LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 79TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

April 20, 2005

TO:	Honorable Robert Puente, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB1763 by Cook, Robby (Relating to the notice, hearing, rulemaking, and permitting procedures for groundwater conservation districts. ), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would establish procedures that a groundwater conservation district would be required to follow when posting notice of conducting a hearing for the purpose of rulemaking or for considering permit and permit amendment applications, when conducting the hearings, when considering requests for permits and permit amendments, and when making decisions related to requests for rehearings on permit and permit amendment applications. The bill would also prohibit a permit or permit amendment applicant, or a party to a contested hearing, from filing suit against the district if a request for rehearing was not filed on time.

The bill would take effect September 1, 2005 and would apply only to an application for a permit or a permit amendment application detemined to be administratively complete or a rulemaking hearing for which notice is given by a groundwater conservation district on or after that date.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated as a result of the administrative responsibilities that would be imposed on a groundwater conservation district by the provisions of the bill. The prohibition of an applicant filing suit would provide a savings in potential legal expenses to a district.

Source Agencies:

LBB Staff:

JOB, WK, DLBa