HBA-LJP C.S.S.B. 312 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.S.B. 312 By: Zaffirini Natural Resources 5/14/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Texas Water Development Board (board) was created in 1957 by the 55th Legislature to be the state's water planning and financing agency that provides leadership, technical services, and financial assistance to support planning, conservation, and responsible development of water for the State of Texas. Under current law, the board is subject to review by the Sunset Advisory Commission, but not abolishment under the Texas Sunset Act. C.S.S.B. 312 implements the Sunset Advisory Commission's recommendations for the board. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Water Development Board in SECTION 15 (Section 15.603, Water Code), SECTION 17 (Sections 15.909 and 15.910, Water Code), SECTION 18 (Section 16.021, Water Code), SECTION 25 (Section 17.903, Water Code), and SECTION 31 of this bill. ANALYSIS C.S.S.B. 312 amends the Water Code to provide for the review of the Texas Water Development Board (board) in 2013, and to set forth standard Sunset Advisory Commission recommendations for the board regarding equal employment, member removal, conflicts of interest, standards of conduct, policy implementation by the board, written complaints, development of an equal employment policy, member training, and a state employee incentive program (Secs. 6.013, 6.052, 6.054, 6.057, 6.058, 6.062, 6.106, 6.111, 6.154, 6.155, 6.188, and 6.196). The bill requires the executive administrator, each biennium, to develop and submit to the board for approval a capital spending plan for state-funded programs, including the Texas water development fund II, the agricultural water conservation fund, and the water assistance fund. The bill sets forth the considerations of the executive administrator in developing the plan and the contents of the plan. The bill requires the board to consider the plan at a regularly scheduled meeting and, on approval, submit the plan to the legislature and the Legislative Budget Board before January 1 of each odd numbered year (Sec. 6.110). The bill authorizes the use of the water loan assistance fund (loan fund) by the board to provide grants for projects for which federal grant funds are placed in the loan fund or on specific legislative appropriation for those projects. The bill provides that the board is prohibited from releasing funds for the construction of a portion of a project that proposes surface water or groundwater development until the executive administrator of the board completes certain findings on that portion of the project. The bill authorizes the board to release funds for preconstruction costs before completing these findings if the executive administrator determines that a reasonable expectation exists that the findings will be made before the release of funds for construction (Secs. 15.102, 15.104, 15.911, 17.123, and 17.928). The bill authorizes the board to establish a separate account in the state water pollution control revolving fund, to be used solely for providing financial assistance to persons for nonpoint source pollution control and abatement projects and sets forth the financing of the account. The bill requires the board to adopt rules to establish the criteria for eligibility and the terms of assistance for persons that receive financial assistance from the account (Sec. 15.603). On the request of an agency of this state or a neighboring state or a federal agency, the bill authorizes the board to perform a hydrographic survey in this state or outside of this state if the information collected will benefit this state and provides that the purpose of the survey may be to collect information relating to waterbearing formations (Sec. 15.804). The bill establishes the pilot program for water and wastewater loans for rural communities and creates the rural community water and wastewater loan fund (rural fund) within the water assistance fund. The bill authorizes the board to provide loans of financial assistance, beginning no later than September 1, 2002, to rural communities for the construction, acquisition, or improvement of water and wastewater projects. The bill sets forth provisions relating to a loan agreement and promissory note, including the use of a sales tax as loan security, review and approval of a loan agreement by the attorney general, registration of the record of proceedings of a loan agreement execution by the comptroller, the validity and incontestability in court of the loan agreement or promissory note, and the enforcement of payment by mandamus. The bill requires the board to adopt necessary rules no later than March 1, 2002 to administer the fund (Secs. 15.902-15.909 and SECTION 31). The bill sets forth the information that an application for financial assistance from the rural fund must include and requires the board to adopt rules to prescribe the affidavit form the application must conform with for the board to accept the application (Sec. 15.910). The bill sets forth factors the board is required to consider in acting on or passing on an application from a rural community for financial assistance for a water project and authorizes the board to approve by resolution an application for a loan under certain conditions (Secs. 15.912 and 15.913). The bill sets forth content requirements regarding all contracts for the construction of a project of a governing body of each rural community receiving financial assistance from the rural fund and requires the rural community to file with the board a certified copy of each contract with the specifications, plans, and details of all work included in the contract. The bill sets forth provisions for the filing of construction project contracts, certification of approval of the contracts, inspection of the projects, and the alteration of project plans (Secs.15.914-15.918). The bill requires the board to report to the legislature on the rural fund no later than January 1, 2005 and sets forth the required contents of the report (Sec. 15.919). The bill authorizes the executive administrator, on behalf of the Texas Natural Resources Information System (TNRIS), to enter into partnerships with private entities to provide additional funding for the improvement of accessing TNRIS information. The bill requires the board to adopt rules for the process of establishing and defining the partnerships, fee collection, and determination of which private entities may enter into partnerships. The bill requires the Texas Geographic Information Council to prepare and provide, no later than September 1 of each even-numbered year, to the board, the Department of Information Resources, the governor, and the legislature a plan that inventories state agency geographic information systems projects and recommends initiatives to improve Texas' geographic information systems programs (Sec. 16.021). The bill requires the board and the State Soil and Water Conservation Board jointly to conduct a study of the ways to improve and expand water conservation efforts and sets forth the contents of a report of the findings to the legislature. The bill also requires that the report be issued as part of, or as a supplement to, the state water plan (Sec. 16.022). The bill raises, from up to 50 percent to all or part, of any authorized facility that the board is authorized to acquire for water development purposes (Sec. 16.136). The bill authorizes the board to use the agricultural water conservation fund to make loans to political subdivisions other than lender districts, make grants to political subdivisions, or make grants to a state agency, for agricultural water conservation projects. The bill authorizes the board by rule to establish procedures for the application for a loan or grant, the considerations and approval of the applications, the making of loans or grants, and the rate of interest the board charges, if any, for loans under the agricultural water conservation fund (Secs. 17.894 and 17.903). The bill prohibits a local government from annexing a district that receives or has received financial assistance from the economically distressed areas account for which repayment is required until the obligation has been fulfilled according to the board's rules and by the agreement between the board and the district (Sec. 17.937). The bill amends the Government Code to rename the Colonia Advisory Committee as the Colonia SelfHelp Center Advisory Committee (Secs. 2306.584 and 2306.585). The bill also creates the Colonia Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Advisory Committee (advisory committee) and provides that the advisory committee is composed of seven members appointed by the governor as specified. The bill provides that each advisory committee member, except the public member, must reside within 100 miles of the Texas-Mexico border and provides that the secretary of state is an ex officio member of the advisory committee. The bill requires the advisory committee to review the progress of water and wastewater infrastructure projects affecting colonias and present an update, and make recommendations on the status of the infrastructure and the colonia projects to the board and the governing board of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) annually at a joint meeting (Sec. 2306.5851). The bill requires the board to meet annually with TDHCA to address progress in meeting the needs of colonia residents and to receive an update and recommendations from the advisory committee (Sec. 6.060, Water Code). EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.S.B. 312 amends the original to remove the colonia self-help program (program) and colonia self-help account (colonia account) which reimbursed eligible nonprofit organizations for expenses incurred in a selfhelp project that results in the provision of adequate water or wastewater services to a colonia. C.S.S.B. 312 renames the Colonia Advisory Committee as the Colonia Self-Help Center Advisory Committee (Secs. 2306.584 and 2306.585, Government Code). The substitute creates the Colonia Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Advisory Committee (advisory committee). The substitute requires the board to meet annually with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) to receive an update and recommendations from the advisory committee (Secs. 6.060, Water Code and 2306.5851, Government Code). The substitute authorizes the board to use the agricultural water conservation fund to make loans to political subdivisions other than lender districts, make grants to political subdivisions, or make grants to a state agency, for agricultural water conservation projects. The substitute authorizes the board by rule to establish procedures for the application for a loan or grant, the considerations and approval of the applications, the making of loans or grants, and the rate of interest the board charges, if any, for loans under the agricultural water conservation fund (Secs. 17.894 and 17.903). C.S.S.B. 312 sets forth provisions to prohibit the board from releasing funds from the economically distressed areas account for the construction of the portion of a project that proposes surface water or groundwater development until the executive administrator makes certain written findings. The substitute prohibits a local government from annexing a district that receives or has received financial assistance under the economically distressed areas account for which repayment is required until the obligation has been fulfilled according to the board's rules and by the agreement between the board and the district (Secs. 17.928 and 17.937, Water Code). The substitute also removes the legislative findings related to colonias.