HBA-BSM H.B. 2947 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2947 By: Davis, John Natural Resources 3/18/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, a city must post notice of intent to obtain a water discharge permit in the newspaper with the largest circulation in the county. This means that cities in counties such as Harris and Dallas must pay to advertise in major national newspapers when only a small area of that paper's circulation is affected. This can result in very high advertising costs for a city. House Bill 2947 modifies law to allow a municipality applying for a water discharge permit to print notice in the newspaper of general circulation in the municipality in which the facility is to be located. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 2947 amends the Water Code to require an applicant to publish notice of intent to obtain a water discharge permit at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality if the facility to which the application relates is located or proposed to be located in a municipality. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.