GREATER EDWARDS AQUIFER ALLIANCE QUIFER
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With just under two weeks left in the 89th Texas Legislative Session, the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance is excited to share some good news from our State Capitol.
• House Bill 2015 by Reps. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) and Wesley Virdell (R-Brady) would require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to consider whether a proposed Municipal Utility District will have an unreasonable effect on water conservation before approving the application, if the MUD is located within the Hill Country Priority Groundwater Management Area. This bill passed the House this week and now heads to a Senate committee.
• House Bill 2347, introduced by Zwiener, allows Hays County to adopt a water conservation program for new residential developments in unincorporated areas of the county. This bill passed the House last week and now heads to a Senate committee.
• House Bill 3333 by Rep. Eddie Morales (D-Eagle Pass) would protect the Devils River, one of Texas’ Pristine Streams, from the impacts of wastewater discharge into the river and its watersheds.
Hopefully this bill sets a precedent for other Pristine Streams bills in future sessions. This bill passed the House last week and now heads to a Senate committee.
• House Bill 3637 and House Joint Resolution 88 by Rep. Ellen Troxclair (R-Lakeway), Zwiener and Carrie Isaac (R-Wimberley), would help incentivize homeowners to implement water conservation measures such as rainwater harvesting on their properties, by providing counties the means to offer tax exemptions for the value of these measures.
HB 3637 and HJR 88 both passed the House and are on their way to their Senate committees.
• Senate Bill 1285 by Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin) protects bats from being boarded up alive in buildings as a form of animal control, saving bats lives. This bill passed the Senate this week and now heads to a House committee.
These bills still need our help to make it through the rest of the legislative process prior to its June 2 end. Contact your senators and representatives and encourage them to support these bills when they come up in committees or on the floor.
• Senate Bill 480 by Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) allows local governments to partner with each other, or with the state or federal government, to jointly participate in water resources planning and research activities.
As Texas’ water issues become ever more challenging, cooperation in water planning will be critical. This bill passed the Senate back in March and passed the House last week. It now heads to the governor’s desk to be signed.
A variety of bad bills died in committee or after failing to make key deadlines last week, including House Bill 2988 by Rep. Mano DeAyala (R-Houston).
This bill would have made it harder for ordinary Texans to respond to SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) suits — lawsuits from corporations, developers, business interest groups, etc., against critics and advocates in order to silence criticism — and would have restricted freedom of speech. Thankfully, it died in committee last week.
Annalisa Peace is the executive director of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance.
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