88R21067 LRM-F
 
  By: King of Uvalde H.B. No. 3059
 
  Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3059:
 
  By:  Thompson of Brazoria C.S.H.B. No. 3059
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the export fee charged for the transfer of groundwater
  from a groundwater conservation district.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 36.122, Water Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (e) and (p) and adding Subsections (e-1) and
  (e-2) to read as follows:
         (e)  Except as provided by Subsection (e-1), the [The]
  district may impose an export fee or surcharge using one of the
  following methods:
               (1)  a fee negotiated between the district and the
  exporter;
               (2)  for a tax-based district, a rate not to exceed 20
  cents [the equivalent of the district's tax rate per hundred
  dollars of valuation] for each thousand gallons of water exported
  from the district [or 2.5 cents per thousand gallons of water, if
  the district assesses a tax rate of less than 2.5 cents per hundred
  dollars of valuation]; or
               (3)  for a fee-based district, a rate not to exceed the
  greater of 20 cents for each thousand gallons or a 50 percent
  surcharge, in addition to the district's production fee, for water
  exported from the district.
         (e-1)  Effective January 1, 2024, the maximum allowable
  export fee a district may impose under Subsections (e)(2) and
  (e)(3) for each thousand gallons exported from the district is
  automatically increased at an annual rate of three percent.
         (e-2)  A district governed by a special law in regard to an
  export fee or surcharge on water exported from the district may
  charge an export fee or surcharge in accordance with that special
  law or in accordance with Subsections (e) and (e-1).
         (p)  Subsections [Subsection] (e), (e-1), and (e-2) do
  [does] not apply to a district that is collecting an export fee or
  surcharge on March 1, 2001.
         SECTION 2.  Section 36.207, Water Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 36.207.  USE OF FEES.  A district may use funds obtained
  from administrative, production, or export fees collected under a
  special law governing the district or this chapter for any purpose
  consistent with the district's approved management plan,
  including, without limitation, making grants, loans, or
  contractual payments to achieve, facilitate, or expedite
  reductions in groundwater pumping or the development or
  distribution of alternative water supplies or to maintain the
  operability of wells significantly affected by groundwater
  development to allow for the highest practicable level of
  groundwater production while achieving the desired future
  conditions established under Section 36.108.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.