1-1  By:  Johnson (Senate Sponsor - Nixon)                 H.B. No. 2875
    1-2        (In the Senate - Received from the House May 1, 1995;
    1-3  May 2, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural
    1-4  Resources; May 10, 1995, reported favorably by the following vote:
    1-5  Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 10, 1995, sent to printer.)
    1-6                         A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-7                                AN ACT
    1-8  relating to the continued eligibility for assistance of certain
    1-9  areas formerly classified as economically distressed areas.
   1-10        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
   1-11        SECTION 1.  Section 15.407, Water Code, is amended by adding
   1-12  Subsection (g) to read as follows:
   1-13        (g)  If, after submission of an application under this
   1-14  section, a county has an increase in average per capita income or a
   1-15  decrease in unemployment rate average so that the county no longer
   1-16  meets the definition of an affected county in Section 16.341, the
   1-17  political subdivision that submits the application continues to be
   1-18  eligible for the funds under this section, and the board shall
   1-19  process the application for facility engineering and, if the
   1-20  application is approved, shall provide funds for the facility
   1-21  engineering plan to the political subdivision.
   1-22        SECTION 2.  Section 17.926, Water Code, is amended to read as
   1-23  follows:
   1-24        Sec. 17.926.  Applicants' Continued Eligibility.  If, after
   1-25  submission of a financial assistance application under this
   1-26  subchapter or an application for funds under Section 15.407, a
   1-27  county has an increase in average per capita income or decrease in
   1-28  unemployment rate average so that the county no longer meets the
   1-29  criteria in this subchapter, the political subdivision that submits
   1-30  the application continues to be eligible for the financial
   1-31  assistance under this subchapter, and the board shall process the
   1-32  application and, if the application is approved, shall provide
   1-33  financial assistance to the political subdivision to complete the
   1-34  project.
   1-35        SECTION 3.  The change in law made by Section 15.407(g),
   1-36  Water Code, as added by this Act, and Section 17.926, Water Code,
   1-37  as amended by this Act, applies only to an application for
   1-38  assistance:
   1-39              (1)  that was submitted by a political subdivision that
   1-40  is receiving funds on the effective date of this Act from the Texas
   1-41  Water Development Board for the payment of costs of preparation of
   1-42  a facility engineering plan in an economically distressed area; or
   1-43              (2)  that is:
   1-44                    (A)  pending before the Texas Water Development
   1-45  Board on the effective date of this Act; or
   1-46                    (B)  submitted to the Texas Water Development
   1-47  Board on or after the effective date of this Act.
   1-48        SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
   1-49  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   1-50  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   1-51  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   1-52  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
   1-53  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
   1-54  passage, and it is so enacted.
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