | 32 | | district that is filed on or after the effective date of this Act. A |
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| 33 | 33 | | suit filed before the effective date of this Act is subject to the |
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| 34 | 34 | | law in effect on the date the suit is filed, and that law is |
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| 35 | 35 | | continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 36 | 36 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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