H.B. No. 2620 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to regional apportionment and assessment of the costs of 1-3 administering water quality management programs by watershed or 1-4 river basin. 1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-6 SECTION 1. Section 26.0135(h), Water Code, is amended to 1-7 read as follows: 1-8 (h) The Texas Water Commission shall apportion, assess, and 1-9 recover the reasonable costs of administering water quality 1-10 management programs under this section from all users of water and 1-11 wastewater permit holders in the watershed according to the records 1-12 of the commission generally in proportion to their right, through 1-13 permit or contract, to use water from and discharge wastewater in 1-14 the watershed. The cost to river authorities and others to conduct 1-15 regional water quality assessment shall be subject to prior review 1-16 and approval by the commission as to methods of allocation and 1-17 total amount to be recovered. The commission shall adopt rules to 1-18 supervise and implement the water quality assessment and associated 1-19 costs. The rules shall ensure that water users and wastewater 1-20 dischargers do not pay excessive amounts, that a river authority 1-21 may recover no more than the actual costs of administering the 1-22 water quality management programs called for in this section, and 1-23 that no municipality shall be assessed cost for any efforts that 2-1 duplicate water quality management activities described in Section 2-2 26.177 of this chapter. The rules concerning the apportionment and 2-3 assessment of reasonable costs shall provide for a recovery of not 2-4 more than $5,000,000 annually for fiscal years 1994 and 1995. 2-5 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the 2-6 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-7 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-8 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-9 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.