H.B. No. 3405

	AN ACT
	relating to the territory, jurisdiction, and powers of the Barton
	Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, including its
	authority to regulate certain wells for the production of
	groundwater; imposing a cap on certain fees.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 8802, Special District
	Local Laws Code, is amended by adding Section 8802.0035 to read as
	follows:
	Sec. 8802.0035.  SHARED TERRITORY; JURISDICTION. (a) The
	territory of the district includes any territory that is:
	(1)  inside the boundaries of:
	(A)  the Edwards Aquifer Authority; and
	(B)  Hays County; and
	(2)  not within the boundaries of the Plum Creek
	Conservation District as those boundaries existed on February 1,
	2015.
	(b)  The Edwards Aquifer Authority has jurisdiction over any
	well that is drilled to produce water from the Edwards Aquifer in
	the shared territory described by Subsection (a).
	(c)  The district has jurisdiction over groundwater and any
	well that is drilled to produce water from any aquifer other than
	the Edwards Aquifer in the shared territory described by Subsection
	(a).
	(d)  Except for the district and the Edwards Aquifer
	Authority, no district or authority created under Section 52,
	Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, has
	authority in the shared territory described by Subsection (a) to
	regulate the spacing of water wells or the production from water
	wells.
	(e)  The district has jurisdiction over any well that is
	drilled to produce water from the Edwards Aquifer or any other
	aquifer in the territory described by Section 8802.003.
	(f)  The district's jurisdiction over any well that is
	drilled to produce water in the territory described in Section
	8802.003, including a well that is used to recover water that has
	been injected as part of an aquifer storage and recovery project,
	applies to all wells for which the district has jurisdiction in the
	shared territory described by this section.
	SECTION 2.  Section 8802.1045, Special District Local Laws
	Code, is amended by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
	(g)  This subsection applies only to a well located in the
	shared territory described by Section 8802.0035. Notwithstanding
	Subsection (b), the district may not charge an annual production
	fee of more than 17 cents per thousand gallons of water produced
	under a permit from a well under this subsection, if the water is
	permitted for any use other than agricultural use.
	SECTION 3.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
	of this Act, and in conformance with the requirements of Section
	8802.053, Special District Local Laws Code, the board of directors
	of the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District shall
	revise the single-member districts as the board considers
	appropriate to reflect the changes in territory made by Section
	8802.0035, Special District Local Laws Code, as added by this Act.
	SECTION 4.  (a)  In this section:
	(1)  "District" means the Barton Springs-Edwards
	Aquifer Conservation District.
	(2)  "Maximum production capacity" means the maximum
	production capacity of a well, which may be based on a 36-hour pump
	test conducted at the time the well was initially constructed or
	placed into service.
	(b)  This section applies only to the shared territory added
	to the district by Section 8802.0035, Special District Local Laws
	Code, as added by this Act.
	(c)  A person operating a well before the effective date of
	this Act or who has entered into a contract before the effective
	date of this Act to drill or operate a well that is or will be
	located in the territory described by Subsection (b) of this
	section and subject to the jurisdiction of the district under
	Section 8802.0035, Special District Local Laws Code, as added by
	this Act, shall file an administratively complete permit
	application with the district not later than three months after the
	effective date of this Act for the drilling, equipping, completion,
	or operation of any well if the well requires a permit under the
	rules or orders of the district. The person may file the permit
	application for an amount of groundwater production not to exceed
	the maximum production capacity of the well.
	(d)  The district shall issue a temporary permit to a person
	who files an application under Subsection (c) of this section
	without a hearing on the application not later than the 30th day
	after the date of receipt of the application. The district shall
	issue the temporary permit for the groundwater production amount
	set forth in the application. The temporary permit issued under
	this subsection shall provide the person with retroactive and
	prospective authorization to drill, operate, or perform another
	activity related to a well for which a permit is required by the
	district for the period of time between the effective date of this
	Act and the date that the district takes a final, appealable action
	on issuance of a regular permit pursuant to the permit application
	if:
	(1)  the person's drilling, operating, or other
	activities associated with the well are consistent with the
	authorization sought in the permit application;
	(2)  the person timely pays to the district all
	administrative fees and fees related to the amount of groundwater
	authorized to be produced pursuant to the temporary permit in the
	same manner as other permit holders in the district; and
	(3)  the person complies with other rules and orders of
	the district applicable to permit holders.
