By Swinford H.B. No. 2660
76R3948 MI-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to state drought planning and preparation.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 16.055, Water Code, is amended to read as
1-5 follows:
1-6 Sec. 16.055. DROUGHT RESPONSE PLAN. (a) The coordinator of
1-7 the division of emergency management of the office of the governor
1-8 is the state drought manager. The state drought manager is [shall
1-9 be] responsible for managing and coordinating the drought planning
1-10 and response component of the state water plan.
1-11 (b) The drought preparedness council [response and
1-12 monitoring committee] is created and shall meet as necessary to
1-13 carry out the provisions of this section. The council [committee]
1-14 is composed of one representative from each of the following
1-15 entities, appointed by the administrative head of that entity:
1-16 (1) the division of emergency management of the office
1-17 of the governor;
1-18 (2) the board;
1-19 (3) the commission;
1-20 (4) the Parks and Wildlife Department;
1-21 (5) the Department of Agriculture;
1-22 (6) the Texas Agricultural Extension Service; [and]
1-23 (7) the State Soil and Water Conservation Board;
1-24 (8) the Texas Forest Service;
2-1 (9) the Texas Department of Transportation; and
2-2 (10) the Texas Department of Economic Development.
2-3 (c) The governor may designate any other person or a
2-4 representative of any other entity to serve on the drought
2-5 preparedness council [committee]. The governor shall designate:
2-6 (1) a representative from at least one statewide
2-7 organization representing agricultural interests; and
2-8 (2) other parties affected by drought or
2-9 representatives from other groups affected by drought as the
2-10 governor considers appropriate.
2-11 (d) The state drought manager [representative of the
2-12 division of emergency management] shall serve as chair of the
2-13 drought preparedness council [committee].
2-14 (e) The drought preparedness council [committee] shall be
2-15 responsible for:
2-16 (1) the assessment and public reporting of drought
2-17 monitoring and water supply conditions;
2-18 (2) advising the governor on significant drought
2-19 conditions;
2-20 (3) recommending specific provisions for a defined
2-21 state response to drought-related disasters for inclusion in the
2-22 state emergency management plan and the state water plan;
2-23 (4) advising the regional water planning groups on
2-24 drought-related issues in the regional water plans; [and]
2-25 (5) ensuring effective coordination among state,
2-26 local, and federal agencies in drought-response planning; and
2-27 (6) reporting to the legislature, not later than
3-1 January 15 of each odd-numbered year, regarding significant drought
3-2 conditions in the state.
3-3 (f) In performing its duties under this section, the drought
3-4 preparedness council [response and monitoring committee] shall
3-5 consider the following factors when determining whether a drought
3-6 exists for the purposes of this section:
3-7 (1) meteorological conditions and forecasts;
3-8 (2) hydrological conditions and forecasts;
3-9 (3) water use and demand forecasts;
3-10 (4) water supply conditions and forecasts;
3-11 (5) the potential impacts of the water shortage on:
3-12 (A) the public health, safety, and welfare;
3-13 (B) economic development; and
3-14 (C) agricultural and natural resources; and
3-15 (6) other factors deemed appropriate by the council
3-16 [committee].
3-17 SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 16, Water Code, is amended
3-18 by adding Section 16.0551 to read as follows:
3-19 Sec. 16.0551. STATE DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS PLAN. (a) The
3-20 state drought manager shall develop and implement a comprehensive
3-21 state drought preparedness plan for mitigating the effects of
3-22 drought in the state and shall periodically update the plan. The
3-23 plan shall be separate from the state water plan.
3-24 (b) The state drought preparedness plan shall propose
3-25 long-term solutions and specific, detailed action plans for drought
3-26 response activities. The plan shall have as its primary components
3-27 monitoring, assessment of impact, and response, including:
4-1 (1) timely and systematic data collection, analysis,
4-2 and dissemination of drought-related information;
4-3 (2) establishment of criteria to:
4-4 (A) identify and designate drought-affected
4-5 areas of the state; and
4-6 (B) trigger the phasing in and phasing out of
4-7 various assessment and response activities by government agencies
4-8 during drought emergencies;
4-9 (3) an organizational structure that:
4-10 (A) assures information flow between and within
4-11 levels of government;
4-12 (B) defines the duties and responsibilities of
4-13 all agencies with respect to drought; and
4-14 (C) assures coordination between the state and
4-15 federal governments through integration with applicable national
4-16 drought policies;
4-17 (4) maintaining an inventory of state and federal
4-18 programs for assessing and responding to drought emergencies,
4-19 together with updated recommendations regarding appropriate action;
4-20 (5) a mechanism to improve the timely and accurate
4-21 assessment of drought impact on agriculture, industry,
4-22 municipalities, wildlife, and the health of the natural resource
4-23 base;
4-24 (6) provision of accurate and timely information to
4-25 the media to keep the public informed of current conditions;
4-26 (7) strategies to remove obstacles to the equitable
4-27 allocation of water during shortages and to provide incentives for
5-1 water conservation;
5-2 (8) development and implementation of a program of
5-3 loans or grants for drought-related activities in response to
5-4 extreme drought conditions; and
5-5 (9) procedures to evaluate and revise the plan on a
5-6 continuous basis to keep the plan responsive to state needs.
5-7 (c) The state drought management plan shall recognize the
5-8 importance of local and regional drought planning and shall assess
5-9 the vulnerability of specific groups and regions to drought.
5-10 (d) The state drought manager shall use existing resources
5-11 to develop an information and communications network to forecast
5-12 and inform interested parties and the public of the potential for
5-13 drought, including programs and staff of state agencies and other
5-14 political subdivisions and of state institutions of higher
5-15 education.
5-16 SECTION 3. Sections 17.895(a) and (b), Water Code, are
5-17 amended to read as follows:
5-18 (a) The board or lender districts may make conservation
5-19 loans for capital equipment or materials, labor, preparation costs,
5-20 and installation costs:
5-21 (1) to improve water use efficiency of water delivery
5-22 and application on existing irrigation systems;
5-23 (2) for preparing irrigated land to be converted to
5-24 dryland conditions;
5-25 (3) for preparing dryland for more efficient use of
5-26 natural precipitation;
5-27 (4) for preparing and maintaining land to be used for
6-1 brush control activities, including but not limited to activities
6-2 conducted pursuant to Chapter 203, Agriculture Code; [or]
6-3 (5) for implementing precipitation enhancement
6-4 activities in areas of the state where such activities would be, in
6-5 the board's judgment, most effective; or
6-6 (6) for drought-related activities in response to
6-7 extreme drought conditions, as part of a program under the state
6-8 drought preparedness plan developed under Section 16.0551.
6-9 (b) Conservation loans for the purposes listed in
6-10 Subsections (a)(1)-(a)(5) [Subsection (a)] may be made by lender
6-11 districts to individual borrowers for use on private property or by
6-12 the board to borrower districts for use on district facilities.
6-13 Conservation loans for the purposes of Subsection (a)(6) may be
6-14 made by the board to individual borrowers for use on private
6-15 property.
6-16 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
6-17 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-18 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-19 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-20 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
6-21 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
6-22 passage, and it is so enacted.