79R14356 SGA-D
By: Cook of Colorado H.B. No. 2494
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2494:
By: Puente C.S.H.B. No. 2494
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the use of certain fees by groundwater conservation
districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The legislature recognizes that the need for
potable water in this state continues to increase with the growth of
population and agricultural and industrial demands. Texas, with its
extensive coastal area and inland reservoirs of brackish water, has
an opportunity to use desalination technologies to increase the
amount of available potable water. Investment in desalination
technology, however, is still needed to reduce the price of this
source of water and make it competitive with groundwater and other
traditional sources of drinking water. Desalination projects have
the potential to provide a significant and dependable supply of
potable water, reducing the demand on those traditional sources.
Desalination thus serves the purposes of groundwater conservation
districts and the state by mitigating the demand for groundwater
resources and, as a result, protecting aquifer resources from
depletion and infiltration and reducing subsidence. The
legislature finds that the contribution by groundwater
conservation districts of a part of their fees to desalination
projects to augment the state supply of potable water would benefit
the public, the groundwater conservation districts, and this state.
SECTION 2. Section 36.207, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 36.207. USE OF CERTAIN [PERMIT] FEES AUTHORIZED BY
SPECIAL LAW. A district may use funds obtained from permit fees,
export fees, or user fees collected pursuant to the special law
governing the district for any purpose consistent with the
district's certified water management plan, including[, without
limitation,] making grants, loans, or contractual payments to
achieve, facilitate, or expedite:
(1) reductions in groundwater pumping;
(2) [or the] development or distribution of
alternative water supplies;
(3) mitigation projects; or
(4) other projects intended to benefit residents of
the district, including:
(A) economic development related to water
conservation;
(B) research and development related to a
district purpose; or
(C) educational programs related to water use.
SECTION 3. Subchapter G, Chapter 36, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 36.208 to read as follows:
Sec. 36.208. USE OF PORTION OF FEES FOR DESALINATION
PROJECT GRANTS. (a) The board of each district that adopts a
resolution to support desalination projects under this section
shall remit to the Texas Water Development Board for deposit to the
credit of the desalination account an amount equal to five percent
of the fee for each permit, permit renewal, or permit amendment
issued by the district.
(b) The desalination account is an account in the general
revenue fund that may be appropriated only to the Texas Water
Development Board to be used for:
(1) grants for projects designed to augment the water
resources of this state through desalination; and
(2) the administrative costs incurred by the Texas
Water Development Board in administering the account and the
projects for which grants of money from the account are made.
(c) The account consists of:
(1) money remitted to the Texas Water Development
Board under Subsection (a);
(2) interest earned on money credited to the account;
(3) money from gifts or grants to the account;
(4) appropriations from the legislature; and
(5) any other source of revenue the legislature may
dedicate for deposit to the account.
(d) The account is exempt from the application of Section
403.095, Government Code.
(e) The Texas Water Development Board shall adopt rules for
the implementation of this section, including rules regarding:
(1) the process used to select a project to receive a
grant from the account;
(2) procedures for tracking the progress of a project;
and
(3) the review of projects to assess their benefits
and potential benefits to districts and this state.
(f) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
the Texas Water Development Board shall report on the status and
results of each project receiving a grant under this section to the
governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
representatives, and the chair of the standing committee of each
house of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over water
resource issues.
SECTION 4. (a) The executive administrator of the Texas
Water Development Board shall establish an advisory committee on
desalination projects.
(b) The advisory committee consists of seven to nine members
appointed by the executive administrator who are nominated by the
boards of directors of groundwater conservation districts in this
state. In making the appointments, the executive administrator may
consider the need for representation from various regions of this
state, the sizes of the various groundwater conservation districts,
and any other criteria the executive administrator considers
appropriate.
(c) Not later than the 30th day after the effective date of
this Act, the executive administrator shall notify each groundwater
conservation district in this state of the establishment of the
advisory committee and solicit from the districts the names of
nominees willing to serve on the committee. The board of directors
of each district may submit the names of one or more nominees not
later than the 30th day after the date the notice is given. The
executive administrator shall appoint the members of the advisory
committee from among the nominees. The term of a member of the
advisory committee expires on the date the committee is abolished.
(d) The advisory committee shall advise the Texas Water
Development Board in adopting rules to implement Section 36.208,
Water Code, as added by this Act. In adopting the rules, the board
shall consider the recommendations of the advisory committee.
(e) A member of the advisory committee is not entitled to
compensation, per diem, or reimbursement of expenses for service on
the advisory committee.
(f) Chapter 2110, Government Code, does not apply to the
size, composition, or duration of the advisory committee.
(g) This section expires and the advisory committee is
abolished on the second anniversary of the effective date of this
Act.
SECTION 5. 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, 2005.