| TO: | Honorable Robert Puente, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB1670 by Cook, Robby (Relating to the resolution of conflicts between regional water plans and groundwater conservation district management plans.), As Introduced |
The bill would require the Water Development Board to provide technical assistance in the resolution of the conflict between a groundwater conservation district’s certified groundwater conservation plan and an approved regional water plan, and it deletes the requirement of notice, comment, and public hearings by the regional water planning group if TWDB cannot resolve the conflict. The bill also would modify requirements for determining the administrative completeness of a comprehensive management plan, delete the provision that decisions on certification of management plans cannot be appealed, and provide that an appeal can be taken to a district court in the county in which the district is located.
Both the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and the Water Development Board could incur costs as a result of the bill's passage. The Water Development Board anticipates being required to provide assistance in response to groundwater district appeals and the OAG expects some additional litigation costs associated with the bill's passage. However, none of these costs are expected to be significant in terms of the agencies' overall budgets.
| Source Agencies: | 302 Office of the Attorney General, 580 Water Development Board
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, WK, ZS, TL
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