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TWCA Priority Bills Passed (79th Texas Legislature)
197-428-B-25 Goodson Bill Status
Report 06-13-2005 - 14:40:59
 - Indicates action in
the date range.
| General Remarks: |
HB57 as finally passed
amends Section 41, Election Code, to require general and
special elections to be held on either the second
Saturday in May or the first Tuesday after the first
Monday in November. Conforming changes to Chapters 49 &
56, Water Code, require that director elections be held
in May. Certain other Election Code changes are made.
|
| Track Code(s): |
TWC1, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
HB256 as finally
passed amends Section 2256.010, Government Code, to
expand the types of certificates of deposit authorized
for investment by governmental entities, including local
governments. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC1, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
HB340 as finally
passed amends Chapter 60, Water Code, to allow a
navigation district that has established a police force
to also establish a non-paid volunteer police reserve
force to supplement the district's regular police force.
Conforming changes are made to Chapter 1901, Occupations
Code. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
HB467 as finally
passed amends Chapters 15, 16 & 17, Water Code, relating
to TWDB financing of projects in economically distressed
areas. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
HB578 as finally
passed amends Chapter 16, Water Code, to require each
regional planning group to identify existing major water
infrastructure facilities that may be used for
interconnections in the event of an emergency shortage
of water. This information is excepted from disclosure
under the public information law. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC1, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
HB769 as finally
passed amends Chapter 60, Water Code, to allow a
navigation district 90 days, rather than 45 days, to
evaluate and rank proposals submitted for construction
services through a competitive sealed process. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
HB828 as finally
passed amends Section 49.181(a), Water Code, to exempt
certain refunding bonds from TCEQ's district bond
approval requirements. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Certain prior acts of
a navigation district or a port authority are validated.
|
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Section 49.3076, Water
Code, is amended to modify a "bracketed" land exclusion
provision. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The bill as finally
passed amends Section 54.209, Water Code, to prohibit a
municipal utility district from exercising the power of
eminent domain outside its boundaries to acquire: 1) a
site for a water treatment plant, water storage
facility, wastewater treatment plant, or wastewater
disposal plant; 2)a site for a park, swimming pool, or
other recreational facility except a trail; 3) a site
for a trail on real property designated as a homestead;
or 4) an exclusive easement through a county regional
park. The change in law does not affect an eminent
domain action initiated its effective date. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC1, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The Election Code is
amended to increase requirements for the use of county
election precincts by political subdivisions. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The bill as finally
passed requires the Texas Water Development Board to
conduct a conduct a study to determine the effects, if
any, of take-or-pay contracts on efforts to conserve
water. The TWDB must submit a report to the legislature
summarizing its findings by January 1, 2007. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC1, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The bill as finally
passed amends Chapter 11, Water Code, to exempt a water
right from cancellation for non-use to the extent the
non-use resulted from the implementation of water
conservation measures under a water conservation plan
submitted by the water right holder as evidenced by
implemetation reports submitted by the holder. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC1, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The powers of the
Menard County Underground Water District are amended to
authorize the district to require a permit for a well
used for domestic purposes or to provide water for
livestock, poultry, or wildlife if the well is: (1) on a
tract of land smaller than 100 acres; (2) less than 500
feet deep; and (3) drilled, completed, or equipped so
that it is capable of producing more than 9,000 gallons
of groundwater per day. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Chapter 1305,
Occupations Code, regarding the licensing of
electricians, is amended. The amendments make it clear
that the installation, maintenance, alteration, or
repair of well pumps and equipment in accordance with
Chapter 1902, Occupations Code, does not require an
electrician's license. Electrical work performed on a
building, structure, or equipment in agricultural use is
also exempted. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Chapter 13, Water
Code, is amended to provide the TCEQ with the same
jurisdiction over a water supply or sewer service
corporation that it has over a water and sewer utility
(i.e., an investor-owned utility) if the commission
finds that the water supply or sewer service corporation
is operating improperly as further specified in the
bill. The bill also creates the La Joya Special Utility
District. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Chapter 6, Water Code,
is amended to authorize the Texas Water Development
Board to refer an applicant for or recipient of
financial assistance to another state agency, as
appropriate, for enforcement. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Chapter 240,
Government Code, is amended to authorize a county to
assess an additional fee of not to exceed $500 for each
cut of a county road. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Chapters 51 & 54,
Water Code, are amended. Reportedly, the Attorney
General's Office has issued an opinion that even though
water control & improvement districts and municipal
utility districts have the authority to convey
facilities to municpalites, this authority does not
extend to conveyances to other districts or water supply
corporations. The bill provides that authority. The bill
as passed also contains a bracketed provision for the
annexation of a defined area within a WCID or a MUD.
