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House Bill 4 |
House Author: Puente |
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Effective: see below |
Senate Sponsor: Averitt |
House Bill 4 amends the Water Code to require the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), contingent on the biennial availability of appropriations, to develop and implement a statewide water conservation public awareness program. The bill creates a Water Conservation Advisory Council to monitor that program, monitor certain target and goal guidelines for water conservation, develop and implement a water management resource library, monitor the implementation of water conservation strategies included in regional water plans, and study water conservation training certification issues, among other duties. The council must report biennially on the progress of state water conservation. The bill revises submission requirements for entities for which water conservation plans are mandated. It requires each entity that must submit such a plan to the TWDB, the TWDB executive administrator, or the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to report annually to the executive administrator on progress in implementing the plan, and requires a retail public utility that provides potable water service to 3,300 or more connections to submit a plan. The bill requires the executive administrator to review each plan and annual report for compliance with certain minimal requirements. Other provisions of the bill encourage voluntary land and water stewardship, the application of voluntary water-efficiency practices, and the use of the water loan assistance fund for water conservation.
House Bill 4 amends the Health and Safety Code to provide that, if a structure is connected to a public water supply system and has a rainwater harvesting system for indoor use, the system may be used only for nonpotable indoor purposes and the structure must have appropriate cross-connection safeguards. The Education Code is amended to require the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to encourage institutions of higher education to develop curriculum and provide instruction regarding on-site water reclamation system technologies, including rainwater harvesting, condensate collection, or cooling tower blow down. The bill amends the Government Code to provide that State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) standards for new state buildings or major renovation projects must incorporate the same technologies for landscape watering and nonpotable indoor use if specified roof-size or other feasibility or practicality criteria apply. The bill makes minor amendments to the Occupations Code regarding TCEQ irrigator standards, and amends the Tax Code to establish a sales and use tax exemption for tangible personal property that is used specifically to process, reuse, or recycle wastewater from fracturing work on an oil or natural gas well. The provisions relating to SECO take effect September 1, 2009. The remainder of the bill takes effect June 15, 2007.