By: Frank (Senate Sponsor - Perry) H.B. No. 3185

(In the Senate - Received from the House May 10, 2017; May 10, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on Agriculture, Water & Rural Affairs; May 17, 2017, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 17, 2017, sent to printer.)

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to fees charged by the Rolling Plains Groundwater Conservation District; authorizing a fee.

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

SECTION 1. Section 8867.103, Special District Local Laws Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

(a) The district may assess fees under Section 36.122(e) or 36.205(c), Water Code, in an annual amount not to exceed:

(1) $1 per acre-foot of water used for agricultural use; [or]

(2) 17 cents per thousand gallons of water used for any other purpose; or

(3) notwithstanding any limitations on the amount of an export fee or surcharge authorized under Section 36.122(e), Water Code, 150 percent of the maximum commercial water rate charged by the City of Wichita Falls for groundwater exported from the district.

(c) The district may use funds obtained from an export fee imposed under Subsection (a)(3) only to enhance:

(1) aquifer monitoring, modeling, and data collection; and

(2) research to advance the scientific understanding of the district's groundwater resources.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.

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