By: King of Uvalde H.B. No. 3059       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to fees charged by a groundwater conservation district;   authorizing an increase in the rate of a fee.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 36.122, Water Code, is amended by   amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsections (e-1) and (e-2) to   read as follows:          (e)  The district may impose an export fee or surcharge using   one of the following methods:                (1)  a fee negotiated between the district and the   exporter; or                (2)  for a tax-based district, a rate not to exceed 20   cents [the equivalent of the district's tax rate per hundred   dollars of valuation] for each thousand gallons of water exported   from the district [or 2.5 cents per thousand gallons of water, if   the district assesses a tax rate of less than 2.5 cents per hundred   dollars of valuation]; or                (3)  for a fee-based district, a rate not to exceed the   greater of 20 cents for each thousand gallons or a 50 percent   surcharge, in addition to the district's production fee, for water   exported from the district.   (e-1)  Beginning on January 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, the   maximum rate of 20 cents for each one thousand gallons of water   exported that a district may impose under Subsections (e)(2) or   (e)(3) shall automatically increase at a rate of three percent per   year.          (e-2)  A district that is governed by a special law in regard   to an export fee or surcharge on water exported from the district   may charge an export fee or surcharge in accordance with that   special law or in accordance with Subsections (e) and (e-1).          SECTION 2.  Section 36.207, Water Code, is amended to read as   follows:          Sec. 36.207.  USE OF FEES. A district may use funds obtained   from administrative, production, or export fees collected under a   special law governing the district or this chapter for any purpose   consistent with the district's approved management plan,   including, without limitation, making grants, loans, or   contractual payments to achieve, facilitate, expedite reductions   in groundwater pumping or the development or distribution of   alternative water supplies, or to maintain the operability of wells   significantly affected by groundwater development.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.