HBA-KDB C.S.H.B. 3024 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 3024 By: Chisum Natural Resources 4/11/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District (district) is prohibited from engaging in the sale or distribution of surface or groundwater for any purpose. In addition, the district is not authorized to impose a fee on water transported out of the district. However, if such a fee were imposed, the revenues could be used to conduct detailed hydrological and predictive modeling studies and analyses. C.S.H.B. 3024 r removes the provision that prohibits the district from engaging in the sale or distribution of surface or underground water for any purpose and authorizes the district to impose a reasonable fee on water transported out of the district. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 3024 amends law to remove the provision that prohibits the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District (district) from engaging in the sale or distribution of surface or underground water for any purpose. The bill authorizes the district to impose a reasonable fee on water transported out of the district, not to exceed the amount negotiated between the district and the transporter of the water or an amount equal to either the district's maximum tax rate per $100 of valuation for each 1,000 gallons of water transported out of the district or $0.025 per thousand gallons of water if the district assesses a tax rate of less than $0.025 per hundred dollars of valuation. The bill provides that a conservation and reclamation district that provides water to five or more municipalities outside the district and holds a permit granted before March 1, 2001, is not required pay such a fee but is required to pay the district an amount equal to 60 percent of the district's annually set tax rate per $100 valuation for each 1,000 gallons of water the conservation and reclamation district delivers to a municipality located entirely outside the district beginning on the effective date of the Act. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 3024 modifies the original bill by providing that the provisions relating to water control and improvement districts do not apply to the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District (district). The substitute modifies the original bill by authorizing the district to impose a reasonable fee on water transported out of the district, not to exceed an amount equal to $0.025 per thousand gallons of water if the district assesses a tax rate of less than $0.025 per hundred dollars of valuation. The substitute adds new language to provide that a conservation and reclamation district that provides water to five or municipalities outside the district and holds a permit granted before March 1, 2001, is not required pay the fee set forth by the district but is required to pay the district an amount equal to 60 percent of the district's annually set tax rate per $100 valuation for each 1,000 gallons of water the conservation and reclamation district delivers to a municipality located entirely outside the district beginning on the effective date of the Act. The substitute sets forth the applicability of such a fee or amount on the effective date of the Act. The substitute makes technical corrections regarding the State Board of Water Engineers.