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78R6977 MI-F

By:  Averitt                                                      S.B. No. 1041



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the groundwater rights of private landowners and their 
lessees and assigns.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that:                                        
		(1)  the common law of the State of Texas holds that a 
surface owner's or a surface owner's lessee's or assign's property 
interest in groundwater vests as a property right at the moment of 
capture;
		(2)  the Supreme Court of Texas has consistently 
recognized that regulation of groundwater is a duty of the 
legislature;
		(3)  the legislature has recognized, by enacting 
Section 36.0015, Water Code, that regulation by groundwater 
conservation districts is the state's preferred method of 
management of groundwater;
		(4)  the common law doctrine of this state on the nature 
of the property right in groundwater is difficult for the residents 
of the state to discern; and
		(5)  it will benefit the state and its residents to set 
forth statutorily the common law doctrine on the nature of the 
vesting of a private property right in groundwater in the general 
laws of the state, thereby providing clarity to landowners and 
their lessees and assigns regarding the nature of their right.
	SECTION 2.  Section 36.002, Water Code, is amended to read as 
follows:       
	Sec. 36.002.  OWNERSHIP OF GROUNDWATER.  (a) The ownership 
and rights of the owners of the land and their lessees and assigns 
in groundwater are hereby recognized, and nothing in this code 
shall be construed as depriving or divesting the owners or their 
lessees and assigns of the ownership or rights, except as those 
rights may be limited or altered by rules promulgated by a district.
	(b)  A surface owner's or a surface owner's lessee's or 
assign's property interest in groundwater vests as a property right 
at the moment of capture.  This subsection does not affect any 
liability that may arise under common law because of the production 
or use of groundwater or the impact of that production or use on 
another person and does not restrict the regulatory authority of a 
district under this chapter or special law.
	SECTION 3.  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.