88R24446 ANG-D
 
  By: Rogers H.B. No. 4891
 
  Substitute the following for H.B. No. 4891:
 
  By:  King of Uvalde C.S.H.B. No. 4891
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the joint planning of desired future conditions in
  groundwater management areas.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 36.1071(e), Water Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (e)  In the management plan described under Subsection (a),
  the district shall:
               (1)  identify the performance standards and management
  objectives under which the district will operate to achieve the
  management goals identified under Subsection (a);
               (2)  specify, in as much detail as possible, the
  actions, procedures, performance, and avoidance that are or may be
  necessary to effect the plan, including specifications and proposed
  rules;
               (3)  include estimates of the following:
                     (A)  modeled available groundwater in the
  district based on the desired future condition established under
  Section 36.108;
                     (B)  the amount of groundwater being used within
  the district on an annual basis;
                     (C)  the annual amount of recharge from
  precipitation, if any, to the groundwater resources within the
  district;
                     (D)  for each aquifer, the annual volume of water
  that discharges from the aquifer to springs and any surface water
  bodies, including lakes, streams, and rivers;
                     (E)  the annual volume of flow into and out of the
  district within each aquifer and between aquifers in the district,
  if a groundwater availability model is available;
                     (F)  the projected surface water supply in the
  district according to the most recently adopted state water plan;
  and
                     (G)  the projected total demand for water in the
  district according to the most recently adopted state water plan;
  [and]
               (4)  consider the water supply needs and water
  management strategies included in the adopted state water plan; and
               (5)  include a plain explanation of how:
                     (A)  the district is monitoring and tracking the
  achievement of the desired future conditions established under
  Section 36.108; and
                     (B)  the district has performed in achieving the
  desired future conditions established under Section 36.108 over the
  previous five-year joint planning period.
         SECTION 2.  Section 36.108, Water Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (c) and (d-3) and adding Subsections (c-1) and
  (d-5) to read as follows:
         (c)  The district representatives shall meet at least
  annually to conduct joint planning with the other districts in the
  management area. The representatives shall [and to] review:
               (1)  [the management plans,] the accomplishments of the
  management area;
               (2)  [, and] proposals to adopt new or amend existing
  desired future conditions; and
               (3)  not less than once during each five-year period
  described by Subsection (d), the management plans of each district
  in the management area.
         (c-1)  In reviewing the management plans under Subsection
  (c), the districts shall consider:
               (1)  the goals of each management plan and its impact on
  planning throughout the management area;
               (2)  the effectiveness of the measures established by
  each district's management plan for conserving and protecting
  groundwater and preventing waste, and the effectiveness of these
  measures in the management area generally;
               (3)  any other matters that the boards consider
  relevant to the protection and conservation of groundwater and the
  prevention of waste in the management area; and
               (4)  the degree to which each district is achieving
  [management plan achieves] the desired future conditions
  established during the joint planning process through the
  implementation of the district's management plan and rules.
         (d-3)  After all the districts have submitted their district
  summaries, the district representatives shall reconvene to review
  the reports, consider any district's suggested revisions to the
  proposed desired future conditions, and finally adopt the desired
  future conditions for the management area.  The desired future
  conditions must be approved by a resolution adopted by a two-thirds
  vote of all the district representatives not later than January 5,
  2022.  Subsequent desired future conditions must be proposed and
  finally adopted by the district representatives before the end of
  each successive five-year period after that date.  The district
  representatives shall produce a desired future conditions
  explanatory report for the management area and submit to the
  development board and each district in the management area proof
  that notice was posted for the joint planning meeting, a copy of the
  resolution, and a copy of the explanatory report.  The report must:
               (1)  identify each desired future condition;
               (2)  provide the policy and technical justifications
  for each desired future condition;
               (3)  include documentation that the factors under
  Subsection (d) were considered by the districts and a discussion of
  how the adopted desired future conditions impact each factor;
               (4)  list other desired future condition options
  considered, if any, and the reasons why those options were not
  adopted; [and]
               (5)  discuss reasons why recommendations made by
  advisory committees and relevant public comments received by the
  districts were or were not incorporated into the desired future
  conditions;
               (6)  include an explanation in plain language of why a
  desired future condition adopted for an aquifer was changed if the
  desired future condition is different from the previous five-year
  joint planning period; and
               (7)  include a summary of how each district is
  performing in achieving the desired future conditions.
         (d-5)  The districts and district representatives:
               (1)  shall adopt desired future conditions under this
  section for each 50-year planning period identified by the
  executive administrator for the preparation of state and regional
  water plans;
               (2)  shall identify interim values for the desired
  future conditions adopted under Subdivision (1) for time periods
  not to exceed 10 years solely to assist the districts in monitoring
  interim progress in achieving the desired future conditions adopted
  for the 50-year planning period; and
               (3)  may adopt desired future conditions under this
  section for other time periods.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2023.