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Legislative session roundup: BRA report highlights ASR bill progress, water‑infrastructure funding debate and mixed outcomes on PFAS and contracting bills
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Summary
Deputy General Manager Matt Phillips updated the Brazos River Authority board on legislative activity affecting water infrastructure, including a passed ASR bill for East Williamson County and ongoing negotiations over dedicated water funding.
Deputy General Manager Matt Phillips briefed the Brazos River Authority board on the state legislative session and bills of interest to the authority.
Phillips said an East Williamson County aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) bill successfully passed and was incorporated into Senate Bill 16, which now includes both the East Williamson project and a Medina County ASR provision; the bill was sent to the governor. He described the consolidation as a technical fix to avoid conflicting code language if similar bills had passed separately.
The nut graf: Phillips told the board HB 500 — the supplemental appropriations bill — includes a one‑time $2.5 billion allocation for water infrastructure. He said the larger proposal to create a dedicated $1 billion annual water‑infrastructure funding stream (House Resolution/JR 7 / Senate Bill 7) remains under negotiation because the House and Senate differ on how to split and allocate the funds; staff estimated a 60–65% chance of passage at the time of the briefing but cautioned the outcome remained uncertain.
On other measures, Phillips said SB1261 (financing of state water‑plan projects) that would allow longer financing terms is moving; HB2109, originally aimed at removing Marvin Nichols from the state water plan, was amended to protect reservoirs with existing water‑right permits and did not proceed to the final calendar; a high‑profile PFAS bill (HB1674) that would have tightly restricted land application of wastewater sludge did not pass out of committee and did not reach the last house calendar; the session did authorize a PFAS study via Senate Bill 1 amendments.
Phillips summarized several other outcomes: bills increasing notice for groundwater export permits (HB1690), creating a Groundwater Science and Research Fund, and addressing package wastewater plants (HB517) were discussed and generally advanced; some open‑records and open‑meetings proposals were amended during the session (including HB111 and SB986) and remain in play with important implications for public entities. Phillips also noted a drafting error in a mid‑sunset review bill that temporarily placed river authorities into an additional audit process; staff are working with sponsors to correct the error.
Board members asked about funding prospects for SWIFT and other programs and the timetable for final action. Phillips said staff are monitoring calendars and that he expects updates in July after session activity settles.
