Item 07 - 89th Texas Legislative Session Presentation — original pdf

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89th Texas Legislative Session Austin Water Outcomes Heather Cooke, Austin Water, Chief Administrative Officer Water and Wastewater Commission September 17, 2025 Key Dates 89th Sessions  Regular Session (140 Days): 1/14/25 - 6/2/25  1st Special Session: 7/21/25 – 8/15/25  2nd Special Session: 8/15/25 - 9/4/2025  Additional Special Sessions – TBD by Governor 2 Historic Recurring Funding Pending Voter Approval HJR 7 (Harris/Perry)  Dedicated $1 billion from sales tax  Recurs annually 2027 – 2047  Can be suspended during disaster, restored when practicable 3 Texas Water Development Board Duties & Financing SB 7 (Perry/Harris) Texas Water Development Board to facilitate water conveyance project planning across the state Study adding wastewater to state water planning process New Water Supply Fund added projects: • Water and wastewater reuse • Out of state water purchases SB 1261 (Gerdes/Perry) Extends SWIFT loans to 40 years for State Water Plan projects costing over $750 million 4 Texas Water Development Board Other Financing SB 1967 (Hinojosa, J./Martinez) Expands projects eligible for Flood Infrastructure Fund funding to promote new water sources HB 500 (Bonnen/Huffman) $1.75 billion one-time new funding for Texas Water Development Board 5 Impact Fees SB 840 (Hughes) & SB 2477 (Bettencourt) Limits impact fees and oversized infrastructure cost sharing for conversion of commercial properties for residential use SB 1883 (Bettencourt/Buckley) Requires 2/3 approval of a governing body to increase impact fees Prohibits increases more often than every 3 years Independent financial audits required before impact fee increases SB 14 [89(2)] (Perry/Bell) Requires impact fee credits for conservation or reuse 6 Water Loss HB 29 (Gerdes/Perry) Water loss audit validation within 180 days of annual audit submittal Water loss mitigation plans due in 1 year Only applies to 6 municipal water utilities (over 150,000 connections) 7 Conservation & Drought HB 517 (Harris Davila, Button) Limits on property owner association fines for brown turf during temporary watering restrictions SB 2662 (Perry/Harris) Drought Contingency Plan model program updates 8 Safety & Operator Licensing SB 482 (Alvarado/Blanco) Increased penalties for harassment of utility workers during emergencies HB 1237 (Guillen/Zaffirini) Extends renewal period for TCEQ water & wastewater operator licenses 9 Next Steps Interim charges for committee hearings and reports: • House Natural Resources • Senate Water, Agriculture, Rural Affairs • House Environmental Regulation November 9, 2026: Bill Prefiling January 12, 2027: 90th Regular Session begins 10 Questions