|
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Chapter 16, Water
Code, is amended to expand the authority of the Texas
Water Development Board to execute agreements to accept
federal funds and to use those funds to provide
assistance to state and local governments or other
persons for water supply, water treatment or flood
control. |
| Track Code(s): |
(nc), TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Chapter 65, Water
Code, relating to special utility districts, is amended
to require the TCEQ, in considering a petition for the
creation of a special utility district, to limit the
district' authority to purposes requested and considered
necessary. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The bill as finally
passed amends Chapter 36, Water Code, to establish
comprehensive procedural requirements districts must use
for rule-making and permitting. The bill also amends
Chapters 16 and 36, Water Code, to strengthen
requirements for joint planning and more consistent
groundwater management by districts within the same
management area. For example, groundwater districts
within the same management area are required to jointly
establish the desired future condition of relevant
aquifers and to adopt management plans that contain
goals and objectives consistent with achieving that
objective. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC1, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Track only. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The enabling
legislation of the Pineywoods Groundwater Conservation
District is amended to increase the withdrawal fee that
the district may assess to $0.025 per thousand gallons
(the maximum is currently $0.01). |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Track only. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The bill as passed is
a continuation of the clean-up and compilation of the
enabling legislation of special districts, including
water districts, into a Special District Local Laws
Code. Any modifications are intended to be
non-substantive. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC1, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Discharge of a
firearm, including a bow, is generally prohibited within
the bed or bank of a navigable stream located in Dimmit,
Edwards, Frio, Kenedy, Llano, Maverick, Real, Uvalde, or
Zavala County. Discharge of shot from a shotgun is
exempted. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
A clean coal
technology bill. Various codes, including the Water
Code, are amended. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Chapter 13, Water
Code, is amended to authorize a city having original
jurisdiction over an investor owned utility to suspend
the effective date of the IOU's proposed rate change for
longer than 90 days in certain circumstances. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
This bill as finally
passed amends Chapter 36, Water Code, to prohibit a
district from discriminating between land that is
irrigated for production and land that was irrigated for
production and enrolled or participating in a federal
conservgation program. In issuing a permit for an
existing or historic use, a district may not
discriminate between land that is irrigated for
production and land or wells on land that was irrigated
for production and enrolled or participating in a
federal conservation program. The provisions, except as
otherwise provided for
HudspethCounty, apply only to a
rule adopted by a groundwater district on or after
September 1, 2005 or to a permit issued or an
application filed pursuant to a rule adopted on or after
September 1, 2005. The Hudspeth County Underground Water
Conservation District No. 1 is required to bring rules
voided by this Act into compliance within 90 days of the
effective date. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC1, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Handheld devices used
for commercial dishwashing must meet prescribed water
conservation specifications. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The bill as finally
passed requires the Texas Water Development Board to
establish a Rainwater Harvesting Evaluation Committee to
study the feasibility of using rainwater harvesting as a
source of water supply. The committee is composed of a
representative of TWDB, TCEQ, the Department of Health
Services, and the Texas Section of AWWA. A report must
be provided to the legislature by December 1, 2006.
Chapter 341, Health & Safety Code, is amended to require
the TCEQ to establish standards relating to the domestic
use of harvested rainwater. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC1, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The bill as finally
passed amends Chapter 366, Health & Safety Code, is
amended to allow an owner of a single-family residence
to maintain an on-site sewage disposal system directly
or through a maintenance contract. The TCEQ shall adopt
rules governing the training to be provided to an owner
who elects to maintain a system directly. An owner of a
system using aerobic treatment who elects to maintain
the system directly must take not to exceed six hours of
training from the manufacture or installer. The TCEQ or
an authorized agent may periodically perform inspections
of owner-maintained aerobic systems. Enforcement is
provided. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC1, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
HB2525 as passed is a
comprehensive bill relating to procedures to be used in
contracting for construction projects and related
professional services. The bill is applicable both to
state and local governments. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC1, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Various provisions of
the district's enabling legislation are modified. The
bill also repeals an act creating a district in the Rio
Grande Valley.
|
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Track only. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Chapter 54, Water
Code, is amended to require a municipal utility district
to utilize and compensate the appropriate county to
perform duties regarding the election of a member of the
board. An exception is provided for a district with 10
or fewer qualified voters. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The bill as finally
passed amends Chapter 11, Water Code, to authorize the
watermaster of the South Texas Watermaster Program to
serve as the watermaster for the Concho River segment of
the ColoradoRiver
Basin to ensure compliance with water rights in the
area. The program is funded with fees from water right
holders. On or after September 1, 2009, the program
shall be discontinued if at least 50 percent of the
water right holders request a referendum and at least 60
percent of those water right holders who vote in the
referendum favor discontinuing the program.
|
| Track Code(s): |
TWC1, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The bill as finally
passed makes numerous changes to Chapter 13, Water Code.
