76R13361 WP-F                          
         By Ogden                                              S.B. No. 1178
         Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1178:
         By Counts                                         C.S.S.B. No. 1178
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the powers of the Lower Colorado River Authority to
 1-3     provide water services in Williamson County.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 27, Chapter 7, Acts of the 43rd
 1-6     Legislature, 4th Called Session, 1934 (Article 8280-107, Vernon's
 1-7     Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
 1-8           Sec. 27.  (a)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this
 1-9     Act, the district:
1-10                 (1)  may purchase, construct, acquire, own, operate,
1-11     repair, improve, or extend any facility necessary or convenient to
1-12     provide water services in Williamson County in cooperation with
1-13     another special district, a municipality, or another governmental
1-14     entity;[.]
1-15                 (2)  [(b)  The district] may not provide water services
1-16     in the watershed of the Brazos River unless the district obtains in
1-17     writing the consent of the Brazos River Authority before the
1-18     services are provided; and[.]
1-19                 (3)  [(c)  The district] may transfer surface water
1-20     from the district to a place in Williamson County that is outside
1-21     the watershed of the Colorado River only if the transfer is made
1-22     to:
1-23                       (A)  a municipality that was [is:]
1-24                 [(1)]  a district water customer on May 20, 1997, [the
 2-1     effective date of this section;] and
 2-2                 [(2)]  located in the watersheds of both the Colorado
 2-3     River and the Brazos River; or
 2-4                       (B)  a person or entity that pays for the surface
 2-5     water in an amount sufficient to pay both the district's applicable
 2-6     water rate and an additional charge to pay the costs of mitigating
 2-7     any adverse effects of the transfer of surface water to Williamson
 2-8     County from the Colorado River watershed, provided the transfer
 2-9     results in no net loss of water to the Colorado River watershed as
2-10     determined by the district's board of directors.
2-11           (b)  Notwithstanding the amounts of surface water transferred
2-12     by the district to municipalities in accordance with Subsection
2-13     (a)(3)(A) of this section, the volume of surface water authorized
2-14     for transfer by the district in accordance with Subsection (a) or
2-15     this subsection may not exceed 25,000 acre-feet per annum, it being
2-16     the intent of the legislature that the district shall not be the
2-17     sole provider of surface water to Williamson County.
2-18           (c)  The district shall determine the amount of the
2-19     additional charge under Subsection (a)(3)(B) of this section.  The
2-20     additional charge may not be less than 10 percent of the district's
2-21     applicable rate for surface water to be transferred.  The district
2-22     shall deposit any money the district receives from the additional
2-23     charge, and may deposit any other money as the board of directors
2-24     determines, into a separate fund designated as the agricultural
2-25     water conservation fund.  The district may use money from the
2-26     agricultural water conservation fund only for the development of
2-27     water resources or other water use strategies to replace or offset
 3-1     the amount of surface water to be transferred to Williamson County,
 3-2     including the development and implementation of methods, programs,
 3-3     and strategies relating to groundwater resources, reuse,
 3-4     conservation, and other opportunities to reduce the reliance on
 3-5     surface water for agricultural irrigation, provided that the
 3-6     methods, programs, and strategies take into consideration the
 3-7     surface water and groundwater needs of the affected Colorado River
 3-8     basin users.  Prior to its determination of the use of money from
 3-9     the agricultural water conservation fund, the district shall
3-10     consult with an advisory committee representing agricultural
3-11     irrigation interests that is appointed by the county judges of
3-12     Matagorda, Wharton, and Colorado counties.  The board of directors'
3-13     determination of the additional charge is not subject to review or
3-14     modification by any regulatory agency or authority.  Water
3-15     resources developed or conserved through the additional charge may
3-16     be acquired from any source inside or outside the boundaries of the
3-17     district and shall be used to benefit the water service areas of
3-18     the district's irrigation operations.
3-19           SECTION 2.  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.