Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
By Walker H.B. No. 3226
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to groundwater production fees charged by groundwater
1-3 conservation districts.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 36.205, Water Code, is amended to read as
1-6 follows:
1-7 Sec. 36.205. Authority to Set Fees. (a) a district may set
1-8 and assess fees based on the amount of groundwater granted in a
1-9 permit, on the amount of groundwater actually withdrawn from a
1-10 well, or on the well capacity. These fees must be set annually,
1-11 following notice and hearing, by resolution of the board.
1-12 (b) A district may set fees for administrative acts of the
1-13 district, such as filing applications. Fees set by a district may
1-14 not unreasonably exceed the cost to the district of performing the
1-15 administrative function for which the fee is charged.
1-16 [(b)] A district may [shall] set and collect fees for all
1-17 district services provided outside the boundaries of the district.
1-18 (c) Fees based on the amount of water permitted to be
1-19 withdrawn or actually withdrawn from a well shall not exceed:
1-20 (1) one dollar per acre foot for water used for the
1-21 purpose of irrigating agricultural crops; or
1-22 (2) 17 cents per thousand gallons for water used for
1-23 any other purpose.
1-24 (d) A district affected by Subsection (c)(2) that also may
2-1 assess a water use fee against a specific municipality shall assess
2-2 an amount not to exceed 60 percent of the total funding of the
2-3 district received from water use fees assessed against that
2-4 municipality and other nonexempt users in the district. This
2-5 subsection shall take precedence over all prior enactments.
2-6 (e) Subsection (c) does not apply to the following
2-7 districts:
2-8 (1) the Edwards Aquifer Authority;
2-9 (2) the Fort Bend Subsidence District; or
2-10 (3) the Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District.
2-11 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
2-12 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
2-13 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-14 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-15 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-16 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.