Some of the more significant changes are as follows.
Requirements for an application for a CCN are
strengthened as they relate to a proposed service area
description, timelines for construction of facilities,
financial ability, and notice. Certain landowners may
elect not to be included in a new CCN. The authority of
a city to maintain or extend a CCN beyond its ETJ
without landowner consent is eliminated. An expedited
process is created to release certain landowners from a
CCN area. Each CCN holder must record a map and a
boundary description of the CCN area in the real
property records of each applicable county. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC1, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Chapter 60, Water
Code, relating to a navigation district or port
authority, is amended to increase the fine for certain
violations from $200 to $500. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
A district is created
in central Harris
County. The district's broad powers do include some
authority to manage groundwater. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
A groundwater district
is authorized for creation coextensive with the
boundaries of Victoria County provided the voters
approve its creation by September 1, 2010. The ad
valorem tax rate of the district may not exceed two
cents per $100 of assessed valuation. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The authority of the
district to impose fees or taxes on certain entities or
residents is modified. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
A district is created
co-extensive with the city limits of the City of
Corpus Christi, including certain property owned or
under contract to the City, to develop and protect
municipal aquifer storage areas created by the City. No
confirmation election is required. The district will
operate as a groundwater district under Chapter 36,
Water Code. The district may not impose a tax or issue
bonds. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The current board of
this district is composed of the county judge and the
county commissioners of
Lampasas County. This bill provides for election of
board members according to the commisioners precinct
method. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
A groundwater district
is created co-extensive with the boundaries of San
Patrcio County, provided the district is confirmed by
the voters at a confirmation election. The district will
operate under Chapter 36, Water Code. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
SB286 as finally
passed amends Chapter 551, Government Code, to require
each elected or appointed member of a governmental body
to complete an open meetings training course of not less
than one and not more than two hours within 90 days of
taking office. The attorney general may provide training
and may also approve training courses, and must make a
training video widely available at no cost. A
governmental body must maintain and make available for
public inspection the record of its members' completion
of the training. Chapter 552, Government Code, is
similarly amended to require open records training for
governmental bodies. However, a public official may
designate a public information coordinator to administer
the responsibilities of the public official under this
chapter. Each elected or appointed public official who
takes office befroe January 1, 2006 must complete
required training by January 1, 2007. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC1, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Chapter 240, Local
Government Code, is amended to authorize a county with a
population of 1.4 million or more (currently Tarrant,
Dallas & Harris Counties) to regulate the placement of
private water wells in the unincorporated area of the
county to prevent contamination of a well from an
on-site sewage disposal system, to prevent rendering an
on-site disposal system that was in place before the
well was drilled out of compliance with applicable law
because of the placement of the well, and to prevent
drilling of a domestic well into or through a
groundwater plume or aquifer that has been confirmed as
contaminated by the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality. A
Commissioners Court that elects to exercise this
authority shall adopt rules governing well placement
relative to an existing on-site sewage system. A person
desiring to drill a well must notify the county and
provide a diagram to the county showing the location of
the well and its distance from any on-site sewage system
within 100 feet. The county may impose a placement
review fee of not more than $50 to be paid by the person
drilling the well. The county must approve the drilling
of the well if its placement will not violate applicable
rules adopted by the Texas Department of Licensing and
Regulation and is not drilled into or through a plume of
contamination. This subchapter does not apply to a
private water well drilled on a parcel 10 acres or more
in size, a parcel qualified as open-space land under the
Tax Code, a parcel within the boundaries of a
groundwater conservation district, or a parcel within a
subsidence district other than the Harris Galveston
County Subsidence District. It also does not apply to
wells incidental to the production of oil and gas or to
public water system wells. A provision was also added to
ensure that a water well pump installer is not required
to be a licensed electrician.
|
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The Election Code is
amended to require a political subdivision that changes
its boundaries or the boundaries of districts used to
elect members to its governing body to notify the voter
registrar of the county. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Track only. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Section 15.974(b),
Water Code, is repealed, effectively giving the Texas
Water Development Board greater flexibility in the
utilization of the water infrastructure fund. The
section repealed currently limits TWDB funding of
certain projects to 10% of the amount of financial
assistance budgeted by the board to be made available
from the fund in a fiscal year. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Chapter 551,
Government Code, is amended. A governmental body
(including various local governments) that recesses a
meeting to the following business day is not required to
post notice of the continued meeting if the action is
taken in good faith and not to circumvent notice
requirements. A further continuation would require
additional notice. A governmental body prevented from
convening a properly noticed meeting because of a
catastrophe may also convene the meeting under
prescribed conditions. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Section 6.27, Tax
Code, is amended to limit the fees a county tax
assessor-collector may charge a river authority for
collection of taxes. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
State law prohibits a
groundwater district from requiring a permit for a well
used solely for domestic or livestock purposes on a
tract larger than 10 acres that is incapable of
producing more than 25,000 gallons per day. This bill
amends the enabling legislation of the Cow Creek
Groundwater Conservation District to allow the district
to impose fees on these wells. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The Central Texas
Groundwater Conservation District is authorized to be
created in Burnet County provided the voters approve
creation at a confirmation election. The district will
generally operate under Chapter 36, Water Code, but does
additionally have explicit authority to regulate any
activity that extracts groundwater or allows more than
25,000 gallons of groundwater a day to escape. The bill
also contains specific provisions related to groundwater
export. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The enabling
legislation of the district is amended to designate how
directors are elected after the county commissioners
precincts are redrawn. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The Lower Trinity
Groundwater Conservation District, covering
Liberty, Polk, andSan Jacinto
Counties, is created upon voter approval at a
confirmation election. The district may assess fees not
to exceed 5 cents per 1000 gallons of groundwater
withdrawn. Fees may not be assessed against a well used
exclusively for agriculture, against an exempt domestic
and livestock well incapable of producing more than
25,000 gallons per day, or against any other well exempt
from permitting under Section 36.117(b), Water Code. The
district may not impose a tax. The district will operate
generally under Chapter 36, Water Code.
|
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The applicability of
certain provisions of Chapter 13, Water Code, are
clarified as they relate to a public utility that
provided service in only 24 counties on 1/1/03. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
SB1297 as finally
passed amends Chapter 7, Water Code, to clarify that a
discharge of used oil into waters of the State at less
than 15 ppm following the discharge in accordance with a
general stormwater permit is not a violation. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC1, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Chapter 26, Water
Code, is amended to establish a pilot program for the
regulation of quarries in a unique portion of the Brazos
River watershed located downstream of Morris Shephard
Dam on Possum Kingdom Reservoir in Palo Pinto County
downstream to the county line between Hood & Parker
Counties. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Comprehensive changes
are made to the enabling legislation of the
Harris-Galveston Counties Coastal Subsidence District
and the Fort Bend Subsidence District. The provisions of
Chapters 36 & 49, Water Code, do not apply to either
district. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The enabling
legislation of the district is amended to prohibit the
assessment of fees against a well used only for
domestic, agricultural, or wildlife purposes within the
district. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Chapter 382, Health &
Safety Code, is amended to allow certain construction
activites otherwise allowed under federal allow to
commence while an application is pending at TCEQ. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Chapter 60, Water
Code, relating to navigation districts and port
authorities, is amended to modify certain contracting
requirements. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
The original
legislation creating this district provided the district
with all of the powers and duties contained in Chapters
36 and 49, Water Code. This legislation repeals the
reference to Chapter 49. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
Chapter 67, Water
Code, is amended to establish provisions for the
dissolution of a water supply corporation and the
transfer of its assets to a municipality. The provisions
apply only to a corporation and municipality located in
a county with a population of 650,000 or more and
adjacent to an international border. |
| Track Code(s): |
TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
See HB3513. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
A groundwater
conservation district is created coextensive with the
boundaries of Duval County, provided the voters approve
the creation of the district.The district will generally
operate under Chapter 36, Water Code. The district may
serve as a court-appointed receiver of another district
and may contract with and assume the functions of a
municipal utility district. Procedures are established
for merger with a water control and improvement
district. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
| General Remarks: |
A groundwater
conservation district is created coextensive with the
boundaries of Starr County provided the voters approve
the creation of the district at a confirmation election.
The district will generally operate under Chapter 36,
Water Code. The district may serve as a court appointed
receiver of another district and may contract with and
assume the functions of a municipally owned utility.
Procedures are established for merger with a water
supply or sewer service corporartion. |
| Track Code(s): |
TGWA, TWC2, TWC3 |
|
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