By:  Sims                                             S.B. No. 1305
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                        AN ACT
    1-1  relating to regional assessment of water quality by watershed or
    1-2  river basin.
    1-3        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-4        SECTION 1.  Section 26.0135(h) of the Texas Water Code is
    1-5  amended to read as follows:
    1-6        (h)  The Texas Water Commission shall apportion, assess, and
    1-7  recover the reasonable costs of administering water quality
    1-8  management programs under this section from all users of water and
    1-9  wastewater permit holders in the watershed according to the records
   1-10  of the commission generally in proportion to their right, through
   1-11  permit or contract, to use water from and discharge wastewater in
   1-12  the watershed.  The cost to river authorities and others to conduct
   1-13  regional water quality assessment shall be subject to prior review
   1-14  and approval by the commission as to methods of allocation and
   1-15  total amount to be recovered.  The commission shall adopt rules to
   1-16  supervise and implement the water quality assessment and associated
   1-17  costs.  The rules shall ensure that water users and wastewater
   1-18  dischargers do not pay excessive amounts, that a river authority
   1-19  may recover no more than the actual costs of administering the
   1-20  water quality management programs called for in this section, and
   1-21  that no municipality shall be assessed cost for any efforts that
   1-22  duplicate water quality management activities described in Section
   1-23  26.177 of this chapter.  The rules concerning the apportionment and
    2-1  assessment of reasonable costs shall not provide for a recovery of
    2-2  more than $5,000,000 annually.  The authority granted in this
    2-3  subsection expires on September 30, 1994.
    2-4        SECTION 2.  EMERGENCY.  The importance of this legislation
    2-5  and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
    2-6  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
    2-7  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
    2-8  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
    2-9  and that this Act take effect and be in force according to its
   2-10  terms, and it is so enacted.