81(R) HB 3335 - 2nd reading F15 (S)



	
Amend CSHB 3335 (Senate committee printing) as follows:                      
	(1)  Add the following appropriately numbered ARTICLE to the 
bill and renumber subsequent ARTICLES accordingly:

ARTICLE ___. CALHOUN COUNTY GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT
	SECTION __.01.  Subtitle H, Title 6, Special District Local 
Laws Code, is amended by adding Chapter 8860 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 8860.  CALHOUN COUNTY GROUNDWATER

CONSERVATION DISTRICT

SUBCHAPTER A.  GENERAL PROVISIONS
	Sec. 8860.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:                           
		(1)  "Board" means the board of directors of the 
district.           
		(2)  "Director" means a member of the board.                           
		(3)  "District" means the Calhoun County Groundwater 
Conservation District.
	Sec. 8860.002.  NATURE OF DISTRICT. The district is a 
groundwater conservation district in Calhoun County created under 
and essential to accomplish the purposes of Section 59, Article 
XVI, Texas Constitution.
	Sec. 8860.003.  CONFIRMATION ELECTION REQUIRED. If the 
creation of the district is not confirmed at a confirmation 
election held under Section 8860.022 before December 31, 2014:
		(1)  the district is dissolved December 31, 2014, 
except that:       
			(A)  any debts incurred shall be paid;                                
			(B)  any assets that remain after the payment of 
debts shall be transferred to Calhoun County; and
			(C)  the organization of the district shall be 
maintained until all debts are paid and remaining assets are 
transferred; and
		(2)  this chapter expires September 1, 2016.                           
	Sec. 8860.004.  LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.  (a) The organization 
of the district is feasible and practicable.
	(b)  All land in and residents of the district will benefit 
from the creation of the district.
	(c)  The creation of the district is a public necessity and 
will provide a public benefit.
	Sec. 8860.005.  INITIAL DISTRICT TERRITORY.  The initial 
boundaries of the district are coextensive with the boundaries of 
Calhoun County.
	Sec. 8860.006.  DISTRICT TERRITORY REQUIREMENTS; 
DISSOLUTION OF DISTRICT.  (a)  On September 1, 2015, the district 
boundaries must include at least one county adjacent to Calhoun 
County.
	(b)  As soon as practicable after September 1, 2015, the 
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall determine whether 
the district complies with Subsection (a).
	(c)  If the commission determines that the district does not 
comply with Subsection (a), the commission shall dissolve the 
district in accordance with Sections 36.304, 36.305, 36.307, 
36.308, 36.309, and 36.310, Water Code, regardless of whether the 
district meets the criteria for dissolution under Section 
36.304(a), Water Code.
	(d)  This section expires September 1, 2016.                            
	Sec. 8860.007.  CONFLICTS OF LAW.  This chapter prevails 
over any provision of general law, including a provision of Chapter 
36, Water Code, that is in conflict or is inconsistent with this 
chapter.

[Sections 8860.008-8860.020 reserved for expansion]

