BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 3071

By: Rodriguez, Eddie

Natural Resources

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties note a disparity in the production fees the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District charges for certain wells. H.B. 3071 seeks to equalize the rates of production fees charged on certain wells by providing for an increase in the annual production fee for certain wells.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 3071 amends the Special District Local Laws Code to restrict to before September 1, 2017, the applicability of the cap of 17 cents per thousand gallons of water on the Barton Springs‑Edwards Aquifer Conservation District's annual production fee for water that is authorized to be produced under a permit from a well located in the district's shared territory and that is permitted for any use other than agricultural use. The bill authorizes the district to increase the annual production fee by not more than 10 cents per thousand gallons per year beginning on September 1, 2017, for water permitted for nonagricultural purposes, until the annual production fee is equal to the maximum amount the district's board of directors may charge as an annual production fee for a permit first issued after September 1, 2007, or a permit first issued after September 9, 2004, and renewed after September 1, 2007.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2017.