Relating to the provision of financial assistance by the Texas Water Development Board for certain projects, the official text

S.B. No. 1967

AN ACT

relating to the provision of financial assistance by the Texas

Water Development Board for certain projects.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 15.102, Water Code, is amended by

amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (e) to read as

follows:

(b) The loan fund may also be used by the board to provide:

(1) grants or loans for projects that include

supplying water and wastewater services in economically distressed

areas or nonborder colonias as provided by legislative

appropriations, this chapter, and board rules, including projects

involving retail distribution of those services; [and]

(2) grants for:

(A) projects for which federal grant funds are

placed in the loan fund;

(B) projects, on specific legislative

appropriation for those projects; or

(C) water conservation, desalination, brush

control, weather modification, regionalization, and projects

providing regional water quality enhancement services as defined by

board rule, including regional conveyance systems; and

(3) grants to drainage districts established under

Section 52, Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas

Constitution, for water supply projects, including projects that

contain a flood control component.

(e) The board may not disqualify a drainage district from

receiving a grant under Subsection (b)(3) because the district does

not:

(1) notwithstanding Section 16.012(m), have

historical data about water use;

(2) provide retail water service to consumers; or

(3) have a certificate of convenience and necessity

under which it provides retail water or wastewater service.

SECTION 2. Section 15.437(d), Water Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(d) In addition to the criteria provided by Subsection (c),

the board must also consider at least the following criteria in

prioritizing projects:

(1) the local contribution to be made to finance the

project, including the up-front capital to be provided by the

applicant;

(2) the financial capacity of the applicant to repay

the financial assistance provided;

(3) the ability of the board and the applicant to

timely leverage state financing with local and federal funding;

(4) whether there is an emergency need for the

project, taking into consideration whether:

(A) the applicant is included at the time of the

application on the list maintained by the commission of local

public water systems that have a water supply that will last less

than 180 days without additional rainfall; and

(B) federal funding for which the project is

eligible has been used or sought;

(5) if the applicant is applying for financial

assistance for the project under Subchapter Q, whether the

applicant is ready to proceed with the project at the time of the

application, including whether:

(A) all preliminary planning and design work

associated with the project has been completed;

(B) the applicant has acquired the water rights

associated with the project;

(C) the applicant has secured funding for the

project from other sources; and

(D) the applicant is able to begin implementing

or constructing the project; [and]

(6) whether the project is a water supply project that

contains a flood control component, regardless of whether the

applicant holds a certificate of convenience and necessity under

which it provides retail water or wastewater service; and

(7) [(6)] the demonstrated or projected effect of the

project on water conservation, including preventing the loss of

water, taking into consideration, if applicable, whether the

applicant has filed a water audit with the board under Section

16.0121 that demonstrates that the applicant is accountable with

regard to reducing water loss and increasing efficiency in the

distribution of water.

SECTION 3. Section 15.531(2), Water Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(2) "Flood project" means a drainage, flood

mitigation, or flood control project, including:

(A) planning and design activities;

(B) work to obtain regulatory approval to provide

nonstructural and structural flood mitigation and drainage;

(C) construction of structural flood mitigation

and drainage infrastructure; [and]

(D) construction and implementation of

nonstructural projects, including projects that use nature-based

features to protect, mitigate, or reduce flood risk; and

(E) construction of multi-purpose flood

mitigation and drainage infrastructure projects that control,

divert, capture, or impound floodwater, stormwater, agricultural

runoff water, or treated wastewater effluent and treat and

distribute the water for the purpose of creating an additional

source of water supply.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

______________________________
______________________________

President of the Senate
Speaker of the House

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1967 passed the Senate on

April 10, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 28, Nays 2; and that

the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 7, 2025, by the

following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 2.

______________________________

Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1967 passed the House, with

amendment, on May 2, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 110,

Nays 14, one present not voting.

______________________________

Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

______________________________

Date

______________________________

Governor