1-1 By: Krusee (Senate Sponsor - Ogden) H.B. No. 1437
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 9, 1999;
1-3 April 12, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Natural Resources; May 3, 1999, reported adversely, with favorable
1-5 Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0;
1-6 May 3, 1999, sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1437 By: Armbrister
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to the powers of the Lower Colorado River Authority to
1-11 provide water services in Williamson County.
1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13 SECTION 1. Section 27, Chapter 7, Acts of the 43rd
1-14 Legislature, 4th Called Session, 1934 (Article 8280-107, Vernon's
1-15 Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
1-16 Sec. 27. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
1-17 Act, the district:
1-18 (1) may purchase, contract, acquire, own, operate,
1-19 repair, improve, or extend any facility necessary or convenient to
1-20 provide water services in Williamson County in cooperation with
1-21 another special district, a municipality, or another governmental
1-22 entity;[.]
1-23 (2) [(b) The district] may not provide water
1-24 services in the watershed of the Brazos River unless the district
1-25 obtains in writing the consent of the Brazos River Authority before
1-26 the services are provided; and[.]
1-27 (3) [(c) The district] may transfer surface water
1-28 from the district to a place in Williamson County that is outside
1-29 the watershed of the Colorado River only if the transfer is made
1-30 to:
1-31 (A) a municipality that was [is:]
1-32 [(1)] a district water customer on May 20, 1997, [the
1-33 effective date of this section;] and
1-34 [(2)] located in the watersheds of both the Colorado
1-35 River and the Brazos River; or
1-36 (B) a person or entity that pays for the surface
1-37 water in an amount sufficient to pay both the district's applicable
1-38 water rate and an additional charge to pay the costs of mitigating
1-39 any adverse effects of the transfer of surface water to Williamson
1-40 County from the Colorado River watershed, and provided such
1-41 transfer results in no net loss of water to the Colorado River
1-42 watershed as determined by the district's board of directors.
1-43 Notwithstanding the amounts of surface water transferred by the
1-44 district to municipalities in accordance with Paragraph (A) of this
1-45 subdivision, the volume of surface water authorized for transfer by
1-46 the district in accordance with this paragraph shall not exceed
1-47 25,000 acre-feet per annum, it being the intent of the legislature
1-48 that the district shall not be the sole provider of surface water
1-49 to Williamson County.
1-50 (b) The district shall determine the amount of the
1-51 additional charge under Subsection (a)(3)(B) of this section. The
1-52 additional charge may not be less than 10 percent of the district's
1-53 applicable rate for surface water to be transferred. The district
1-54 shall deposit any money the district receives from the additional
1-55 charge, and may deposit any other money as the board of directors
1-56 determines, into a separate fund designated as the agricultural
1-57 water conservation fund. The district may use money from the
1-58 agricultural water conservation fund only for the development of
1-59 water resources or other water use strategies to replace or offset
1-60 the amount of surface water to be transferred to Williamson County,
1-61 including the development and implementation of methods, programs,
1-62 and strategies relating to groundwater resources, reuse,
1-63 conservation, and other opportunities to reduce the reliance on
1-64 surface water for agricultural irrigation, provided that the
2-1 methods, programs, and strategies take into consideration the
2-2 surface water and groundwater needs of the affected Colorado River
2-3 basin users. Prior to its determination of the use of money from
2-4 the agricultural water conservation fund, the district shall
2-5 consult with an advisory committee representing agricultural
2-6 irrigation interests that is appointed by the county judges of
2-7 Matagorda, Wharton, and Colorado counties. The board of directors'
2-8 determination of the additional charge is not subject to review or
2-9 modification by any regulatory agency or authority. Water
2-10 resources developed or conserved through the additional charge may
2-11 be acquired from any source inside or outside the boundaries of the
2-12 district and shall be used to benefit the water service areas of
2-13 the district's irrigation operations.
2-14 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
2-15 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-16 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-17 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-18 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
2-19 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
2-20 passage, and it is so enacted.
2-21 * * * * *