81R9743 SMH-F

By: Rose H.B. No. 1818

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to rainwater harvesting and other water conservation initiatives.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 447.004, Government Code, is amended by amending Subsection (c-1) and adding Subsections (c-3) and (g) to read as follows:

(c-1) The procedural standards adopted under this section must require that:

(1) on-site reclaimed system technologies, including rainwater harvesting, condensate collection, or cooling tower blow down, or a combination of those system technologies, for nonpotable indoor use and landscape watering be incorporated into the design and construction of:

(A) [(1)] each new state building with a roof measuring at least 10,000 square feet; and

(B) [(2)] any other new state building for which the incorporation of such systems is feasible;

(2) rainwater harvesting system technology for nonpotable indoor use and landscape watering be incorporated into the design and construction of each new state building with a roof measuring at least 10,000 square feet that is located in an area of this state in which the average annual rainfall is at least 28 inches; and

(3) at least 25 percent of the roof area of a building described by Subdivision (2) be used for rainwater collection.

(c-3) Notwithstanding Subsection (c-2), the procedural standards required by Subsections (c-1)(2) and (3) apply to a building described by Subsection (c-1)(2) unless the state agency or institution of higher education constructing the building also provides the state energy conservation office evidence that the amount of rainwater that will be harvested from one or more existing buildings at the same location is equivalent to the amount of rainwater that could have been harvested from the new building had rainwater harvesting system technology been incorporated into its design and construction.

(g) The Texas Facilities Commission shall ensure that a state agency or institution of higher education constructing a building that is subject to the procedural standards required by Subsection (c-1) complies with the standards.

SECTION 2. Chapter 430, Local Government Code, is amended by adding Section 430.004 to read as follows:

Sec. 430.004. RAINWATER HARVESTING. (a) Each municipality and county is encouraged to promote rainwater harvesting at residential, commercial, and industrial facilities through incentives such as the provision at a discount of rain barrels or rebates for water storage tanks.

(b) Each municipality or county that has adopted impervious cover or density restrictions shall consider the use in a development of harvested rainwater as an on-site water supply source in determining whether to grant the development a credit against or exemption from the restrictions.

(c) The Texas Water Development Board shall hold a training seminar on rainwater harvesting for the members of the permitting staffs of municipalities and counties at least quarterly. Each member of the permitting staff of each county and municipality located wholly or partly in an area designated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as a priority groundwater management area under Section 35.008, Water Code, and each member of the permitting staff of each county and municipality with a population of more than 100,000 must attend the seminar at least once. Members of the permitting staffs of counties and municipalities not located wholly or partly in an area designated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as a priority groundwater management area under Section 35.008, Water Code, and members of the permitting staffs of counties and municipalities with a population of 100,000 or less are encouraged to attend the seminar.

(d) A municipality or county may not deny a building permit solely because the facility will implement rainwater harvesting.

SECTION 3. Section 202.007(d), Property Code, is amended to read as follows:

(d) This section does not:

(1) restrict a property owners' association from regulating the requirements, including size, type, shielding, and materials, for or the location of a composting device[, rain barrel, rain harvesting device, or any other appurtenance] if the restriction does not prohibit the economic installation of the device [or appurtenance] on the property owner's property where there is reasonably sufficient area to install the device [or appurtenance];

(2) require a property owners' association to permit a device [or appurtenance] described by Subdivision (1) to be installed in or on property:

(A) owned by the property owners' association;

(B) owned in common by the members of the property owners' association; or

(C) in an area other than the fenced yard or patio of a property owner;

(3) prohibit a property owners' association from regulating the installation of efficient irrigation systems, including establishing visibility limitations for aesthetic purposes;

(4) prohibit a property owners' association from regulating the installation or use of gravel, rocks, or cacti; or

(5) restrict a property owners' association from regulating yard and landscape maintenance if the restrictions or requirements do not restrict or prohibit turf or landscaping design that promotes water conservation.

SECTION 4. Section 11.32, Tax Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 11.32. CERTAIN WATER CONSERVATION INITIATIVES. (a) In this section:

(1) "Brush control" means the selective control, removal, or reduction from watershed rangelands of plants that use a large amount of water, including mesquite, salt cedar, and ashe juniper.

(2) "Desalination" means the removal of salts from nonpotable or brackish surface water or groundwater so that the water is usable freshwater or high-quality drinking water.

(3) "Rainwater harvesting" means the capture and storage of rainwater for subsequent use.

(b) A person is entitled to an exemption [The governing body of a taxing unit by official action of the governing body adopted in the manner required by law for official actions may exempt] from taxation of the portion of the appraised [part or all of the assessed] value of the person's property attributable to the implementation on the property of rainwater harvesting or other [which approved] water conservation initiatives, desalination projects, or brush control initiatives [have been implemented. For purposes of this section, approved water conservation, desalination, and brush control initiatives shall be designated pursuant to an ordinance or other law adopted by the governing unit].

(c) The comptroller by rule shall adopt standards for determining whether property qualifies for an exemption under this section. The comptroller is entitled to request and receive assistance from another state agency in developing the standards. The standards may require that:

(1) a rainwater harvesting or desalination project have a specified minimum capacity; or

(2) brush control be conducted on an area of a specified minimum size.

(d) In determining whether property qualifies for an exemption under this section, the chief appraiser and the appraisal review board shall apply the standards adopted under Subsection (c).

SECTION 5. Section 1.003, Water Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 1.003. PUBLIC POLICY. It is the public policy of the state to provide for the conservation and development of the state's natural resources, including:

(1) the control, storage, preservation, and distribution of the state's storm and floodwaters and the waters of its rivers and streams for irrigation, power, and other useful purposes;

(2) the reclamation and irrigation of the state's arid, semiarid, and other land needing irrigation;

(3) the reclamation and drainage of the state's overflowed land and other land needing drainage;

(4) the conservation and development of its forest, water, and hydroelectric power;

(5) the navigation of the state's inland and coastal waters;

(6) the maintenance of a proper ecological environment of the bays and estuaries of Texas and the health of related living marine resources; [and]

(7) the voluntary stewardship of public and private lands to benefit waters of the state; and

(8) the promotion of rainwater harvesting at public and private facilities in this state, including residential, commercial, and industrial buildings.

SECTION 6. If the 81st Legislature makes an appropriation to the Texas Water Development Board to provide matching grants to political subdivisions of this state for rainwater harvesting demonstration projects, the board shall, not later than December 1, 2010, provide a report to the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of representatives regarding the projects for which the board has provided grants, including:

(1) a description of each project; and

(2) the amount of the grant provided for each project.

SECTION 7. Section 11.32, Tax Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to ad valorem taxes imposed for a tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2010.

SECTION 8. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.

(b) Section 4 of this Act takes effect January 1, 2010, but only if the constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature by general law to exempt from ad valorem taxes the portion of the assessed value of property attributable to the implementation on the property of a water conservation initiative, desalination project, or brush control initiative is approved by the voters. If that amendment is not approved by the voters, Section 4 of this Act has no effect.