Bill Text: TX HB3530 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Comm Sub

---

Bill Title: Relating to the review and functions of the Texas Water Development Board.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

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

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
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 [2011] and every 12th year after 2023 [2011] are
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 [file on each
written complaint] filed with the board. The board shall maintain
information about parties to the complaint, [file must include:
[(1) the name of the person who filed the complaint;
[(2) the date the complaint is received by the board;
[(3)] the subject matter of the complaint,[;
[(4) the name of each person contacted in relation to
the complaint;
[(5)] a summary of the results of the review or
investigation of the complaint, and its disposition[; and
[(6) an explanation of the reason the file was closed,
if the agency closed the file without taking action other than to
investigate the complaint].
(b) The board shall make information available describing
its [provide to the person filing the complaint and to each person
who is a subject of the complaint a copy of the board's policies
and] procedures for [relating to] complaint investigation and
resolution.
SECTION 4. Section 6.155, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 6.155. NOTICE OF COMPLAINT. The board[, at least
quarterly until final disposition of the complaint,] shall
periodically notify the [person filing the] complaint parties [and
each person who is a subject of the complaint] of the status of the
complaint until final disposition [investigation unless the notice
would jeopardize an undercover investigation].
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 [The Texas Geographic Information Council (TGIC) is
created to provide strategic planning and coordination in the
acquisition and use of geo-spatial data and related technologies in
the State of Texas. The executive administrator and the executive
director of the Department of Information Resources shall designate
entities to be members of the TGIC. The chief administrative
officer of each member entity shall select one representative to
serve on the TGIC. The duties of the TGIC shall include providing
guidance to the executive administrator in carrying out the
executive administrator's duties under this section and guidance to
the Department of Information Resources for development of rules
related to statewide geo-spatial data and technology standards].
(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 [Member entities of
the TGIC that are state agencies shall, and member entities that are
not state agencies may, provide information to the TGIC about their
investments in geographic information and plans for its use. Not
later than November 1 of each even-numbered year, the TGIC shall
prepare and provide to the board, the Department of Information
Resources, the governor, and the legislature a report that:
[(1) describes the progress made by each TGIC member
entity toward achieving geographic information system goals and in
implementing geographic information systems initiatives; and
[(2) recommends additional initiatives to improve the
state's geographic information systems programs].
(d-1) The board shall consult with stakeholders in
preparing the report required by Subsection (d).
(e) The [Under the guidance of the TGIC, the] executive
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 [or a state agency that is a member of the Texas
Geographic Information Council].
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); [and]
(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.