BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2443

By: Harris, Cody

Natural Resources

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Chapter 36 of the Water Code grants certain rulemaking authority to groundwater conservation districts. However, a person with a real property interest in groundwater is not currently able to petition such a district to change or introduce a rule. In an effort to add a measure of accountability, C.S.H.B. 2443 seeks to provide a person with a real property interest in groundwater a method by which they can petition a groundwater conservation district to modify or adopt a rule. 

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

C.S.H.B. 2443 amends the Water Code to authorize a person with a real property interest in groundwater to petition the groundwater conservation district where the property that gives rise to the interest is located to adopt or modify a district rule. The bill requires the district by rule to prescribe the form for the petition and the procedure for the petition's submission, consideration, and disposition. The bill requires the district to do the following not later than the 90th day after the date the district receives the petition:

· deny the petition and provide an explanation for the denial; or

· engage in rulemaking consistent with the granted petition.

C.S.H.B. 2443 prohibits its provisions from being construed to create a private cause of action for a decision to accept or deny a petition. The bill requires a district, not later than December 1, 2023, to adopt rules to implement the bill's provisions.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 2443 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute changes the petitioner from a person with groundwater ownership and rights, as in the introduced, to a person with a real property interest in groundwater.

Whereas the introduced included requirements relating to the content, notice, and hearing of a petition, the substitute does not include those requirements and instead includes a requirement that the district by rule prescribe the form for a petition and the procedure for the petition's submission, consideration, and disposition.

The substitute differs from the introduced with respect to the action taken by a district on a petition as follows:

· whereas the introduced required the district to grant or deny the petition after a certain hearing and, if applicable, to engage in rulemaking consistent with the petition as soon as practicable after the petition is granted, the substitute requires the district to take appropriate action, whether denying the petition or engaging in rulemaking, not later than the 90th day after receiving the petition;

· the substitute does not include a provision that was present in the introduced allowing for the grant or denial of a petition wholly or partly; and

· whereas the introduced required a district to provide an explanation for the action the district takes on a petition, including a determination about the action's consistency with petitioner concerns, the substitute requires a district to provide an explanation only for the denial of a petition.

The substitute does not include a provision present in the introduced that made a district's decision on a petition final and appealable.

The substitute includes the following provisions that are absent from the introduced:

· a prohibition against the bill's provisions being construed to create a private cause of action for a decision to accept or deny a petition; and

· a requirement for a district to adopt rules to implement the bill's provisions not later than December 1, 2023.