H.B. 487 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS H.B. 487 By: Puente Natural Resources Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE With few exceptions, irrigation systems are installed without any local permitting or inspection requirements, leaving consumers unprotected from systems that are poorly designed or that use excessive amounts of water. H.B. 487 would require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to adopt standards requiring newly installed or modified irrigation systems to have a rain shut-off device. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS H.B. 487 requires the TCEQ to adopt standards requiring newly installed or modified irrigation systems to have a rain shut-off device that overrides the irrigation cycle of the system when a specified amount of rainfall has occurred. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2003