SUBCHAPTER A-1.  TEMPORARY PROVISIONS
	Sec. 8860.021.  APPOINTMENT OF TEMPORARY DIRECTORS.  (a) Not 
later than September 11, 2009, the Calhoun County Commissioners 
Court shall appoint five temporary directors as follows:
		(1)  one temporary director from each of the four 
commissioners precincts in the county to represent the precincts in 
which the temporary directors reside; and
		(2)  one temporary director who resides in the district 
to represent the district at large.
	(b)  To be qualified to serve as a temporary director, a 
person must be a resident of Calhoun County who is at least 18 years 
of age.
	(c)  If a temporary director fails to qualify for office or a 
vacancy occurs on the temporary board, the remaining temporary 
directors shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy.  If 
at any time there are fewer than three qualified temporary 
directors, the Calhoun County Commissioners Court shall appoint the 
necessary number of persons to fill all vacancies on the board.
	(d)  The temporary directors shall select from among 
themselves a president, a vice president, and a secretary.
	(e)  Temporary directors serve until the earlier of:                    
		(1)  the date the creation of the district is confirmed 
at an election held under Section 8860.022; or
		(2)  September 1, 2013.                                                
	(f)  If the creation of the district has not been confirmed 
under Section 8860.022 and the terms of the temporary directors 
have expired, successor temporary directors shall be appointed in 
the manner provided by Subsection (a) to serve terms that expire on 
the earliest of:
		(1)  the date the district's creation is confirmed at an 
election held under Section 8860.022;
		(2)  the date the requirements of Section 8860.003(1) 
are fulfilled; or
		(3)  September 1, 2016.                                                
	Sec. 8860.022.  CONFIRMATION ELECTION.  (a) Not later than 
October 1, 2009, the temporary directors shall meet and shall order 
an election to be held in the district not later than September 1, 
2010, to confirm the creation of the district.
	(b)  The ballot for the election shall be printed to provide 
for voting for or against the proposition: "The creation of the 
Calhoun County Groundwater Conservation District and the 
imposition of a fee to pay the maintenance and operating costs of 
the district."
	(c)  The temporary board may include other propositions on 
the ballot that the board considers necessary.
	(d)  Section 41.001(a), Election Code, does not apply to an 
election held under this section.
	(e)  If a majority of the votes cast at the election are in 
favor of confirming the district's creation, the temporary 
directors shall declare the district created.  If a majority of the 
votes cast are not in favor of confirming the district's creation, 
the district's creation is not confirmed.  The temporary directors 
shall file a copy of the election results with the Texas Commission 
on Environmental Quality.
	(f)  If the district's creation is not confirmed at an 
election held under this section, the temporary directors may order 
one or more subsequent elections to be held to confirm the creation 
of the district not earlier than the first anniversary of the 
preceding confirmation election.  If the district's creation is not 
confirmed at an election held under this section on or before 
December 31, 2014, the district is dissolved in accordance with 
Section 8860.003.
	Sec. 8860.023.  INITIAL DIRECTORS.  (a)  If the creation of 
the district is confirmed at an election held under Section 
8860.022, the temporary directors take office as initial directors 
of the district, and:
		(1)  the directors for precincts 1 and 3 serve terms 
that expire on the date of the first regular meeting of the board 
after the first regularly scheduled directors' election held under 
Section 8860.024; and
		(2)  the directors for precincts 2 and 4 and the 
director serving at large serve terms that expire on the date of the 
first regular meeting of the board after the second regularly 
scheduled directors' election.
	(b)  If for any reason a director elected at the first or 
second regularly scheduled election of directors is not qualified 
to take office at the first regular meeting of the board following 
the elected director's election, the initial director for that 
position shall continue to serve until a successor qualifies.
	Sec. 8860.024.  FIRST ELECTION OF PERMANENT DIRECTORS.  On 
the uniform election date prescribed by Section 41.001, Election 
Code, in November of the first even-numbered year after the year in 
which the district is authorized to be created at a confirmation 
election, an election shall be held in the district for the election 
of two directors for precincts 1 and 3.
	Sec. 8860.025.  EXPIRATION OF SUBCHAPTER.  This subchapter 
expires December 1, 2016.

[Sections 8860.026-8860.050 reserved for expansion]

