By Lucio S.B. No. 991
76R8790 MI-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the operations of the Texas Water Bank.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 15.703(a), Water Code, is amended to read
1-5 as follows:
1-6 (a) The board may take all actions necessary to operate the
1-7 water bank and to facilitate the transfer of water rights from the
1-8 water bank for future beneficial use including but not limited to:
1-9 (1) negotiating a sale price and terms acceptable to
1-10 the depositor and purchaser;
1-11 (2) maintaining a registry of water bank deposits and
1-12 those water users in need of additional supplies;
1-13 (3) informing water users in need of additional supply
1-14 of water rights available in the bank;
1-15 (4) encouraging water right holders to implement water
1-16 conservation practices and deposit the right to use the conserved
1-17 water into the bank;
1-18 (5) establishing requirements for deposit of a water
1-19 right into the water bank including minimum terms for deposit;
1-20 (6) purchasing, holding, and transferring water or
1-21 [selling] water rights in its own name;
1-22 (7) establishing regional water banks;
1-23 (8) acting as a clearinghouse for water marketing
1-24 information including water availability, pricing of water
2-1 transactions, environmental considerations, and potential buyers
2-2 and sellers of water rights;
2-3 (9) preparing and publishing a manual on structuring
2-4 water transactions;
2-5 (10) accepting and holding donations of water rights
2-6 to meet instream, water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, or bay
2-7 and estuary inflow needs; [and]
2-8 (11) entering into contracts with persons to pay for
2-9 feasibility studies of the preparation of plans and specifications
2-10 relating to water conservation efforts or to estimate the amount of
2-11 water that would be saved through conservation efforts; and
2-12 (12) other actions to facilitate water transactions.
2-13 SECTION 2. Section 15.705, Water Code, is amended to read as
2-14 follows:
2-15 Sec. 15.705. FEES. (a) The board may charge a transaction
2-16 fee per transfer not to exceed one percent of the value of the
2-17 water or water right received into or transferred from the water
2-18 bank [$500] to cover expenses of the board in operating the water
2-19 bank. [Political subdivisions of the state are exempt from any
2-20 transfer fees established under this subsection. The board by rule
2-21 shall establish fees in an amount necessary to pay for the ongoing
2-22 administration of the water bank and shall consider the duration,
2-23 type, and other aspects of the transfer. The transaction fee
2-24 shall be paid by the depositor on either:]
2-25 [(1) a transfer of rights on deposit in the bank; or]
2-26 [(2) a transfer that occurs within one year of
2-27 withdrawal of any water right deposited into the bank.]
3-1 (b) The board shall place the fees in the water bank account
3-2 of the water assistance fund where they shall be separately
3-3 accounted for and used, with interest, only for the administration
3-4 and operation of the water bank by the board.
3-5 SECTION 3. Section 15.707(a), Water Code, is amended to read
3-6 as follows:
3-7 (a) The water bank account is created as a special account
3-8 in the water assistance fund and is composed of:
3-9 (1) money appropriated to the board for the program;
3-10 (2) fees collected by the board under this subchapter;
3-11 (3) money transferred to the account from the water
3-12 assistance fund in Section 15.011(c) of this code;
3-13 (4) grants, contracts, gifts, or other such funds that
3-14 the board may receive relating to this subchapter; [and]
3-15 (5) money received from the transfer of water or water
3-16 rights held in the board's name in the bank; and
3-17 (6) interest earned on the investment of money in the
3-18 account.
3-19 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-20 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-21 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-22 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-23 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-24 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
3-25 passage, and it is so enacted.