1-1 By: Saunders (Senate Sponsor - Sims) H.B. No. 2620 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 3, 1993; 1-3 May 4, 1993, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural 1-4 Resources; May 11, 1993, reported favorably by the following vote: 1-5 Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 11, 1993, sent to printer.) 1-6 COMMITTEE VOTE 1-7 Yea Nay PNV Absent 1-8 Sims x 1-9 Truan x 1-10 Armbrister x 1-11 Barrientos x 1-12 Bivins x 1-13 Brown x 1-14 Carriker x 1-15 Lucio x 1-16 Montford x 1-17 Ratliff x 1-18 Shelley x 1-19 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-20 AN ACT 1-21 relating to regional apportionment and assessment of the costs of 1-22 administering water quality management programs by watershed or 1-23 river basin. 1-24 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-25 SECTION 1. Section 26.0135(h), Water Code, is amended to 1-26 read as follows: 1-27 (h) The Texas Water Commission shall apportion, assess, and 1-28 recover the reasonable costs of administering water quality 1-29 management programs under this section from all users of water and 1-30 wastewater permit holders in the watershed according to the records 1-31 of the commission generally in proportion to their right, through 1-32 permit or contract, to use water from and discharge wastewater in 1-33 the watershed. The cost to river authorities and others to conduct 1-34 regional water quality assessment shall be subject to prior review 1-35 and approval by the commission as to methods of allocation and 1-36 total amount to be recovered. The commission shall adopt rules to 1-37 supervise and implement the water quality assessment and associated 1-38 costs. The rules shall ensure that water users and wastewater 1-39 dischargers do not pay excessive amounts, that a river authority 1-40 may recover no more than the actual costs of administering the 1-41 water quality management programs called for in this section, and 1-42 that no municipality shall be assessed cost for any efforts that 1-43 duplicate water quality management activities described in Section 1-44 26.177 of this chapter. The rules concerning the apportionment and 1-45 assessment of reasonable costs shall provide for a recovery of not 1-46 more than $5,000,000 annually for fiscal years 1994 and 1995. 1-47 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the 1-48 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 1-49 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 1-50 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 1-51 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 1-52 * * * * * 1-53 Austin, 1-54 Texas 1-55 May 11, 1993 1-56 Hon. Bob Bullock 1-57 President of the Senate 1-58 Sir: 1-59 We, your Committee on Natural Resources to which was referred H.B. 1-60 No. 2620, have had the same under consideration, and I am 1-61 instructed to report it back to the Senate with the recommendation 1-62 that it do pass and be printed. 1-63 Sims, 1-64 Chairman 1-65 * * * * * 1-66 WITNESSES 1-67 FOR AGAINST ON 1-68 ___________________________________________________________________ 2-1 Name: Walter Fisher x 2-2 Representing: Tx Municipal League 2-3 City: Austin 2-4 -------------------------------------------------------------------