78S10038 SGA-F
By: Hopson H.B. No. 1
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation, administration, powers, duties,
operation, and financing of the Houston County Groundwater
Conservation District.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
(1) "Board" means the board of directors of the
Houston County Groundwater Conservation District.
(2) "Designated management area" means an area
designated as a management area under Section 35.004, Water Code.
(3) "Director" means a member of the board.
(4) "District" means the Houston County Groundwater
Conservation District.
SECTION 2. CREATION. (a) A groundwater conservation
district, to be known as the Houston County Groundwater
Conservation District, is created in Houston County, subject to
approval at a confirmation election under Section 10 of this Act.
(b) The district is a governmental agency and a political
subdivision of this state.
SECTION 3. FINDINGS OF BENEFIT AND PUBLIC PURPOSE. (a) The
district is created to serve a public use and benefit.
(b) The district is created under and is essential to
accomplish the purposes of Section 59, Article XVI, Texas
Constitution.
(c) The district is created to:
(1) provide for the protection, recharging, and
prevention of waste of groundwater in the Houston County area;
(2) control subsidence caused by the withdrawal of
water from the groundwater reservoirs in that area; and
(3) regulate the transport of groundwater out of the
boundaries of the district.
(d) All of the land and other property included within the
boundaries of the district will be benefited by the works and
projects that are to be accomplished by the district under powers
conferred by Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution.
SECTION 4. BOUNDARIES. The boundaries of the district are
coextensive with the boundaries of Houston County, Texas.
SECTION 5. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAW. This Act prevails
over any provision of general law that is in conflict or
inconsistent with this Act, including any provision of Chapter 36,
Water Code.
SECTION 6. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a) The district is
governed by a board of nine directors.
(b) Temporary directors are appointed under Section 7 of
this Act and serve until initial directors are elected under
Section 10 of this Act.
(c) Four of the initial directors serve until the first
election of permanent directors under Section 11 of this Act. Five
of the initial directors serve until the second election of
permanent directors under Section 11 of this Act.
(d) Permanent directors serve staggered four-year terms.
(e) Each director, including temporary directors, must
qualify to serve as director in the manner provided by Section
36.055, Water Code.
(f) A director may serve consecutive terms.
(g) If there is a vacancy in the office of temporary
director, the Houston County Commissioners Court shall appoint a
person to fill the vacancy in accordance with the appointment
method under Section 7 of this Act.
(h) A director is entitled to receive fees of office of not
more than $50 a day for each day the director actually spends
performing the duties of a director. The fees of office may not
exceed $3,000 a year.
(i) The board may authorize a director to receive
reimbursement for the director's reasonable expenses incurred
while engaging in activities on behalf of the board.
(j) A majority vote of a quorum is required for board
action. If there is a tie vote, the proposed action fails.
SECTION 7. APPOINTMENT OF TEMPORARY DIRECTORS. (a) Not
later than the 45th day after the effective date of this Act:
(1) the Houston County Commissioners Court shall
appoint two temporary directors from each of the four commissioners
precincts to represent the precincts in which they reside; and
(2) the county judge of Houston County shall appoint
one temporary director who resides in the district to represent the
district at large.
(b) At least one of the temporary directors must represent
the interests of rural water suppliers in the district, and one of
the temporary directors must represent agricultural interests in
the district.
SECTION 8. ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING. As soon as practicable
after all the temporary directors have qualified according to
Section 6(e) of this Act, a majority of the temporary directors
shall convene the organizational meeting of the district at a
location within the district agreeable to a majority of the
directors. If no location can be agreed upon, the organizational
meeting shall be at the Houston County Courthouse.
SECTION 9. METHOD OF ELECTING DIRECTORS: COMMISSIONERS
PRECINCTS. (a) The directors of the district shall be elected
according to the commissioners precinct method as provided by this
section.
(b) One director shall be elected by the voters of the
entire district, and two directors shall be elected from each
county commissioners precinct by the voters of that precinct.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (e) of this section, to
be eligible to be a candidate for or to serve as director at large, a
person must be a registered voter in the district. To be a
candidate for or to serve as director from a county commissioners
precinct, a person must be a registered voter of that precinct.
(d) A person shall indicate on the application for a place
on the ballot:
(1) the precinct that the person seeks to represent;
or
(2) that the person seeks to represent the district at
large.
(e) When the boundaries of the county commissioners
precincts are redrawn after each federal decennial census to
reflect population changes, a director in office on the effective
date of the change, or a director elected or appointed before the
effective date of the change whose term of office begins on or after
the effective date of the change, shall serve in the precinct to
which elected or appointed even though the change in boundaries
places the person's residence outside the precinct for which the
person was elected or appointed.
SECTION 10. CONFIRMATION AND INITIAL DIRECTORS' ELECTION.
(a) The temporary directors shall call and hold an election to
confirm the creation of the district.
(b) At the confirmation and initial directors' election,
the temporary directors shall have placed on the ballot the name of
any candidate filing for an initial director's position and blank
spaces to write in the names of other persons. A temporary director
who is eligible to be a candidate under Section 9 of this Act may
file for a position as an initial director.
(c) Section 41.001(a), Election Code, does not apply to a
confirmation and initial directors' election held as provided by
this section.
(d) Except as provided by this section, a confirmation and
initial directors' election must be conducted as provided by
Sections 36.017(b)-(i), Water Code, and the Election Code.
(e) The two initial directors elected to represent each
commissioners precinct shall draw lots to decide which of the two
directors shall serve a term lasting until the first regularly
scheduled election of directors under Section 11 of this Act, and
which of the two directors shall serve until the second regularly
scheduled election of directors. The at-large director shall serve
until the second regularly scheduled election of directors.
