H.B. No. 3987
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the authority of the Texas Water Development Board to
  use the state participation account of the water development fund
  to provide financial assistance for the development of certain
  facilities.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  This Act may be cited as the Texas State Water
  Investment Fund Act.
         SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 16.131, Water Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 16.131.  AUTHORIZED PROJECTS FOR STATE PARTICIPATION
  ACCOUNT.
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter E, Chapter 16, Water Code, is amended
  by adding Section 16.145 to read as follows:
         Sec. 16.145.  AUTHORIZED PROJECTS FOR STATE PARTICIPATION
  ACCOUNT II. (a) The board may use the state participation account
  II created under Section 17.957 to provide financial assistance for
  the development of a desalination or aquifer storage and recovery
  facility, including associated intake or distribution facilities,
  to meet existing or projected future water needs by acquiring such a
  facility or an ownership interest in such a facility. 
         (b)  The board may act singly or in a joint venture in
  partnership with any person, including a public or private entity,
  an agency or political subdivision of this state, another state or a
  political subdivision of another state, the United States, or a
  foreign nation, to the extent permitted by law. The board may
  provide financial assistance under this section for a facility
  without regard to any requirements provided by board rules
  regarding the portion of the capacity of the facility that will
  serve an existing need or the portion of the cost of the facility
  that the applicant will finance from sources other than the state
  participation account II.
         (c)  Section 16.135 does not apply to the use of the state
  participation account II to develop a facility described by
  Subsection (a) by acquiring the facility or an interest in the
  facility. 
         (d)  Before the board may acquire a facility or an interest
  in a facility described by Subsection (a), the board must find
  affirmatively that:
               (1)  it is reasonable to expect that the state will
  recover its investment in the facility; and
               (2)  the public interest will be served by the
  acquisition of the facility. 
         (e)  The board may not provide financial assistance under
  this section for a facility unless the facility is included in the
  state water plan.
         (f)  The board shall establish a point system for
  prioritizing facilities for which financial assistance is sought
  from the board under this section. The system must include a
  standard for the board to apply in determining whether a facility
  qualifies for financial assistance at the time the application for
  financial assistance is filed with the board.
         (g)  The board may not issue more than $200 million in water
  financial assistance bonds designated by the board as issued to
  provide financial assistance for facilities under this section.
         (h)  If the board does not provide financial assistance for a
  facility from the state participation account II before September
  1, 2022, the board may not provide financial assistance for any
  facility from that account after that date.
         SECTION 4.  Section 16.182, Water Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 16.182.  PERMITS [PERMIT] REQUIRED. (a) Before the
  board grants the application to buy, receive, or lease the
  facilities, the applicant shall first secure all appropriate
  permits [a permit for water use] from the commission. If the
  facilities are to be leased, a [the] permit may be for a term of
  years.
         (b)  The board may assist the applicant with securing permits
  for a facility described by Section 16.145.
         SECTION 5.  Section 17.957, Water Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to
  read as follows:
         (b)  The state participation account is composed of:
               (1)  money and assets attributable to water financial
  assistance bonds designated by the board as issued for projects
  described in Sections [Section] 16.131 and 16.145;
               (2)  money from the sale, transfer, or lease of a
  project described in Subdivision (1) that was acquired,
  constructed, reconstructed, developed, or enlarged with money from
  the state participation account;
               (3)  payments received under a bond enhancement
  agreement with respect to water financial assistance bonds
  designated by the board as issued for projects described in
  Sections [Section] 16.131 and 16.145;
               (4)  investment income earned on money on deposit in
  the state participation account;
               (5)  money disbursed to the fund from the state water
  implementation fund for Texas as authorized by Section 15.434; and
               (6)  any other funds, regardless of their source, that
  the board directs be deposited to the credit of the state
  participation account.
         (c)  Money on deposit in the state participation account may
  be used by the board for projects described in Sections [Section]
  16.131 and 16.145 in the manner that the board determines necessary
  for the administration of the fund.
         (c-1)  The comptroller shall establish a subaccount in the
  state participation account to be known as the state participation
  account II. The board may credit to the subaccount money in the
  state participation account allocated by the board for the purposes
  of Section 16.145. The board may transfer money from the subaccount
  to the state participation account if the board determines the
  money is needed for the purposes of Section 16.131.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 3987 was passed by the House on May 2,
  2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 145, Nays 0, 1 present, not
  voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 3987 was passed by the Senate on May
  24, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
  APPROVED:  _____________________
                     Date          
   
            _____________________
                   Governor