82R12112 SMH-F
 
  By: Miller of Comal H.B. No. 3391
 
 
 
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.  Subchapter A, Chapter 59, Finance Code, is
  amended by adding Section 59.012 to read as follows:
         Sec. 59.012.  LOANS FOR DEVELOPMENTS THAT USE HARVESTED
  RAINWATER. Financial institutions may consider making loans for
  developments that will use harvested rainwater as the sole source
  of water supply.
         SECTION 2.  Section 447.004, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (c-1) and adding Subsection (c-3) 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 potable
  and 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; and
               (2)  rainwater harvesting system technology for
  potable and nonpotable indoor use and landscape watering be
  incorporated into the design and construction of each new state
  building with a roof measuring at least 50,000 square feet that is
  located in an area of this state in which the average annual
  rainfall is at least 20 inches.
         (c-3)  The procedural standards required by Subsection
  (c-1)(2) apply to a building described by that subdivision unless
  Subsection (c-2) applies or the state agency or institution of
  higher education constructing the building 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.
         SECTION 3.  Section 341.042(b), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The commission by rule shall provide that if a structure
  is connected to a public water supply system and has a rainwater
  harvesting system, [for indoor use:
               [(1)]  the structure must have appropriate
  cross-connection safeguards[; and
               [(2)     the rainwater harvesting system may be used only
  for nonpotable indoor purposes].
         SECTION 4.  Chapter 580, Local Government Code, is amended
  by adding Section 580.004 to read as follows:
         Sec. 580.004.  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 facilities.
         (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 ensure that
  training on rainwater harvesting is available 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 receive the training at least
  once every five years. 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 receive the training.  The Texas Water Development Board may
  provide the training by seminars or by videotape or functionally
  similar and widely available media without cost.
         (d)  A municipality or county may not deny a building permit
  solely because the facility will implement rainwater harvesting.
         (e)  Each school district is encouraged to implement
  rainwater harvesting at facilities of the district.
         SECTION 5.  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; or
               (6)  require a property owners' association to permit a
  rain barrel or rainwater harvesting system to be installed in or on
  property if:
                     (A)  the property is:
                           (i)  owned by the property owners'
  association;
                           (ii)  owned in common by the members of the
  property owners' association; or
                           (iii)  located between the front of the
  property owner's home and the adjacent street; or
                     (B)  the barrel or system:
                           (i)  is of a color other than:
                                 (a)  the original manufacturer's
  color; or
                                 (b)  a color consistent with the color
  scheme of the property owner's home; or
                           (ii)  displays any language or other content
  that is not typically displayed by such a barrel or system as it is
  manufactured.
         SECTION 6.  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 for potable
  and nonpotable purposes at public and private facilities in this
  state, including residential, commercial, and industrial
  buildings.
         SECTION 7.  If the 82nd 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,
  2012, 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 8.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.