Senate committee hears House Bill 6 to fund water, wastewater and irrigation grants after revenue estimate cut

Representative John Fitzpatrick, House District 76, opened the Senate Finance and Claims hearing on House Bill 6, saying the bill is “one of 12 bills that make up the executive budget recommendation to the legislature.” The bill would appropriate grants from interest on the Resource Indemnity and Ground‑Water Protection (RIGW) trust for local water, wastewater and irrigation repairs and improvements.

The bill’s sponsor and agency witnesses told the committee the bill’s funding was cut after an error in the revenue estimate. “After the bill was introduced, it was discovered that there had been a significant error in the revenue estimate and it was necessary to reduce the scope of the bill and limit the number of projects that could be funded by, roughly 50% of the revenue anticipated in the original bill,” Fitzpatrick said. As printed for the committee, the bill funds project lists through the town of Ennis on the water/wastewater list and 21 irrigation projects through the…