By: Miller of Comal (Senate Sponsor - Campbell)	H.B. No. 2407
	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 2015;
	May 19, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on
	Administration; May 21, 2015, reported favorably by the following
	vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 21, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote

	COMMITTEE VOTE
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	HancockX
	UrestiX
	CampbellX
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	HuffinesX
	SchwertnerX
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	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the creation of the Comal Trinity Groundwater
	Conservation District; providing authority to issue bonds;
	providing authority to impose assessments, fees, or surcharges.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subtitle H, Title 6, Special District Local Laws
	Code, is amended by adding Chapter 8875 to read as follows:
	CHAPTER 8875. COMAL TRINITY GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT
	SUBCHAPTER A.  GENERAL PROVISIONS
	Sec. 8875.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
	(1)  "Board" means the board of directors of the
	district.
	(2)  "Commission" means the Texas Commission on
	Environmental Quality.
	(3)  "Commissioners court" means the Comal County
	Commissioners Court.
	(4)  "Director" means a member of the board.
	(5)  "District" means the Comal Trinity Groundwater
	Conservation District.
	(6)  "Retail public utility" means a retail public
	utility as defined by Section 13.002, Water Code, that is providing
	service in the district.
	Sec. 8875.002.  NATURE OF DISTRICT. The district is a
	groundwater conservation district in Comal County created under and
	essential to accomplish the purposes of Section 59, Article XVI,
	Texas Constitution.
	Sec. 8875.003.  INITIAL DISTRICT TERRITORY. The initial
	boundaries of the district are coextensive with the boundaries of
	Comal County, Texas, except that the district does not include any
	territory that is included in the boundaries of the Trinity Glen
	Rose Groundwater Conservation District.
	Sec. 8875.004.  CONFLICTS OF LAW. This chapter prevails
	over any provision of general law, including a provision of Chapter
	36, Water Code, that is in conflict or is inconsistent with this
	chapter.
	SUBCHAPTER B. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
	Sec. 8875.051.  COMPOSITION OF BOARD. The district is
	governed by a board of seven appointed directors.
	Sec. 8875.052.  TERMS AND APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTORS. (a)
	Directors serve staggered four-year terms. Directors are appointed
	by the commissioners court as follows:
	(1)  three directors shall be appointed from the
	incorporated areas of Comal County; and
	(2)  four directors shall be appointed with one
	director appointed from each of the four commissioners court
	precincts.
	(b)  To be appointed under this section, a person:
	(1)  must be a registered voter of Comal County; and
	(2)  to the extent practicable, should be familiar with
	the use of water by industry and commerce, municipal and rural
	utilities, agriculture, and private wells.
	Sec. 8875.053.  VACANCIES.  If there is a vacancy on the
	board, the commissioners court shall appoint a person to fill the
	vacancy for the remainder of the term in a manner that meets the
	representational requirements of Section 8875.052.
	SUBCHAPTER C. POWERS AND DUTIES
	Sec. 8875.101.  GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT POWERS
	AND DUTIES.  The district has the rights, powers, privileges,
	functions, and duties provided by the general law of this state,
	including Chapter 36, Water Code, applicable to groundwater
	conservation districts created under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas
	Constitution.
	Sec. 8875.102.  CONTRACTS. The district may contract with a
	state agency or political subdivision, including a municipality, a
	county, a river authority, or another district, to carry out any
	function of the district.
	Sec. 8875.103.  BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. (a)  The
	district may participate in the development and implementation of
	best management practices for water resource management in the
	district and may engage in and promote the acceptance of best
	management practices through education efforts sponsored by the
	district.
	(b)  Development and implementation of best management
	practices must address water quantity and quality practices such as
	brush management, prescribed grazing, recharge structures, water
	and silt detention and retention structures, plugging of abandoned
	wells, rainwater harvesting, and other treatment measures for the
	conservation of water resources.
	(c)  The district may not adopt or implement a best
	management practice that is in conflict with or duplicative of a
	best management practice adopted by another groundwater
	conservation district whose territory covers any part of Comal
	County.
	Sec. 8875.104.  LIMITATIONS ON DISTRICT POWERS. (a)  The
	district may not:
	(1)  require the owner of a well exempt from permitting
	to install a meter or measuring device on the well; or
	(2)  assess and collect a production fee on wells
	exempt from permitting.
	(b)  The district does not have the authority granted by
	Sections 36.020 and 36.201-36.204, Water Code, relating to taxes.
	Sec. 8875.105.  PRODUCTION LIMITS AND PERMITS FOR CERTAIN
	WELLS. (a)  In this section:
	(1)  "Maximum production capacity" means the rated
	capacity of a well that is measured in gallons per minute of
	production as certified by the driller of the well or a professional
	geologist or engineer.
	(2)  "Trinity Aquifer" means the Trinity group of
	aquifers, including the:
	(A)  Upper Trinity, consisting of the Upper Glen
	Rose Limestone;
	(B)  Middle Trinity, consisting of the Lower Glen
	Rose Limestone, the Hensall Sand, and the Cow Creek Limestone; and
	(C)  Lower Trinity, consisting of the Sligo
	Limestone and the Hosston Sand.
	(b)  Notwithstanding Section 36.117(j), Water Code, the
	district shall issue to an applicant a permit for a well that is not
	exempt from permitting and that was drilled into or through the
	Trinity Aquifer on or before the effective date of the Act enacting
	this chapter that authorizes the production of the well at an amount
	not less than the maximum production capacity of the well.
	(c)  Notwithstanding Section 36.117(j), Water Code, a well
	that is not exempt from permitting and that was drilled into or
	through the Trinity Aquifer after the effective date of the Act
	enacting this chapter requires a permit from the district.
	Sec. 8875.106.  WELL EXEMPTION. A well is exempt from the
	requirement to obtain a withdrawal permit provided that the well:
	(1)  is used solely for domestic use or for providing
	water for livestock or poultry regardless of land lot size and is
	drilled, completed, or equipped so that it is incapable of
	producing more than 25,000 gallons of groundwater a day;
	(2)  is not capable of producing more than 10,000
	gallons of water a day; or
	(3)  is metered and does not produce more than 10
	acre-feet of water in a calendar year.
	Sec. 8875.107.  MEASURING DEVICES. (a)  The owner of a
	nonexempt well shall install and maintain a water well meter, or
	alternative measuring device or method approved by the district,
	designed to indicate the flow rate and cumulative amount of water
	withdrawn by that well, on each individual well no later than 36
	months after the effective date of the Act enacting this chapter.
	(b)  A well owner is responsible for the costs of installing,
	operating, and maintaining measuring devices.
	Sec. 8875.108.  NO EMINENT DOMAIN. The district may not
	exercise the power of eminent domain.
	SUBCHAPTER D. GENERAL FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
	Sec. 8875.151.  FEES. (a) The district may set a reasonable
	fee for administrative management on a per well basis. The district
	may set a fee for administrative management on:
	(1)  a well used solely for domestic or livestock
	purposes in an amount not greater than $15 per well, per year; and
	(2)  a well that is exempt from permitting and that is
	not used solely for domestic or livestock purposes in an amount not
	greater than $50 per well, per year.
	(b)  The district may impose reasonable production fees on
	each well that is not exempt from permitting based on the amount of
	water actually withdrawn from the well. The district may not impose
	a production fee under this subsection in an amount greater than:
	(1)  $1 per acre-foot for groundwater used for
	agricultural purposes; or
	(2)  $40 per acre-foot for groundwater used for any
	other purpose.
	SECTION 2.  Not later than December 31, 2015, the Comal
	County Commissioners Court shall appoint the directors of the Comal
	Trinity Groundwater Conservation District as provided by Section
	8875.052, Special District Local Laws Code, as added by this Act.
	SECTION 3.  (a)  The legal notice of the intention to
	introduce this Act, setting forth the general substance of this
	Act, has been published as provided by law, and the notice and a
	copy of this Act have been furnished to all persons, agencies,
	officials, or entities to which they are required to be furnished
	under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, and Chapter 313,
	Government Code.
	(b)  The governor, one of the required recipients, has
	submitted the notice and Act to the Texas Commission on
	Environmental Quality.
	(c)  The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has filed
	its recommendations relating to this Act with the governor, the
	lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
	representatives within the required time.
	(d)  All requirements of the constitution and laws of this
	state and the rules and procedures of the legislature with respect
	to the notice, introduction, and passage of this Act are fulfilled
	and accomplished.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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