By: Duncan S.B. No. 1565
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the management, conservation, and use of groundwater.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 36.001, Water Code, is amended by adding
1-5 new subdivisions (18) and (19) to read as follows:
1-6 (18) "Agriculture" includes the following activities:
1-7 cultivating the soil, producing crops for human food, animal feed,
1-8 or planting seed or for the production of fibers; floriculture,
1-9 viticulture, silviculture, and horticulture, including the
1-10 cultivation of plants in containers or non-soil media; raising,
1-11 feeding or keeping livestock or other animals for the production of
1-12 food or fiber, leather, pelts, or other tangible products having a
1-13 commercial value; wildlife management; and planting cover crops,
1-14 including cover crops cultivated for transplantation, or leaving
1-15 land idle for the purpose of participating in any governmental
1-16 program or normal crop or livestock rotation procedure.
1-17 (19) "Agricultural use" means any use or activity involving
1-18 agriculture, including, but not limited to, irrigation.
1-19 SECTION 2. Section 36.205, Water Code, is amended to read as
1-20 follows:
1-21 Sec. 36.205. AUTHORITY TO SET FEES. (a) A district may set
1-22 fees for administrative acts of the district, such as filing
1-23 applications. Fees set by a district may not unreasonably exceed
2-1 the cost to the district of performing the administrative function
2-2 for which the fee is charged.
2-3 (b) A district shall set and collect fees for all services
2-4 provided outside the boundaries of the district. Such fees may not
2-5 unreasonably exceed the cost to the district of providing the
2-6 services outside of the district.
2-7 (c) A district may assess production fees based on the
2-8 amount of water authorized by permit to be withdrawn from a well or
2-9 the amount actually withdrawn. A district may assess such
2-10 production fees in lieu of, or in conjunction with, any taxes
2-11 otherwise levied by the district. A district may utilize revenues
2-12 generated by such production fees for any lawful purpose.
2-13 Production fees [Fees based on the amount of water to be withdrawn
2-14 from a well] shall not exceed:
2-15 (1) one dollar per acre foot for water used for [the purpose
2-16 of irrigating agricultural crops] agriculture; or
2-17 (2) ten dollars per acre foot per annum [17 cents per
2-18 thousand gallons] for water used for any other purpose.
2-19 (d) The Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District
2-20 may not charge production fees in excess of one dollar per acre
2-21 foot per annum for water used for the purpose of irrigating
2-22 agricultural crops, or 17 cents per thousand gallons per annum for
2-23 water used for any other purpose. The Barton-Springs Edwards
2-24 Aquifer Conservation District, which [A district affected by
2-25 Subsection (c)(2) that also] may assess a water use fee against a
2-26 specific municipality shall assess an amount not to exceed 60
3-1 percent of the total funding of the district received from water
3-2 use fees assessed against that municipality and other nonexempt
3-3 users in the district. This subsection shall take precedence over
3-4 all prior enactments.
3-5 (e) Subsection (c) does not apply to the following
3-6 districts:
3-7 (1) the Edwards Aquifer Authority;
3-8 (2) the Fort Bend Subsidence District; [or]
3-9 (3) the Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District;
3-10 (4) the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation
3-11 District; or
3-12 (5) any district that collects a property tax and was
3-13 created before September 1, 1999, unless otherwise authorized by
3-14 special law.
3-15 (f) A district, including a district excepted by Subsection
3-16 (d), may assess a production fee under Subsection (c) of this
3-17 section for any water produced pursuant to an exemption under
3-18 Section 36.117 if that water is subsequently sold to another
3-19 person.
3-20 (g) A district, including a district excepted by Subsection
3-21 (e), may assess a production fee under Subsection (c) of this
3-22 section for any water produced for injection into a geologic
3-23 formation for the recovery of oil or natural gas, the provisions of
3-24 Section 36.117 notwithstanding.
3-25 SECTION 3. Amend Section 36.206, Water Code, to read as
3-26 follows:
4-1 Sec. 36.206. DISTRICT FEES. (a) A temporary board may set
4-2 user fees to pay for the creation and initial operation of a
4-3 district, until such time as the district creation has been
4-4 confirmed and a permanent board has been elected by a majority vote
4-5 of the qualified voters voting in the district in an election
4-6 called for those purposes.
4-7 (b) The rate of fees set for [crop or livestock production
4-8 or other] agricultural uses shall be no more than 20 precent of the
4-9 rate applied to municipal uses.
4-10 SECTION 4. This act takes effect September 1, 2001.