Bill Text: TX HB3530 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to the review and functions of the Texas Water Development Board.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-04-27 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HB3530 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-HB3530-Comm_Sub.html
82R21893 ACP-D | |||
By: Ritter | H.B. No. 3530 | ||
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3530: | |||
By: Hopson | C.S.H.B. No. 3530 |
|
||
|
||
relating to the review and functions of the Texas Water Development | ||
Board. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. SECTION 6.013, Water Code, is amended to read as | ||
follows: | ||
Sec. 6.013. SUNSET PROVISION. The Texas Water Development | ||
Board is subject to review under Chapter 325, Government Code | ||
(Texas Sunset Act), but is not abolished under that chapter. The | ||
board shall be reviewed during the period in which state agencies | ||
abolished in 2023 [ |
||
reviewed. | ||
SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 6, Water Code, is amended | ||
by adding Sections 6.113, 6.114, and 6.115 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 6.113. NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING AND ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE | ||
RESOLUTION. (a) The board shall develop and implement a policy to | ||
encourage the use of: | ||
(1) negotiated rulemaking procedures under Chapter | ||
2008, Government Code, for the adoption of board rules; and | ||
(2) appropriate alternative dispute resolution | ||
procedures under Chapter 2009, Government Code, to assist in the | ||
resolution of internal and external disputes under the board's | ||
jurisdiction. | ||
(b) The board's procedures relating to alternative dispute | ||
resolution must conform, to the extent possible, to any model | ||
guidelines issued by the State Office of Administrative Hearings | ||
for the use of alternative dispute resolution by state agencies. | ||
(c) The board shall: | ||
(1) coordinate the implementation of the policy | ||
adopted under Subsection (a); | ||
(2) provide training as needed to implement the | ||
procedures for negotiated rulemaking or alternative dispute | ||
resolution; and | ||
(3) collect data concerning the effectiveness of those | ||
procedures. | ||
Sec. 6.114. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS: DEFAULT, | ||
REMEDIES, AND ENFORCEMENT. (a) In this section: | ||
(1) "Default" means: | ||
(A) default in payment of the principal of or | ||
interest on bonds, securities, or other obligations purchased or | ||
acquired by the board; | ||
(B) a default or breach of any of the terms of a | ||
loan, grant, or other financing agreement; or | ||
(C) any other failure to perform an obligation, | ||
breach of a term of an agreement, or default as provided by any | ||
proceeding or agreement evidencing an obligation or agreement of a | ||
recipient, beneficiary, or guarantor of financial assistance | ||
provided by the board. | ||
(2) "Financial assistance program recipient" means a | ||
recipient or beneficiary of funds administered by the board under | ||
this code, including a borrower, grantee, guarantor, or other | ||
beneficiary. | ||
(b) In the event of a default and on request by the board, | ||
the attorney general shall seek: | ||
(1) a writ of mandamus to compel a financial | ||
assistance program recipient or the financial assistance program | ||
recipient's officers, agents, and employees to cure the default; | ||
and | ||
(2) any other legal or equitable remedy the board and | ||
the attorney general consider necessary and appropriate. | ||
(c) A proceeding authorized by this section shall be brought | ||
and venue is in a district court in Travis County. | ||
(d) In a proceeding under this section, the attorney general | ||
may recover reasonable attorney's fees, investigative costs, and | ||
court costs incurred on behalf of the state in the proceeding in the | ||
same manner as provided by general law for a private litigant. | ||
Sec. 6.115. BOARD INFORMATION RESOURCE TECHNOLOGIES. | ||
Subchapter L, Chapter 2054, Government Code, does not apply to | ||
information resource technologies obtained, used, managed, or | ||
controlled by the board. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 6.154, Water Code, is amended to read as | ||
follows: | ||
Sec. 6.154. COMPLAINT FILE. (a) The board shall maintain a | ||
system to promptly and efficiently act on complaints [ |
||
|
||
information about parties to the complaint, [ |
||
[ |
||
[ |
||
[ |
||
[ |
||
|
||
[ |
||
investigation of the complaint, and its disposition[ |
||
[ |
||
|
||
|
||
(b) The board shall make information available describing | ||
its [ |
||
|
||
|
||
resolution. | ||
SECTION 4. Section 6.155, Water Code, is amended to read as | ||
follows: | ||
Sec. 6.155. NOTICE OF COMPLAINT. The board[ |
||
|
||
periodically notify the [ |
||
|
||
complaint until final disposition [ |
||
|
||
SECTION 5. Section 11.1271, Water Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsection (g) to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(f) The commission shall adopt rules: | ||
(1) establishing criteria and deadlines for | ||
submission of water conservation plans, including any required | ||
amendments, and for submission of implementation reports; and | ||
