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Amend CSHB 2423 on third reading by adding the following
SECTIONS and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS accordingly:
SECTION ___. Subsection (d), Section 36.205, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) The [Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation
District, the] Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District[,] and
the Guadalupe County Groundwater Conservation District may not
charge production fees for an annual period greater than $1 per
acre-foot for water used for agricultural use or 17 cents per
thousand gallons for water used for any other purpose. [The Barton
Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District may assess a water
use fee against a specific municipality in an amount not to exceed
60 percent of the total funding of the district received from water
use fees assessed against that municipality and other nonexempt
users in the district.] This subsection shall take precedence over
all prior enactments.
SECTION ___. Section 2, Chapter 429, Acts of the 70th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1987, is amended by amending
Subsection (f)(2) and adding Subsections (g) and (h) to read as
follows:
(2) The board may assess the City of Austin, as a water
use fee, each year an amount not to exceed 60 [40] percent of the
total funding that [of] the district expects to receive for the next
fiscal year [received] from water use fees assessed against Austin
and other nonexempt users. For purposes of computing water use fees
under this subsection, the district shall estimate the amount of
permitted pumpage for the next fiscal year by considering various
factors including historical growth rates, future growth rates, the
amount of permitted pumpage, historical permitted pumpage, and any
pending applications for permitted pumpage. The district shall use
the estimated amount of permitted pumpage and its water use fee rate
to compute the water use fee to be assessed against the City of
Austin for the district's next fiscal year. The district shall
compute the water use fee assessed against the City of Austin at a
rate of 17 cents per thousand gallons for the total amount of water
permitted for any nonagricultural purpose, regardless of the rate
actually imposed on or remitted by the permittee.
(g) Except as provided by this subsection, the board may not
charge an annual production fee of more than $1 per acre-foot for
water permitted for agricultural use or 17 cents per thousand
gallons for water permitted for any other purpose. For a permit
first issued after September 1, 2005, or a permit first issued after
September 9, 2004, and renewed after September 1, 2005, the board
may charge an annual production fee of not more than 35 cents per
thousand gallons for the amount of water permitted under the permit
as issued or renewed if the water is permitted for any purpose other
than agricultural use. For a permit that is materially amended
after September 1, 2005, the board may charge an annual production
fee of not more than 35 cents per thousand gallons for only the
additional amount of water authorized by the material amendment if
the water is permitted for any purpose other than agricultural use.
For a permit first issued on or before September 9, 2004, that is
renewed without material amendment after September 1, 2005, the
board may not charge an annual production fee of more than 17 cents
per thousand gallons for the amount of water permitted under the
permit as renewed if the water is permitted for any purpose other
than agricultural use. The board may adopt a differential rate
structure for the nonagricultural production fees described by this
subsection to promote alternatives to the exclusive use of
groundwater resources.
(h) A material amendment under Subsection (g) of this
section is an amendment to a permit that increases the amount of
water permitted by more than 10 percent in one fiscal year or by
more than 25 percent in any three-year period. The renewal on or
after September 1, 2005, of a permit that was issued on or before
September 9, 2004, is considered to be a material amendment for
purposes of Subsection (g) of this section if the permit as renewed
increases the amount of water permitted by an amount that exceeds
the limits specified by this subsection.
SECTION ___. The legislature finds that the Barton
Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District benefits the
sustainable use of groundwater by promoting, through fee and
permitting mechanisms, alternatives to the exclusive use of
groundwater resources, including the conjunctive use of
groundwater and surface water resources.