(f) If the establishment of the district is not confirmed at
an election held under this section before September 1, 2005, the
district is dissolved, except that:
(1) any debts incurred shall be paid;
(2) any assets that remain after the payment of debts
shall be transferred to Houston County; and
(3) the organization of the district shall be
maintained until all debts are paid and remaining assets are
transferred.
SECTION 11. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS. (a) On the uniform
election date prescribed by Section 41.001, Election Code, in May
of the first even-numbered year after the year in which the district
is authorized to be created at a confirmation election, an election
shall be held in the district for the election of four directors for
the positions held by the four initial directors serving shorter
terms from the confirmation election.
(b) On the uniform election date prescribed by Section
41.001, Election Code, in May of each subsequent even-numbered year
following the election, the appropriate number of directors shall
be elected.
SECTION 12. GENERAL POWERS. Except as otherwise provided
by this Act, the district has all of the rights, powers, privileges,
authority, functions, and duties provided by the general law of
this state, including Chapter 36, Water Code, applicable to
groundwater conservation districts created under Section 59,
Article XVI, Texas Constitution.
SECTION 13. LIMITATION ON TAXATION. The district may not
impose an ad valorem tax at a rate that exceeds three cents on each
$100 of assessed valuation of taxable property in the district.
SECTION 14. FEES. (a) The board may by rule impose
reasonable fees on each well:
(1) for which a permit is issued by the district; and
(2) that is not exempt from district regulation.
(b) A production fee may be based on:
(1) the size of column pipe used by the well; or
(2) the amount of water actually withdrawn from the
well, or the amount authorized or anticipated to be withdrawn.
(c) The board shall base the initial production fee on the
criteria listed in Subsection (b)(2) of this section. The initial
production fee:
(1) may not exceed:
(A) $0.25 per acre-foot for water used for
agricultural irrigation; or
(B) $0.0425 per thousand gallons for water used
for any other purpose; and
(2) may be increased at a cumulative rate not to exceed
three percent per year.
(d) In addition to the production fee authorized under this
section, the district may assess an export fee on groundwater
produced for transport outside the district from a well that is in
the district.
(e) Fees authorized by this section may be:
(1) assessed annually; and
(2) used to pay the cost of district operations.
SECTION 15. GROUNDWATER WELLS UNDER RAILROAD COMMISSION
JURISDICTION. (a) Except as provided by this section, a
groundwater well drilled or operated within the district under a
permit issued by the Railroad Commission of Texas is under the
exclusive jurisdiction of the railroad commission and is exempt
from regulation by the district.
(b) Groundwater produced in an amount authorized by a
railroad commission permit may be used within or exported from the
district without a permit from the district.
(c) To the extent groundwater is produced in excess of
railroad commission authorization, the holder of the railroad
commission permit:
(1) shall apply to the district for the appropriate
permit for the excess production; and
(2) is subject to the applicable regulatory fees.
(d) The district may impose a production fee or an export
fee on groundwater produced from a well that was drilled to support
mining activities and that is otherwise exempt from regulation by
the district under Subsection (a) of this section if that
groundwater is used for municipal purposes or by a public utility.
Any fee imposed under this subsection may not exceed the fee imposed
on other groundwater producers in the district.
SECTION 16. EXEMPTION FROM FEES. (a) Except as provided by
Subsection (b) of this section, the district may not assess a fee on
a well drilled by a nonprofit rural water supply corporation, water
district, or other political subdivision if the well's production
is for use within the district.
(b) The district by emergency order of the board may impose
a reasonable and temporary production fee on a well described by
Subsection (a) of this section if:
(1) severe drought or other district emergency makes
the fee necessary; and
(2) the term of the order does not exceed 180 days.
SECTION 17. LIMITATION ON INDEBTEDNESS. The district may
issue bonds and notes under Subchapter F, Chapter 36, Water Code,
except that the total amount of that indebtedness may not exceed
$500,000 at any time.
SECTION 18. PROHIBITION ON DISTRICT PURCHASE, SALE,
TRANSPORT, OR DISTRIBUTION OF WATER. The district may not
purchase, sell, transport, or distribute surface water or
groundwater for any purpose.
SECTION 19. PROHIBITION ON DISTRICT USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN
POWERS. The district may not exercise the power of eminent domain
under Section 36.105, Water Code.
SECTION 20. REGIONAL COOPERATION. To provide for regional
continuity, the district shall:
(1) participate as needed in coordination meetings
with other groundwater districts in its designated management area;
(2) coordinate the collection of data with other
groundwater conservation districts in its designated management
area in such a way as to achieve relative uniformity of data type
and quality;
(3) coordinate efforts to monitor water quality with
other groundwater conservation districts in its designated
management area, local governments, and state agencies;
(4) provide groundwater level data to other
groundwater conservation districts in its designated management
area;
(5) investigate any groundwater or aquifer pollution
with the intention of locating its source;
(6) notify other groundwater conservation districts
in its designated management area and all appropriate agencies of
any groundwater pollution detected;
(7) annually provide to other groundwater
conservation districts in its designated management area an
inventory of water wells and an estimate of groundwater production
within the district; and
(8) include other groundwater conservation districts
in its designated management area on the mailing lists for district
newsletters, seminars, public education events, news articles, and
field days.
SECTION 21. EFFECTIVE DATE; EXPIRATION DATE. (a) This Act
takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all
the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39,
Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the
vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect on the
91st day after the last day of the legislative session.
(b) If the creation of the district is not confirmed at a
confirmation election held under Section 10 of this Act before the
second anniversary of the effective date of this Act, this Act
expires on that date.