SUBCHAPTER B. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
	Sec. 8860.051.  DIRECTORS; TERMS. (a) The district is 
governed by a board of five elected directors.
	(b)  Except for the temporary and initial directors, 
directors serve staggered terms of four years, with two or three 
directors' terms expiring on the date of the first regular meeting 
of the board after an election of directors under Section 8860.053.
	(c)  If a vacancy occurs in the office of director, the board 
shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy until the next regularly 
scheduled election of directors. If the position is not scheduled 
to be filled at the election, the person elected shall serve only 
for the remainder of the unexpired term.
	(d)  Notwithstanding Section 36.060, Water Code, a director 
is not entitled to receive compensation for performing the duties 
of a director.
	(e)  The board may authorize a director to receive 
reimbursement for the director's reasonable expenses incurred 
while engaging in activities on behalf of the district.
	Sec. 8860.052.  METHOD OF ELECTING DIRECTORS: COMMISSIONERS 
PRECINCTS.  (a)  The directors of the district shall be elected 
according to the commissioners precinct method as provided by this 
section.
	(b)  One director shall be elected by the voters of the 
entire district, and one director shall be elected from each county 
commissioners precinct by the voters of that precinct.
	(c)  Except as provided by Subsection (e), to be eligible to 
be a candidate for or to serve as director at large, a person must be 
a registered voter in the district.  To be a candidate for or to 
serve as director from a county commissioners precinct, a person 
must be a registered voter of that precinct.
	(d)  A person shall indicate on the application for a place 
on the ballot:
		(1)  the precinct that the person seeks to represent; 
or             
		(2)  that the person seeks to represent the district at 
large.       
	(e)  When the boundaries of the county commissioners 
precincts are redrawn after each federal decennial census to 
reflect population changes, a director in office on the effective 
date of the change, or a director elected or appointed before the 
effective date of the change whose term of office begins on or after 
the effective date of the change, shall serve in the precinct to 
which elected or appointed even though the change in boundaries 
places the person's residence outside the precinct for which the 
person was elected or appointed.
	Sec. 8860.053.  ELECTION DATE.  The district shall hold an 
election to elect the appropriate number of directors on the 
uniform election date prescribed by Section 41.001, Election Code, 
in November of each even-numbered year.

[Sections 8860.054-8860.100 reserved for expansion]

SUBCHAPTER C. POWERS AND DUTIES
	Sec. 8860.101.  GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES.  Except as 
otherwise provided by this chapter, the district has all of the 
rights, powers, privileges, functions, and duties provided by the 
general law of this state, including Chapter 36, Water Code, 
applicable to groundwater conservation districts created under 
Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution.
	Sec. 8860.102.  CERTAIN PERMIT DENIALS PROHIBITED.  The 
district may not deny the owner of a tract of land, or the owner's 
lessee, who does not have a well equipped to produce more than 
25,000 gallons each day on the tract, either a permit to drill a 
well on the tract or the privilege to produce groundwater from the 
tract, subject to district rules.
	Sec. 8860.103.  MITIGATION ASSISTANCE. In addition to the 
authority granted by Chapter 36, Water Code, the district may 
assist in the mediation between landowners regarding the loss of 
existing groundwater supply of exempt domestic and livestock users 
due to the groundwater pumping of others.
	Sec. 8860.104.  PROHIBITION ON DISTRICT USE OF EMINENT 
DOMAIN POWER. The district may not exercise the power of eminent 
domain.

[Sections 8860.105-8860.150 reserved for expansion]

SUBCHAPTER D. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
	Sec. 8860.151.  FEES. (a)  The board by rule may impose a 
reasonable fee on each well for which a permit is issued by the 
district and that is not exempt from regulation by the district.  
The fee may be based on:
		(1)  the size of column pipe used by the well; or                      
		(2)  the actual, authorized, or anticipated amount of 
water to be withdrawn from the well.
	(b)  In addition to a fee imposed under Subsection (a), the 
district may impose a reasonable fee or surcharge for an export fee 
using one of the following methods:
		(1)  a fee negotiated between the district and the 
transporter; or   
		(2)  a combined production and export fee.                             
	(c)  Fees authorized by this section may be assessed annually 
and may be used to fund the cost of district operations.
	Sec. 8860.152.  TAXES PROHIBITED.  The district may not 
impose a tax and does not have the authority granted by Sections 
36.020 and 36.201-36.204, Water Code, relating to taxes.
	SECTION __.02.  (a)  The legal notice of the intention to 
introduce this article, setting forth the general substance of this 
article, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a 
copy of this article have been furnished to all persons, agencies, 
officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished 
under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313, 
Government Code.
	(b)  The governor has submitted the notice and this article 
to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
	(c)  The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed 
its recommendations relating to this article with the governor, 
lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives 
within the required time.
	(d)  All requirements of the constitution and laws of this 
state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect 
to the notice, introduction, and passage of this article are 
fulfilled and accomplished.
	SECTION __.03.  This article takes effect September 1, 2009.                   
	(2)  In SECTION 3.01(a) of the bill (page 13, line 16), 
between "this section" and the comma, insert "or otherwise provided 
by this Act".



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