Amend CSSB 1341 (Senate committee printing) by adding the
following appropriately numbered SECTION and renumbering the
subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:
SECTION __. Section 1.34, Chapter 626, Acts of the 73rd
Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended by amending
Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g) to read
as follows:
(c) Subject to the limitations provided by Subsections (d),
(e), (f), and (g) of this section, a [A] permit holder may lease,
sell, or otherwise transfer ownership of permitted water rights.
(d) The [, but a] holder of an initial regular [a] permit for
irrigation use may [not] lease, sell, or otherwise transfer
ownership of not more than 50 percent of the irrigation rights
initially permitted. Except as provided by Subsections (e), (f),
and (g) of this section, the permit holder's [The user's] remaining
irrigation water rights must be used in accordance with the
original initial regular permit and must pass with transfer of the
irrigated land. Irrigation rights initially permitted based on
land irrigated from the applicant's well that were not owned by the
applicant are appurtenant to land owned by the applicant and
irrigated by the applicant's well.
(e) The place of use of the remaining irrigation water
rights under Subsection (d) of this section may be temporarily
transferred to another place of use owned by the permit holder. If
the irrigated land to which the water rights are appurtenant is sold
or the ownership of the land is otherwise transferred, the transfer
of the irrigation water rights is immediately voided by operation
of law and the rights revert back by operation of law to the
irrigated land.
(f) The place of use of the remaining irrigation water
rights under Subsection (d) of this section may be temporarily
transferred for irrigation purposes for a term not to exceed 10
years to another place of use owned by a third party. If the
irrigated land to which the water rights are appurtenant is sold or
the ownership of the land is otherwise transferred, the person to
whom the ownership of the land is transferred takes the land subject
to that temporary transfer of irrigation water rights.
(g) If the irrigated land identified as the place of use in
the initial regular permit originally issued for irrigation
purposes is developed as evidenced by actual physical alteration of
the land such that it is no longer reasonably capable of being
irrigated, the permit holder may apply to the authority to convert
the remaining irrigation water rights under Subsection (d) of this
section so as to be transferable.