By Cook, Puente, Turner of Coleman H.B. No. 1629
77R7426 QS-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the provision of water by the Lower Colorado River
1-3 Authority to a municipality outside the Colorado River basin.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 7, Acts of the 43rd Legislature, 4th
1-6 Called Session, 1934 (Article 8280-107, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-7 Statutes), is amended by adding Section 28 to read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 28. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or
1-9 other law:
1-10 (a) In this section:
1-11 (1) "Municipality" includes a municipally owned
1-12 utility.
1-13 (2) "Water service area" means the area in which the
1-14 district is authorized to use, distribute, and sell water on
1-15 January 1, 2001.
1-16 (b) Subject to the limitations and restrictions in this
1-17 section, the district may enter into a written contract with a
1-18 municipality located outside the water service area to distribute
1-19 and sell water to the municipality.
1-20 (c) In addition to the district's applicable water rate, the
1-21 district shall charge a municipality a surcharge determined by the
1-22 board of directors according to the terms of the contract to enable
1-23 the district to develop and manage water resources sufficient to
1-24 address the projected needs of the district's water service area
2-1 and the needs of the municipality to the extent agreed in the
2-2 contract. The board of directors' determination of the surcharge
2-3 is not subject to review or modification by any regulatory agency
2-4 or administrative authority.
2-5 (d) The use or reservation of water under a contract
2-6 authorized by this section may extend for a base period of not more
2-7 than 50 years. A contract may provide an option to renew for not
2-8 more than an additional 30 years. An option to renew must require
2-9 that the municipality progressively reduce the amount of water
2-10 reserved or used by the municipality during the last 10 years of
2-11 the renewal term and require that the rate paid by the municipality
2-12 immediately increase by a factor of five if the municipality does
2-13 not make the required reduction. The municipality is not entitled
2-14 to further reservation, use, or delivery of water from the district
2-15 at the conclusion of the contract.
2-16 (e) A contract authorized by this section must require that
2-17 the then current rate paid by the municipality immediately increase
2-18 by a factor of five if:
2-19 (1) the municipality initiates legal proceedings in a
2-20 court or regulatory agency to obtain, or obtains, other than
2-21 through direct negotiations with the district or other than with
2-22 the express written consent of the district:
2-23 (A) an increase in the amount of surface water
2-24 taken by the municipality under this section; or
2-25 (B) an extension of either the base or renewal
2-26 periods under Subsection (d); or
2-27 (2) the district is compelled by any authority to
3-1 reserve, sell, or make available to the municipality more than
3-2 150,000 acre-feet of water per year or to reserve, sell, or make
3-3 available to the municipality water beyond the base and renewal
3-4 periods under Subsection (d).
3-5 (f) Within the water service area, the district must own any
3-6 personal property, fixtures, or appurtenances that are used for
3-7 making available, diverting, or delivering water to a municipality
3-8 under a contract authorized by this section.
3-9 (g) Water to be provided under a contract authorized by this
3-10 section may not be diverted from the Colorado River at diversion
3-11 points located on the reservoirs that, on the effective date of
3-12 this section, are owned and operated by the district upstream of
3-13 Mansfield Dam.
3-14 (h) The district may sell no more than a total of 150,000
3-15 acre-feet of water in any year under contracts authorized by this
3-16 section.
3-17 (i) This section does not authorize:
3-18 (1) the district to sell its surface water rights to
3-19 any person or entity for use outside the water service area; or
3-20 (2) a sale or lease of water other than as
3-21 specifically authorized by this section.
3-22 (j) The district may not sell groundwater to a municipality
3-23 under this section.
3-24 (k) The district may not contract to distribute or sell
3-25 water under this section unless the district's board of directors
3-26 finds that the contract:
3-27 (1) will protect and benefit the district's water
4-1 service area, including municipal, industrial, agricultural,
4-2 recreational, and environmental interests;
4-3 (2) is consistent with regional water management plans
4-4 filed with the Texas Water Development Board; and
4-5 (3) will benefit stored water levels in the district's
4-6 existing reservoirs.
4-7 SECTION 2. This Act constitutes full authority for a
4-8 municipality or municipally owned utility to enter into a contract
4-9 with the district under Section 28, Chapter 7, Acts of the 43rd
4-10 Legislature, 4th Called Session, 1934 (Article 8280-107, Vernon's
4-11 Texas Civil Statutes), as added by this Act. The payments made
4-12 under a contract authorized by that section are operation and
4-13 maintenance expenses of the municipality's utility system. A
4-14 municipality or municipally owned utility that enters into a
4-15 contract under that section may use proceeds from the sale of its
4-16 revenue bonds to make any such payments.
4-17 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
4-18 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
4-19 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
4-20 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
4-21 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.