79R10510 QS-F


By:  Rodriguez, Naishtat                                          H.B. No. 2707

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2707:                                   

By:  Puente                                                   C.S.H.B. No. 2707



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the authority of the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer 
Conservation District to charge certain fees.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 36.205(d), 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 2.  Section 2, Chapter 429, Acts of the 70th 
Legislature, Regular Session, 1987, is amended by amending 
Subsection (f)(2) and adding Subsection (g) 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 used for agricultural use or 17 cents per thousand gallons of 
water used for any other purpose.  For a permit approved or 
materially amended after September 1, 2005, or a permit 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 water used for any purpose other than 
agricultural use.  The board may adopt a differential rate 
structure for nonagricultural production fees to promote 
alternatives to the exclusive use of groundwater resources.
	SECTION 3.  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.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.