78R14098 QS-F
By: Ellis, et al. H.B. No. 3625
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3625:
By: Cook of Colorado C.S.H.B. No. 3625
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the board of directors and the powers of the Lone Star
Groundwater Conservation District; validating certain actions and
proceedings of the district.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 1321, Acts of the 77th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2001, is amended by adding Sections 5A and 5B to
read as follows:
Sec. 5A. ADDITIONAL POWERS. (a) The district may adopt
different rules under Section 36.116, Water Code, for:
(1) each aquifer, subdivision of an aquifer, or
geologic stratum located in whole or in part within the boundaries
of the district; or
(2) different geographic areas of an aquifer or
subdivision of an aquifer located in whole or in part within the
boundaries of the district:
(A) if the district finds that conditions in or
use of the aquifer differs substantially from one geographic area
to another; or
(B) to promote better management of the
groundwater resources in the district.
(b) The district may:
(1) establish zones within the boundaries of the
district for the purposes of groundwater management and regulation;
and
(2) implement regulations for each zone as provided by
Subsection (a).
(c) The district may place more restrictions on the
production of groundwater by a person applying for a nonhistoric
operating permit than the district places on the production of
groundwater by a person under a historic use permit.
(d) The district may:
(1) establish metering requirements for nonexempt
wells; and
(2) initiate and enforce a water use fee structure
based on the total amount of groundwater authorized to be produced
annually under a permit.
Sec. 5B. HISTORIC USE PERMITS. (a) The district may
protect existing or historic use of groundwater by implementing a
claims process in which the district may require an existing or
historic user to obtain a historic use permit.
(b) To obtain a historic use permit, an existing or historic
user must prove the maximum annual amount of groundwater that the
user applied to a beneficial use during a period established by the
district as the existing and historic use period. If an existing or
historic user began using groundwater in the final year of the
existing and historic use period, the district may issue a historic
use permit to that user based on an extrapolation of the amount of
groundwater that the user would have applied to the same beneficial
use in a full calendar year.
(c) The district may establish as an existing and historic
use period a period that:
(1) is not less than 5 years nor more than 21 years in
length; and
(2) ends on or before the date the district publishes
notice or adopts rules protecting existing or historic use.
(d) The district may define the initial existing and
historic use period as the period from January 1, 1992, to the date
of first adoption of the district's rules, August 26, 2002.
SECTION 2. Section 6, Chapter 1321, Acts of the 77th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, is amended by amending
Subsection (g) and adding Subsection (i) to read as follows:
(g) A position on the board shall not be construed to be a
civil office of emolument for any purpose, including a purpose
described by [in] Section 40, Article XVI, Texas Constitution,
except as provided by this subsection. A director may receive a fee
of office under Section 36.060, Water Code, only if the director
does not hold another office that is a civil office of emolument for
purposes of Section 40, Article XVI, Texas Constitution. This
subsection prevails over any provision of general or special law to
the contrary, including Section 36.060(d), Water Code.
(i) Notwithstanding Subsection (g), a director may receive
reimbursement of actual expenses as provided by Section 36.060(b),
Water Code.
SECTION 3. Sections 7(b)-(d), Chapter 1321, Acts of the
77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, are amended to read as
follows:
(b) Except as provided by Section 8 of this Act, a director
[directors] shall be appointed not later than January 31 of the year
in which the current director's term expires in order to begin the
new term of office on February 1 [the second Monday in January of
odd-numbered years]. Not later than the 75th [60th] day before that
date, the general manager of the district shall mail to each person
who is designated in Subsection (a) of this section to make
appointments in that particular year written notice that the
appointments are due.
(c) The persons designated in Subsections (a)(1)-(4) and
(6) of this section shall make their appointments and submit in
writing the names of their appointments to the district not later
than January 15 of the year in which the current director's term
expires [Commissioners Court of Montgomery County].
(d) Except as provided by Section 8 of this Act, the board
shall by rule adopt an appointment process providing for the
written submission of votes to the [Commissioners Court of
Montgomery County and the] district by those persons designated in
Subsections (a)(5) and (7)-(8) of this section. The process
adopted by the district shall preserve the one vote per mayor and
per municipal utility district concept for the appointment of
initial directors established by Section 8 of this Act.
SECTION 4. Chapter 1321, Acts of the 77th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2001, is amended by adding Section 13A to read as
follows:
Sec. 13A. NONAPPLICABILITY. Section 36.121, Water Code,
does not apply to the district.
SECTION 5. (a) Any act or proceeding taken by or on behalf
of the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District before the
effective date of this Act is validated in all respects as if the
act or proceeding had occurred as authorized by law.
(b) A governmental act or proceeding of the Lone Star
Groundwater Conservation District occurring after an act or
proceeding validated by this Act may not be held invalid on the
ground that the prior act or proceeding, in the absence of this Act,
was invalid.
(c) Specifically, the following acts of the Lone Star
Groundwater Conservation District are validated as of the dates
they occurred:
(1) the appointment of initial directors in accordance
with Section 8, Chapter 1321, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2001;
(2) the appointment of directors in accordance with
Section 7, Chapter 1321, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2001;
(3) the confirmation election held in accordance with
Section 10, Chapter 1321, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2001;
(4) the adoption of district rules and amendments to
those rules;
(5) the establishment and adoption of fees;
(6) the protection of existing and historic use by the
institution of a permitting process that protects existing and
historic users of groundwater and allows new users to apply for
operating permits;
(7) the establishment of production regulations to
manage the groundwater resources in the district; and
(8) the establishment of metering requirements
necessary to allow the district to serve the purposes for which it
was created.
(d) This section does not apply to any matter that on the
effective date of this Act:
(1) is involved in litigation if the litigation
ultimately results in the matter being held invalid by a final
judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction; or
(2) has been held invalid by a final judgment of a
court of competent jurisdiction.
SECTION 6. 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 September 1, 2003.