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Committee adopts substitute allowing courts to require fines be spent on water infrastructure
Summary
A committee substitute to House Bill 55 60 (companion to Senate Bill 2661) was adopted; it authorizes courts to set civil penalties (up to $25,000) for violations and permits courts to require up to 50% of a penalty be spent on infrastructure improvements or mitigation of water losses.
The Senate committee adopted a committee substitute to House Bill 55 60 that would create new civil-penalty factors and grant courts discretion to direct a portion of assessed penalties toward water infrastructure improvements.
Senator Perry, explaining the substitute, said the amendment sets factors for courts to determine penalty amounts up to a $25,000 limit and authorizes courts to order that up to 50% of the civil penalty assessed be spent on infrastructure projects to develop new water sources or mitigate water losses. "If you're gonna punish somebody with a fine, it's best to take that fine and fix the problem when you can," Perry said, summarizing the committee substitute.
The substitute would also permit, but not require, a court-ordered mechanism to collect an assessment by placing a line-item charge on customer water bills when a court deems it necessary to remediate water loss. Committee members adopted the substitute without objection and reported the measure favorably to the full Senate.
Senators discussed the substitute’s purpose: to target enforcement dollars toward concrete mitigation and to provide courts with tailored remedies when a utility’s actions (such as over-pumping contrary to permit conditions) cause water loss. The committee approved the substitute and recommended the bill for the local and contested calendar.
