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.