H.B. No. 2615

	AN ACT
	relating to the use of state water; providing a penalty.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 11.031, Water Code, is amended by
	amending Subsections (b) and (d) and adding Subsections (b-1) and
	(g) to read as follows:
	(b)  A person who fails to file an annual report with the
	commission as required by Subsection (a) or fails to timely comply
	with a request by the commission to make information available
	under Subsection (d) [this section] is liable for [to] a penalty [of
	$25, plus $1 per day] for each day the person fails to file the
	statement or comply with the request after the applicable deadline
	in an amount not to exceed:
	(1)  $100 per day if the person is the holder of a water
	right authorizing the appropriation of 5,000 acre-feet or less per
	year; or
	(2)  $500 per day if the person is the holder of a water
	right authorizing the appropriation of more than 5,000 acre-feet
	per year [he fails to file the statement after March 1. However,
	the maximum penalty under this section is $150].
	(b-1)  The state may sue to recover a [the] penalty under
	Subsection (b).
	(d)  Each person who has a water right issued by the
	commission or who impounds, diverts, or otherwise uses state water
	shall maintain water use information required under Subsection (a)
	on a monthly basis during the months a water rights holder uses
	permitted water.  The person shall make the information available
	to the commission on the commission's request. The executive
	director shall establish a reasonable deadline by which a person
	must make available information requested by the commission under
	this subsection.
	(g)  The commission shall establish a process by which a
	report required under Subsection (a) may be submitted
	electronically through the Internet.
	SECTION 2.  Section 11.173(b), Water Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(b)  A permit, certified filing, or certificate of
	adjudication or a portion of a permit, certified filing, or
	certificate of adjudication is exempt from cancellation under
	Subsection (a):
	(1)  to the extent of the owner's participation in the
	Conservation Reserve Program authorized by the Food Security Act,
	Pub.L. No. 99-198, Secs. 1231-1236, 99 Stat. 1354, 1509-1514
	(1985)  or a similar governmental program;
	(2)  if a significant portion of the water authorized
	to be used pursuant to a permit, certified filing, or certificate of
	adjudication has been used in accordance with a specific
	recommendation for meeting a water need included in the regional
	water plan approved pursuant to Section 16.053;
	(3)  if the permit, certified filing, or certificate of
	adjudication:
	(A)  was obtained to meet demonstrated long-term
	public water supply or electric generation needs as evidenced by a
	water management plan developed by the holder; and
	(B)  is consistent with projections of future
	water needs contained in the state water plan;
	(4)  if the permit, certified filing, or certificate of
	adjudication was obtained as the result of the construction of a
	reservoir funded, in whole or in part, by the holder of the permit,
	certified filing, or certificate of adjudication as part of the
	holder's long-term water planning; or
	(5)  to the extent the nonuse resulted from:
	(A)  the implementation of water conservation
	measures under a water conservation plan submitted by the holder of
	the permit, certified filing, or certificate of adjudication as
	evidenced by implementation reports submitted by the holder;
	(B)  a suspension, adjustment, or other
	restriction on the use of the water authorized to be appropriated
	under the permit, certified filing, or certificate of adjudication
	imposed under an order issued by the executive director; or
	(C)  an inability to appropriate the water
	authorized to be appropriated under the permit, certified filing,
	or certificate of adjudication due to drought conditions.
	SECTION 3.  Section 11.031, Water Code, as amended by this
	Act, applies only to a report due or a request for information made
	on or after the effective date of this Act. A report due or request
	made before that date is governed by the law in effect on the date
	the report is due or the request is made, and the former law is
	continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2615 was passed by the House on May 4,
	2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 94, Nays 32, 2 present, not
	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
	No. 2615 on May 24, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 114, Nays 29,
	2 present, not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2615 was passed by the Senate, with
	amendments, on May 22, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 29, Nays
	2.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor