89R9865 KRM-F
	By: Perry	S.B. No. 1629

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the administration by the Texas Water Development Board
	of the Texas Water Bank and certain funds and accounts.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 15.153(b), Water Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(b)  The fund may be used to:
	(1)  provide financial assistance to political
	subdivisions to develop water supply projects that create new water
	sources for the state, including:
	(A)  desalination projects, including marine and
	brackish water desalination;
	(B)  produced water treatment projects, other
	than projects that are only for purposes of oil and gas exploration;
	(C)  aquifer storage and recovery projects; [and]
	(D)  reservoir projects for which:
	(i)  a permit for the discharge of dredged or
	fill material has been issued by the United States secretary of the
	army under Section 404, Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33
	U.S.C. Section 1344); and
	(ii)  a permit for the storage, taking, or
	diversion of state water has been issued by the commission under
	Section 11.121; and
	(E)  the development of infrastructure to
	transport or integrate into a water supply system water that is made
	available by a project described by this subdivision;
	(2)  make transfers from the fund:
	(A)  to the state water implementation fund for
	Texas established under Subchapter G or the Texas Water Development
	Fund II established under Subchapter L, Chapter 17; and
	(B)  for a purpose described by Subdivision (1);
	[and]
	(3)  make transfers from the fund to the water bank
	account established under Section 15.707; and
	(4)  make transfers from the fund:
	(A)  to the Texas Water Development Fund II state
	participation account established under Section 17.957; and
	(B)  for a purpose described by Subdivision (1).
	SECTION 2.  Section 15.703(a), Water Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  The board may take all actions necessary to operate the
	water bank and to facilitate the transfer of water rights from the
	water bank for future beneficial use, including but not limited to:
	(1)  negotiating a sale price and terms acceptable to
	the depositor and purchaser;
	(2)  maintaining a registry of water bank deposits and
	those water users in need of additional supplies;
	(3)  informing water users in need of additional supply
	of water rights available in the bank;
	(4)  encouraging water right holders to implement water
	conservation practices and deposit the right to use the conserved
	water into the bank;
	(5)  establishing requirements for deposit of a water
	right into the water bank, including minimum terms for deposit;
	(6)  purchasing, holding, and transferring water or
	water rights in its own name, including purchasing, holding, and
	transferring water or water rights originating outside this state
	for the purpose of providing water for the use or benefit of this
	state;
	(7)  establishing regional water banks;
	(8)  acting as a clearinghouse for water marketing
	information including water availability, pricing of water
	transactions, environmental considerations, and potential buyers
	and sellers of water rights;
	(9)  preparing and publishing a manual on structuring
	water transactions;
	(10)  accepting and holding donations of water rights
	to meet instream, water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, or bay
	and estuary inflow needs;
	(11)  entering into contracts with persons to pay for
	feasibility studies or the preparation of plans and specifications
	relating to water conservation efforts or to estimate the amount of
	water that would be saved through conservation efforts; and
	(12)  other actions to facilitate water transactions.
	SECTION 3.  Section 16.131(a), Water Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  The board may use the state participation account of the
	development fund to encourage optimum regional and interregional
	development of projects, including the design, acquisition, lease,
	construction, reconstruction, development, or enlargement in whole
	or part of:
	(1)  reservoirs and storm water retention basins for
	water supply, flood protection, and groundwater recharge;
	(2)  facilities for the transmission and treatment of
	water;
	(3)  treatment works as defined by Section 17.001;
	[and]
	(4)  interregional water supply projects selected
	under Section 16.145; and
	(5)  projects described by Section 15.153(b)(1).
	SECTION 4.  The following provisions of the Water Code are
	repealed:
	(1)  Section 16.131(c); and
	(2)  Section 16.146(h).
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.