By Green                                               H.B. No. 570
         77R251 JJT-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the Edwards Aquifer Authority's fees on water rights
 1-3     holders in the Guadalupe River Basin.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 1.29(d), Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd
 1-6     Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
 1-7           (d)  The commission shall assess equitable special fees on
 1-8     [all] downstream water rights holders in the Guadalupe River Basin
 1-9     to be used solely to finance the retirement of aquifer rights
1-10     necessary to meet the goals provided by Section 1.21 of this
1-11     article.  The fees may not be charged for water rights held for
1-12     hydroelectric generation.  Fees assessed under this subsection may
1-13     not exceed one-half of the cost of permit retirements from 450,000
1-14     acre-feet a year, or the adjusted amount determined under
1-15     Subsection (d) of Section 1.14 of this article, for the period
1-16     ending December 31, 2007, to 400,000 acre-feet a year for the
1-17     period beginning January 1, 2008.  The authority shall report to
1-18     the commission the estimated costs of the retirements.  The amount
1-19     of fees assessed under this subsection shall be determined in
1-20     accordance with rules adopted by the commission for fees under the
1-21     South Texas watermaster program with adjustments as necessary to
1-22     ensure that fees are equitable between users[, including priority
1-23     and nonpriority hydroelectric users].  A downstream water rights
1-24     holder shall pay fees assessed under this subsection to the
 2-1     authority.  A fee may not be assessed by the commission under this
 2-2     subsection on contractual deliveries of water stored in Canyon Lake
 2-3     that may be diverted downstream of the San Marcos Springs or Canyon
 2-4     Dam.  A person or entity making a contractual sale of water stored
 2-5     upstream of Canyon Dam may not establish a systemwide rate that
 2-6     requires purchasers of upstream-stored water to pay the special fee
 2-7     assessed under this subsection.
 2-8           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.