1-1 By: Lucio S.B. No. 991
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 8, 1999; March 10, 1999, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources;
1-4 March 25, 1999, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; March 25, 1999,
1-6 sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 991 By: Lucio
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to the operations of the Texas Water Bank.
1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12 SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 15.703, Water Code, is
1-13 amended to read as follows:
1-14 (a) The board may take all actions necessary to operate the
1-15 water bank and to facilitate the transfer of water rights from the
1-16 water bank for future beneficial use including but not limited to:
1-17 (1) negotiating a sale price and terms acceptable to
1-18 the depositor and purchaser;
1-19 (2) maintaining a registry of water bank deposits and
1-20 those water users in need of additional supplies;
1-21 (3) informing water users in need of additional supply
1-22 of water rights available in the bank;
1-23 (4) encouraging water right holders to implement water
1-24 conservation practices and deposit the right to use the conserved
1-25 water into the bank;
1-26 (5) establishing requirements for deposit of a water
1-27 right into the water bank including minimum terms for deposit;
1-28 (6) purchasing, holding, and transferring water or
1-29 [selling] water rights in its own name;
1-30 (7) establishing regional water banks;
1-31 (8) acting as a clearinghouse for water marketing
1-32 information including water availability, pricing of water
1-33 transactions, environmental considerations, and potential buyers
1-34 and sellers of water rights;
1-35 (9) preparing and publishing a manual on structuring
1-36 water transactions;
1-37 (10) accepting and holding donations of water rights
1-38 to meet instream, water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, or bay
1-39 and estuary inflow needs; [and]
1-40 (11) entering into contracts with persons to pay for
1-41 feasibility studies or the preparation of plans and specifications
1-42 relating to water conservation efforts or to estimate the amount of
1-43 water that would be saved through conservation efforts; and
1-44 (12) other actions to facilitate water transactions.
1-45 SECTION 2. Section 15.705, Water Code, is amended to read as
1-46 follows:
1-47 Sec. 15.705. FEES. (a) The board may charge a transaction
1-48 fee per transfer not to exceed one percent of the value of the
1-49 water or water right received into or transferred from the water
1-50 bank [$500] to cover expenses of the board in operating the water
1-51 bank. [Political subdivisions of the state are exempt from any
1-52 transfer fees established under this subsection. The board by rule
1-53 shall establish fees in an amount necessary to pay for the ongoing
1-54 administration of the water bank and shall consider the duration,
1-55 type, and other aspects of the transfer. The transaction fee shall
1-56 be paid by the depositor on either:]
1-57 [(1) a transfer of rights on deposit in the bank; or]
1-58 [(2) a transfer that occurs within one year of
1-59 withdrawal of any water right deposited into the bank.]
1-60 (b) The board shall place the fees in the water bank account
1-61 of the water assistance fund where they shall be separately
1-62 accounted for and used, with interest, only for the administration
1-63 and operation of the water bank by the board.
1-64 SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 15.707, Water Code, is
2-1 amended to read as follows:
2-2 (a) The water bank account is created as a special account
2-3 in the water assistance fund and is composed of:
2-4 (1) money appropriated to the board for the program;
2-5 (2) fees collected by the board under this subchapter;
2-6 (3) money transferred to the account from the water
2-7 assistance fund in Section 15.011(c) of this code;
2-8 (4) grants, contracts, gifts, or other such funds that
2-9 the board may receive relating to this subchapter; [and]
2-10 (5) money received from the transfer of water or water
2-11 rights held in the board's name in the bank; and
2-12 (6) interest earned on the investment of money in the
2-13 account.
2-14 SECTION 4. 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 * * * * *