HB1245 - Relating to a prohibition on the use of water on nonresidential property to irrigate nonfunctional turf during a drought.

  89R2988 JAM-F     By: Goodwin H.B. No. 1245       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to a prohibition on the use of water on nonresidential   property to irrigate nonfunctional turf during a drought.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 11.1272(c), Water Code, is amended to   read as follows:          (c)   A [ By May 1, 2005, a ] drought contingency plan required   by commission rule adopted under this section must :                 (1)   include specific, quantified targets for water use   reductions that are:                       (A)   to be achieved during periods of water   shortages and drought ; and                       (B)  established by the [ .  The ] entity preparing   the plan ;                 (2)     prohibit the use of water on nonresidential   property to irrigate nonfunctional turf, as defined by commission   rule, during periods of water shortages and drought; and                 (3)     include methods for enforcing compliance with the   prohibition described by Subdivision (2) [ shall establish the   targets ].          SECTION 2.  (a) Not later than January 1, 2026, the Texas   Commission on Environmental Quality shall adopt rules necessary to   implement Section 11.1272(c), Water Code, as amended by this Act.          (b)  Not later than May 1, 2026, a wholesale or retail public   water supplier or an irrigation district required to develop a   drought contingency plan under Section 11.1272, Water Code, shall   update that plan to implement Section 11.1272(c), Water Code, as   amended by this Act.          SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.