BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4329

By: Lopez, Janie

Natural Resources

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that Texas' diverse geography presents unique challenges in flood management and that while some areas benefit from natural drainage features, other areas, such as the Rio Grande Valley, lack these features, making them reliant on costly artificial drainage systems. The bill author has also informed the committee that without a clear understanding of flood infrastructure costs, flood mitigation efforts risk being inefficient and ineffective. C.S.H.B. 4329 seeks to address this issue by requiring the Texas Water Development Board, in coordination with certain entities, to conduct a study on the costs of developing flood infrastructure in Texas whose findings will help lawmakers make informed decisions on flood mitigation investments, ensuring effective and financially responsible infrastructure improvements.

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. 4329 requires the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), in coordination with the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the General Land Office, FEMA, and regional flood planning groups, drainage districts, and local governments, to conduct a study on the costs of developing flood infrastructure in Texas. The bill requires the study to do the following:

· identify and map high-cost drainage zones, defined by the bill as areas where the construction, maintenance, or improvement of flood infrastructure requires significant financial investment due to natural, regulatory, or logistical factors, across Texas;

· analyze flood infrastructure cost drivers that affect the development and maintenance of flood infrastructure by contributing to the cost of planning, constructing, or maintaining flood mitigation systems, including the following:

o right-of-way acquisition;

o soil conditions and topographic limitations;

o regulatory compliance and permitting;

o material and labor costs; and

o long-term maintenance and sediment control;

· analyze historical flood infrastructure project costs and compare variations across regions in Texas and, based on this gathered data, develop a flood infrastructure cost heat map that visually represents the cost variation in developing flood infrastructure across Texas;

· include cost estimates and evaluate the return on investment for various flood mitigation strategies, including the following:

o expanding artificial drainage systems, defined by the bill as man-made systems used to remove floodwater in a community that lacks topographic relief, slope, or naturally defined floodways;

o restoring natural drainage features;

o implementing regional flood water detention facilities;

o enhancing flood water conveyance infrastructure; and

o improving the regulatory framework for floodplain management;

· establish projections for future flood mitigation costs, urbanization, and regulatory updates by incorporating precipitation frequency estimates from the 14th and 15th volumes of the Precipitation-Frequency Atlas of the United States published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and

· provide recommendations for cost-effective flood mitigation strategies and potential funding mechanisms to support communities located in high-cost drainage zones.

C.S.H.B. 4329 requires the TWDB, not later than September 1, 2026, to do the following:

· prepare and submit to the legislature a written report of the findings of the study and the recommendations; and

· make the report publicly available by publishing the report on the TWDB website.

The bill's provisions expire January 1, 2027.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 4329 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 introduced required the TWDB to do the following not later than January 1, 2027:

· identify and study factors that affect the costs of developing drainage infrastructure in Texas; and

· prepare and submit to the legislature a written report on the relative costs of developing drainage infrastructure in different areas of Texas based on those identified and studied factors.

The substitute instead requires the TWDB to do the following:

· in coordination with the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the General Land Office, FEMA, and regional flood planning groups, drainage districts, and local governments, conduct a study, which is required to do specific things, on the costs of developing flood infrastructure in Texas; and

· not later than September 1, 2026, prepare and submit to the legislature a written report of the findings of the study and applicable recommendations and make the report publicly available by publishing the report on the TWDB website.

Whereas the introduced version's provisions expired September 1, 2027, the substitute's provisions expire January 1, 2027.