HBA-BSM H.B. 1504 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1504 By: Walker Natural Resources 3/4/2001 Committee Report (Amended) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law requires groundwater conservation districts that have authority over water well permits to promptly consider and pass on each application received. By changing the requirement to act instead of pass, House Bill 1504 authorizes districts to have greater options over approving or denying applications received. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 1504 amends the Water Code to require a groundwater conservation district that has the authority to regulate water wells to promptly consider and act on each application for a permit. The bill authorizes an applicant to petition the district court of the county where the land is located for a writ of mandamus to compel the district to act or set a date for a hearing on the application after 20 days from the date of the application, if an application has not been acted upon or set for a hearing on a specific date. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001. EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS Committee Amendment No. 1 changes the time that a district has to act on an application before an applicant may petition the district court for a writ of mandamus from 20 to 30 days. The amendment specifies that an application be administratively complete when submitted. The amendment authorizes the district by rule to set a time when an application will expire if the information requested in the application is not provided. The amendment provides that an administratively complete application requires information set forth in accordance with current law.