(2) requiring the uniform water use calculation system | ||
developed under Section 16.403 to be used in the water conservation | ||
plans required by this section. | ||
(g) At a minimum, rules adopted under Subsection (f)(2) must | ||
require an entity to report the most detailed level of municipal | ||
water use data currently available to the entity. The commission | ||
may not adopt a rule that requires an entity to report municipal | ||
water use data that is more detailed than the entity's billing | ||
system is capable of producing. | ||
SECTION 6. Section 16.021, Water Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsections (c), (d), and (e) and adding Subsections (d-1) | ||
and (g) to read as follows: | ||
(c) The executive administrator shall designate the | ||
director of the Texas Natural Resources Information System to serve | ||
as the state geographic information officer. The state geographic | ||
information officer shall: | ||
(1) coordinate the acquisition and use of | ||
high-priority imagery and data sets; | ||
(2) establish, support, and disseminate authoritative | ||
statewide geographic data sets; | ||
(3) support geographic data needs of emergency | ||
management responders during emergencies; | ||
(4) monitor trends in geographic information | ||
technology; and | ||
(5) support public access to state geographic data and | ||
resources [ |
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
(d) Not later than December 1, 2016, and before the end of | ||
each successive five-year period after that date, the board shall | ||
submit to the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the | ||
house of representatives a report that contains recommendations | ||
regarding: | ||
(1) statewide geographic data acquisition needs and | ||
priorities, including updates on progress in maintaining the | ||
statewide digital base maps described by Subsection (e)(6); | ||
(2) policy initiatives to address the acquisition, | ||
use, storage, and sharing of geographic data across the state; | ||
(3) funding needs to acquire data, implement | ||
technologies, or pursue statewide policy initiatives related to | ||
geographic data; and | ||
(4) opportunities for new initiatives to improve the | ||
efficiency, effectiveness, or accessibility of state government | ||
operations through the use of geographic data [ |
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
[ |
||
|
||
|
||
[ |
||
|
||
(d-1) The board shall consult with stakeholders in | ||
preparing the report required by Subsection (d). | ||
(e) The [ |
||
administrator shall: | ||
(1) further develop the Texas Natural Resources | ||
Information System by promoting and providing for effective | ||
acquisition, archiving, documentation, indexing, and dissemination | ||
of natural resource and related digital and nondigital data and | ||
information; | ||
(2) obtain information in response to disagreements | ||
regarding names and name spellings for natural and cultural | ||
features in the state and provide this information to the Board on | ||
Geographic Names of the United States Department of the Interior; | ||
(3) make recommendations to the Board on Geographic | ||
Names of the United States Department of the Interior for naming any | ||
natural or cultural feature subject to the limitations provided by | ||
Subsection (f); | ||
(4) make recommendations to the Department of | ||
Information Resources to adopt and promote standards that | ||
facilitate sharing of digital natural resource data and related | ||
socioeconomic data among federal, state, and local governments and | ||
other interested parties; | ||
(5) acquire and disseminate natural resource and | ||
related socioeconomic data describing the Texas-Mexico border | ||
region; and | ||
(6) coordinate, conduct, and facilitate the | ||
development, maintenance, and use of mutually compatible statewide | ||
digital base maps depicting natural resources and man-made | ||
features. | ||
(g) The board may establish one or more advisory committees | ||
to assist the board or the executive administrator in implementing | ||
this section, including by providing information in connection with | ||
the preparation of the report required by Subsection (d). In | ||
appointing members to an advisory committee, the board shall | ||
consider including representatives of: | ||
(1) state agencies that are major users of geographic | ||
data; | ||
(2) federal agencies; | ||
(3) local governments; and | ||
(4) the Department of Information Resources. | ||
SECTION 7. Section 16.023(b), Water Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(b) The account may be appropriated only to the board to: | ||
(1) develop, administer, and implement the strategic | ||
mapping program; | ||
(2) provide grants to political subdivisions for | ||
projects related to the development, use, and dissemination of | ||
digital, geospatial information; and | ||
(3) administer, implement, and operate other programs | ||
of the Texas Natural Resources Information System, including: | ||
(A) the operation of a Texas-Mexico border region | ||
information center for the purpose of implementing Section | ||
16.021(e)(5); | ||
(B) the acquisition, storage, and distribution | ||
of historical maps, photographs, and paper map products; | ||
(C) the maintenance and enhancement of | ||
information technology; and | ||
