BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 1547 |
By: Zerwas |
Natural Resources |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties note that the North Fort Bend Water Authority was created several years ago for the purpose of delivering surface water to users within its boundaries and subject to its groundwater reduction plan so that the users would be in compliance with Fort Bend Subsidence District and Harris-Galveston Subsidence District regulations, which require users to convert from groundwater to surface water. The parties further note that in order to comply with the subsidence districts' groundwater reduction regulations, the authority has built and financed significant water infrastructure for delivery of non-groundwater sources and has financed hundreds of millions of dollars of infrastructure costs. The authority charges applicable surface water and groundwater pumpage fees to public and private entities within its boundaries and subject to its groundwater reduction plan.
The interested parties contend that if certain wells or classes of wells are no longer subject to groundwater reduction requirements, such exemption could significantly increase the financial burden on the remaining wells included in the authority's groundwater reduction plan and impair the authority's ability to pay for needed water infrastructure. C.S.H.B. 1547 seeks to address this issue by establishing provisions relating to the power of the authority to impose a charge on certain wells or classes of wells.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 1547 amends the Special District Local Laws Code to authorize the North Fort Bend Water Authority to impose a charge according to the amount of water pumped on a well or class of wells located in Harris or Fort Bend County that, on or after February 1, 2013, either ceases to be subject to a groundwater reduction requirement imposed by the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District or the Fort Bend Subsidence District, as applicable, or is no longer subject to the regulatory provisions, permitting requirements, or jurisdiction of such districts, as applicable.
C.S.H.B. 1547 establishes that the authority retains all rights, powers, privileges, authorities, duties, and functions that it had before the bill's effective date. The bill provides for the validation and confirmation of certain authority actions and proceedings taken before the bill's effective date.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 1547 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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