HBA-LJP S.B. 270 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 270 By: Lindsay Natural Resources 4/17/2001 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, the North Harris County Regional Water Authority (authority) is authorized to charge the owner of a well located within its boundaries a fee on the amount of water pumped from the well. However, the authority is prohibited from applying the fee to a well used for the irrigation of agricultural crops. Nursery products and florist items while in the hands of the producer are considered agricultural products in various laws, rules, and regulations, but are not included in the definition of an "agricultural crop" under provisions relating to the authority. Senate Bill 270 expands the definition of "agricultural crop" to include nursery products and florist items in the hands of a nursery grower. 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 Senate Bill 270 amends law to include a nursery product or florist item while in the hands of a nursery grower in the definition of "agricultural crop" for provisions relating to the North Harris County Regional Water Authority. The bill provides that the definition of a "florist item" is a cut flower, potted plant, blooming plant, inside foliage plant, bedding plant, corsage flower, cut foliage, floral decoration, or live decorative material. The bill provides that a "nursery grower" is a person who grows, in any medium, more than 50 percent of the nursery products or florist items that the person either sells or leases, regardless of the variety sold, leased, or grown. The bill also provides that the definition of "nursery product" is a tree, shrub, vine, cutting, graft, scion, grass, bulb, or bud that is grown for, kept for, or is capable of propagation and distribution for sale or lease. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.