(D) the production, storage, and distribution of | ||
other digital base maps, as determined by the executive | ||
administrator [ |
||
|
||
SECTION 8. Section 16.051, Water Code, is amended by adding | ||
Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to read as follows: | ||
(a-1) The state water plan must include: | ||
(1) an evaluation of the state's progress in meeting | ||
future water needs, including an evaluation of the extent to which | ||
water management strategies and projects implemented after the | ||
adoption of the preceding state water plan have affected that | ||
progress; and | ||
(2) an analysis of the number of projects included in | ||
the preceding state water plan that received financial assistance | ||
from the board. | ||
(a-2) To assist the board in evaluating the state's progress | ||
in meeting future water needs, the board may obtain implementation | ||
data from the regional water planning groups. | ||
SECTION 9. Sections 16.053(c) and (e), Water Code, are | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(c) No later than 60 days after the designation of the | ||
regions under Subsection (b), the board shall designate | ||
representatives within each regional water planning area to serve | ||
as the initial coordinating body for planning. The initial | ||
coordinating body may then designate additional representatives to | ||
serve on the regional water planning group. The initial | ||
coordinating body shall designate additional representatives if | ||
necessary to ensure adequate representation from the interests | ||
comprising that region, including the public, counties, | ||
municipalities, industries, agricultural interests, environmental | ||
interests, small businesses, electric generating utilities, river | ||
authorities, water districts, and water utilities. The regional | ||
water planning group shall maintain adequate representation from | ||
those interests. In addition, the groundwater conservation | ||
districts located in each management area, as defined by Section | ||
36.001, located in the regional water planning area shall appoint | ||
one representative of a groundwater conservation district located | ||
in the management area and in the regional water planning area to | ||
serve on the regional water planning group. In addition, | ||
representatives of the board, the Parks and Wildlife Department, | ||
and the Department of Agriculture shall serve as ex officio members | ||
of each regional water planning group. | ||
(e) Each regional water planning group shall submit to the | ||
development board a regional water plan that: | ||
(1) is consistent with the guidance principles for the | ||
state water plan adopted by the development board under Section | ||
16.051(d); | ||
(2) provides information based on data provided or | ||
approved by the development board in a format consistent with the | ||
guidelines provided by the development board under Subsection (d); | ||
(2-a) is consistent with the desired future conditions | ||
adopted under Section 36.108 for the relevant aquifers located in | ||
the regional water planning area as of the date the board most | ||
recently adopted a state water plan under Section 16.051 or, at the | ||
option of the regional water planning group, established subsequent | ||
to the adoption of the most recent plan; | ||
(3) identifies: | ||
(A) each source of water supply in the regional | ||
water planning area, including information supplied by the | ||
executive administrator on the amount of managed available | ||
groundwater in accordance with the guidelines provided by the | ||
development board under Subsections (d) and (f); | ||
(B) factors specific to each source of water | ||
supply to be considered in determining whether to initiate a | ||
drought response; | ||
(C) actions to be taken as part of the response; | ||
and | ||
(D) existing major water infrastructure | ||
facilities that may be used for interconnections in the event of an | ||
emergency shortage of water; | ||
(4) has specific provisions for water management | ||
strategies to be used during a drought of record; | ||
(5) includes but is not limited to consideration of | ||
the following: | ||
(A) any existing water or drought planning | ||
efforts addressing all or a portion of the region; | ||
(B) approved groundwater conservation district | ||
management plans and other plans submitted under Section 16.054; | ||
(C) all potentially feasible water management | ||
strategies, including but not limited to improved conservation, | ||
reuse, and management of existing water supplies, conjunctive use, | ||
acquisition of available existing water supplies, and development | ||
of new water supplies; | ||
(D) protection of existing water rights in the | ||
region; | ||
(E) opportunities for and the benefits of | ||
developing regional water supply facilities or providing regional | ||
management of water supply facilities; | ||
(F) appropriate provision for environmental | ||
water needs and for the effect of upstream development on the bays, | ||
estuaries, and arms of the Gulf of Mexico and the effect of plans on | ||
navigation; | ||
(G) provisions in Section 11.085(k)(1) if | ||
interbasin transfers are contemplated; | ||
(H) voluntary transfer of water within the region | ||
using, but not limited to, regional water banks, sales, leases, | ||
options, subordination agreements, and financing agreements; and | ||
(I) emergency transfer of water under Section | ||
11.139, including information on the part of each permit, certified | ||
filing, or certificate of adjudication for nonmunicipal use in the | ||
region that may be transferred without causing unreasonable damage | ||
to the property of the nonmunicipal water rights holder; | ||
(6) identifies river and stream segments of unique | ||
ecological value and sites of unique value for the construction of | ||
reservoirs that the regional water planning group recommends for | ||
protection under Section 16.051; | ||
(7) assesses the impact of the plan on unique river and | ||
stream segments identified in Subdivision (6) if the regional water | ||
planning group or the legislature determines that a site of unique | ||
ecological value exists; and | ||
(8) describes the impact of proposed water projects on | ||
water quality. | ||
SECTION 10. Section 16.402, Water Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (f) to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(e) The board and commission jointly shall adopt rules: | ||
(1) identifying the minimum requirements and | ||
submission deadlines for the annual reports required by Subsection | ||
(b); [ |
||
(2) requiring the uniform water use calculation system | ||
developed under Section 16.403 to be used in the reports required by | ||
Subsection (b); and | ||
(3) providing for the enforcement of this section and | ||
rules adopted under this section. | ||
(f) At a minimum, rules adopted under Subsection (e)(2) must | ||
require an entity to report the most detailed level of municipal | ||
water use data currently available to the entity. The board and | ||
commission may not adopt a rule that requires an entity to report | ||
municipal water use data that is more detailed than the entity's | ||
billing system is capable of producing. | ||
SECTION 11. Subchapter K, Chapter 16, Water Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 16.403 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 16.403. UNIFORM WATER USE CALCULATION SYSTEM. The | ||
board and the commission, in consultation with the Water | ||
Conservation Advisory Council, shall develop a uniform system for | ||
calculating municipal water use in gallons per capita per day to be | ||
used by each entity required to submit a water conservation plan to | ||
the board or the commission under this code. | ||
SECTION 12. Section 17.003, Water Code, is amended by | ||
adding Subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) to read as follows: | ||
(c) Water financial assistance bonds that have been | ||
authorized but have not been issued are not considered to be state | ||
debt payable from the general revenue fund for purposes of Section | ||
49-j, Article III, Texas Constitution, until the legislature makes | ||
an appropriation from the general revenue fund to the board to pay | ||
the debt service on the bonds. | ||
(d) In requesting approval for the issuance of bonds under | ||
this chapter, the executive administrator shall certify to the bond | ||
review board the debt service on the bonds that is reasonably | ||
expected to be paid from: | ||
(1) the general revenues of the state; and | ||
(2) revenue sources other than the general revenues of | ||
the state. | ||
(e) The bond review board shall determine the portion of the | ||
debt service on bonds to be issued by the board under this chapter | ||
that is state debt payable from the general revenues of the state, | ||
in accordance with the findings made by the board in the resolution | ||
authorizing the issuance of the bonds and the certification | ||
provided by the executive administrator under Subsection (d). | ||
(f) Bonds issued under this chapter that are designed to be | ||
paid from the general revenues of the state shall cease to be | ||
considered bonds payable from those revenues if: | ||
(1) the bonds are backed by insurance or another form | ||
of guarantee that ensures payment from a source other than the | ||
general revenues of the state; or | ||
(2) the board demonstrates to the satisfaction of the | ||
bond review board that the bonds no longer require payment from the | ||
general revenues of the state and the bond review board so certifies | ||
to the Legislative Budget Board. | ||
SECTION 13. As soon as practicable after the effective date | ||
of this Act, groundwater conservation districts shall appoint | ||
initial representatives to regional water planning groups as | ||
required by Section 16.053(c), Water Code, as amended by this Act. | ||
SECTION 14. Not later than January 1, 2013: | ||
(1) the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality | ||
shall adopt rules under Section 11.1271(f), Water Code, as amended | ||
by this Act; | ||
(2) the Texas Water Development Board and the Texas | ||
Commission on Environmental Quality jointly shall adopt rules under | ||
Section 16.402(e), Water Code, as amended by this Act; and | ||
(3) the Texas Water Development Board and the Texas | ||
Commission on Environmental Quality, in consultation with the Water | ||
Conservation Advisory Council, shall develop the water use | ||
calculation system required by Section 16.403, Water Code, as added | ||
by this Act. | ||
SECTION 15. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |