Capitol Pipeline will be in your inbox every Tuesday with links to the bills being tracked by TRWA, updates on the progress of key pieces of legislation, and calls to action on legislation that directly impacts rural water systems across Texas.
Bill Filing Deadline: Friday, March 8 was the last day for bills to be filed in the 86th Legislature. More than 700 bills were filed on Friday alone, bringing the total number of bills filed in 2019 to 7,281. That’s more than 400 more than in the 2017 session, and the most bills the Capitol has seen filed since 7,609 were filed back in 2009.
Opposition Bills filed on TRWA’s Priority Issues: TRWA will need your help educating legislators on how these bad bills affect your system and community. We will update you on the movement on these bills and will call on you when action is needed.
Groundwater Permitting Issue:H.B. 2122 by Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine) and S.B. 2026 by Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock), relating to permitting for utilities by groundwater conservation districts, would increase costs for utilities by requiring them to unnecessarily purchase water or land to acquire the water they need to serve their customers.
CCN Decertification and Compensation Issue: Rep. Will Metcalf (R-Conroe) and Sen. Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville) filed H.B. 4254 and S.B. 2272 on Friday. These bills, supported by land developers, would not address the problem of utilities not receiving compensation following decertification of their service area. Worse, the bill also seeks to gut current protections against decertification systems can realize by obtaining federal debt under 7 U.S.C. 1926(b) by allowing developers to simply pay off those debts.
CCN Decertification by Cities Bill: Rep. Eddie Lucio III (D-Brownsville) filed H.B. 4553, relating to the decertification of a utility’s service area by a city. The bill would require cities to demonstrate that a utility is not capable of providing service to the proposed area on a continuous and adequate basis before decertifying the area. The bill would also remove the requirement that land be rendered “useless and valueless” to be eligible for compensation, language that has historically been problematic for decertified systems at the Public Utility Commission.
Water for All Texans Campaign The Water for All Texans campaign is in full swing to support our efforts at the Capitol. We have launched this campaign to educate the public about the two main issues we are tackling this legislative session. Stay tuned for calls to action from the campaign that will be necessary to achieve our goals this session! Click here to learn more!
Rural Water Day:
Wednesday, March 27 Mark your calendar for Rural Water Day at the Capitol: a chance to come together as one and tell our story with a powerful, unified voice. Don’t miss this opportunity to join forces with your peers as we engage our elected representatives together. Click here to learn more