	(e)  The temporary permit issued under Subsection (d) does
	not confer any rights or privileges to the permit holder other than
	those set forth in this section. After issuing the temporary
	permit, the district shall process the permit application for
	notice, hearing, and consideration for issuance of a regular permit
	consistent with this section. The district, after notice and
	hearing, shall issue an order granting the regular permit
	authorizing groundwater production in the amount set forth in the
	temporary permit unless the district finds that authorizing
	groundwater production in the amount set forth in the temporary
	permit will cause:
	(1)  a failure to achieve the applicable adopted
	desired future conditions for the aquifer; or
	(2)  an unreasonable impact on existing wells.
	(f)  In the hearing on issuance of the regular permit under
	Subsection (e), the permit applicant bears the burden of proof.
	(g)  The holder of a temporary or regular permit subject to a
	district order under this section to reduce the amount of
	groundwater production from the permitted well may contest the
	reduction by requesting a contested case hearing to be conducted by
	the State Office of Administrative Hearings in the manner provided
	by Sections 36.416, 36.4165, and 36.418, Water Code. The district
	shall contract with the State Office of Administrative Hearings to
	conduct the hearing as provided by those sections of the Water Code.
	To the extent possible, the State Office of Administrative Hearings
	shall expedite a hearing under this subsection. The permit
	applicant bears the burden of proof in the hearing.
	(h)  For the State Office of Administrative Hearings to
	recommend overturning a district order reducing the amount of
	groundwater authorized to be produced under a temporary permit, the
	permit holder must demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence
	that the production of the amount of groundwater authorized based
	on the maximum production capacity will not cause:
	(1)  a failure to achieve applicable adopted desired
	future conditions for the aquifer; or
	(2)  an unreasonable impact on existing wells as found
	in the district's order.
	(i)  A person who relies on the temporary permit granted by
	this section to drill, operate, or engage in other activities
	associated with a water well assumes the risk that the district may
	grant or deny, wholly or partly, the permit application when the
	district takes final action after notice and hearing to issue a
	regular permit pursuant to the application.
	SECTION 5.  If the addition of territory under Section
	8802.0035, Special District Local Laws Code, as added by this Act,
	causes the annual water use fee in Section 8802.105 to exceed $1
	million, the district shall not require an assessment of greater
	than $1 million annually as adjusted to reflect the percentage
	change during the preceding year in the Consumer Price Index.
	SECTION 6.  (a) The legislature validates and confirms all
	acts and proceedings of the board of directors of the Barton
	Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District that were taken
	before the effective date of this Act.
	(b)  Subsection (a) of this section does not apply to any
	matter that on the effective date of this Act:
	(1)  is involved in litigation if the litigation
	ultimately results in the matter being held invalid by a final
	judgment of a court; or
	(2)  has been held invalid by a final judgment of a
	court.
	SECTION 7.  (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 8.  It is the intent of the legislature that this Act
	apply only to the territory described by Section 8802.0035, Special
	District Local Laws Code, as added by this Act, and not have
	statewide implications.
	SECTION 9.  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.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 3405 was passed by the House on May 8,
	2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 126, Nays 15, 1 present, not
	voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
	H.B. No. 3405 on May 29, 2015, and requested the appointment of a
	conference committee to consider the differences between the two
	houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
	on H.B. No. 3405 on May 31, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 143,
	Nays 1, 1 present, not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 3405 was passed by the Senate, with
	amendments, on May 22, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 28, Nays
	3; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
	committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
	that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
	3405 on May 30, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 27, Nays 4.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor