Texas Almanac, 1992-1993 Page: 351
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CONSTITUTION 351
Article III - (Cont'd.)
used by the Texas Water Development Board, under such
provisions as the Legislature may prescribe by general law,
including the requirement of a permit for storage or benefi-
cial use, for the additional purposes of acquiring and devel-
oping storage facilities, and any system or works necessary
for the filtration, treatment and transportation of water or
wastewater, or for any one or more of such purposes or
methods, whether or not such a system or works is connected
with a reservoir in which the state has a financial interest;
provided however, the Texas Water Development Fund or
any other state fund provided for water development, trans-
mission, transfer or filtration shall not be used to finance any
project which contemplates or results in the removal from
the basin of origin of any surface water necessary to supply
the reasonably foreseeable future water requirements for
the next ensuing fifty-year period within the river basin of
origin, except on a temporary, interim basis.
Under such provisions as the Legislature may prescribe
by general law the Texas Water Development Fund may be
used for the conservation and development of water for
useful purposes by construction or reconstruction or
enlargement of reservoirs constructed or to be constructed
or enlarged within the State of Texas or on any stream con-
stituting a boundary of the State of Texas, together with any
system or works necessary for the filtration, treatment and/
or transportation of water, by any one or more of the follow-
ing governmental agencies; by the United States of America
or any agency, department or instrumentality thereof; by
the State of Texas or any agency, department or instrumen-
tality thereof; by political subdivisions or bodies politic and
corporate of the state; by interstate compact commissions to
which the State of Texas is a party; and by municipal cor-
porations. The Legislature shall provide terms and con-
ditions under which the Texas Water Development Board
may sell, transfer or lease, in whole or in part, any reservoir
and associated system or works which the Texas Water De-
velopment Board has financed in whole or in part.
Under such provisions as the Legislature may prescribe
by general law, the Texas Water Development Board may
also execute long-term contracts with the United States or
any of its agencies for the acquisition and development of
storage facilities in reservoirs constructed or to be con-
structed by the Federal Government. Such contracts when
executed shall constitute general obligations of the State of
Texas in the same manner and with the same effect as state
bonds issued under the authority of the preceding Sec. 49-c
of this Constitution, and the provisions in said Sec. 49-c with
respect to payment of principal and interest on state bonds
issued shall likewise apply with respect to payment of princi-
pal and interest required to be paid by such contracts. If
storage facilities are acquired for a term of years, such con-
tracts shall contain provisions for renewal that will protect
the state's investment.
The aggregate of the bonds authorized hereunder shall
not exceed $200,000,000 and shall be in addition to the aggre-
gate of the bonds previously authorized by said Sec. 49-c of
Art. III of this Constitution. The Legislature upon two-thirds
(2,3) vote of the elected members of each House, may autho-
rize the board to issue all or any portion of such $200,000,000
in additional bonds herein authorized.
The Legislature shall provide terms and conditions for the
Texas Water Development Board to sell, transfer or lease, in
whole or in part, any acquired facilities or the right to use
such facilities at a price not less than the direct cost of the
board in acquiring same; and the Legislature may provide
terms and conditions for the board to sell any unappropriated
public waters of the state that might be stored in such facili-
ties. As a prerequisite to the purchase of such storage or wa-
ter, the applicant therefor shall have secured a valid permit
from the Texas Water Commission or its successor authoriz-
ing the acquisition of such storage facilities or the water
impounded therein. The money received from any sale,
transfer or lease of facilities shall be used to pay principal and
interest on state bonds issued or contractual obligations
incurred by the Texas Water Development Board, provided
that when moneys are sufficient to pay the full amount of
indebtedness then outstanding and the full amount of interest
to accrue thereon, any further sums received from the sale,
transfer or lease of such facilities shall be deposited and used
as provided by law. Money received from the sale of water,
which shall include standby service, may be used for the oper-
ation and maintenance of acquired facilities, and for
the payment of principal and interest on debt incurred.
Should the Legislature enact enabling laws in anticipa-
tion of the adoption of this amendment, such acts shall not be
void by reason of their anticipatory character.
INote - The foregoing Sec. 49-d of Art. III, an amend-
ment, was added to authorize the Texas Water Development
Board to acquire and develop storage facilities in reservoirs
and to dispose of such storage facilities and water upon such
terms as Legislature shall prescribe. Submitted by the Fifty-
seventh Legislature (1961) and adopted in election Nov. 6,
1962. It was further amended to provide for optimum devel-
opment of water reservoirs and investment of the Texas Wa-ter Development Fund. Submitted by the Fifty-ninth
Legislature (1965) and adopted in an election Nov. 8, 1966. It
was again amended to encourage optimum regional devel-
opment of systems built for filtration, treatment and trans-
mission of water and wastewater. Submitted by the Sixty-
ninth Legislature (1985) and adopted in an election Nov. 5,
1985.1
Sec. 49-d-1. Water Development Bonds - (a) The Texas
Water Development Board shall upon direction of the Texas
Water Quality Board, or any successor agency designated by
the Legislature, issue additional Texas Water Development
Bonds up to an additional aggregate principal amount of
Two Hundred Million Dollars ($200,000,000) to provide
grants, loans, or any combination of grants and loans for wa-
ter quality enhancement purposes as established by the Leg-
islature. The Texas Water Quality Board or any successor
agency designated by the Legislature may make such grants
and loans to political subdivisions or bodies politic and cor-
porate of the State of Texas, including municipal cor-
porations, river authorities, conservation and reclamation
districts, and districts created or organized or authorized to
be created or organized under Art. XVI, Sec. 59, or Art. III,
Sec. 52, of this Constitution, State agencies, and interstate
agencies and compact commissions to which the State of
Texas is a party, and upon such terms and conditions as the
Legislature may authorize by general law. The bonds shall
be issued for such terms, in such denominations, form and
installments, and upon such conditions as the Legislature
may authorize.
(b) The proceeds from the sale of such bonds shall be de-
posited in the Texas Water Development Fund to be invested
and administered as prescribed by law.
(c) The bonds authorized in this Sec. 49-d-1 and all bonds
authorized by Sections 49-c and 49-d of Art. III shall bear in-
terest at not more than 6 percent per annum and mature as
the Texas Water Development Board shall prescribe, subject
to the limitations as may be imposed by the Legislature.
(d) The Texas Water Development Fund shall be used for
the purposes heretofore permitted by, and subject to the lim-
itations in Sections 49-c, 49-d and 49-d-1; provided, however,
that the financial assistance may be made pursuant to the
provisions of Sections 49-c, 49-d and 49-d-1 subject only to the
availability of funds and without regard to the provisions in
Sec. 49-c that such financial assistance shall terminate after
Dec. 31, 1982.
(e) Texas Water Development Bonds are secured by the
general credit of the State and shall after approval by the
Attorney General, registration by the Comptroller of Public
Accounts of the State of Texas, and delivery to the purchas-
ers, be incontestable and shall constitute general obligations
of the State of Texas under the Constitution of Texas.
(f) Should the Legislature enact enabling laws in antic-
ipation of the adoption of this amendment, such acts shall
not be void by reason of their anticipatory character.
SNote - The foregoing Sec. 49-d-1, an amendment, was
added to provide for an additional $100 million for grants and
loans for water improvement; also to raise the interest rate
on water bonds to 6 percent. Submitted by the Sixty-second
Legislature (1971) and adopted in an election May 18, 1971. It
was amended to increase to $200 million the amount avail-
able for water quality enhancement. Submitted by the Sixty-
fourth Legislature (1975) and adopted in an election Nov. 2,
1976.1
Sec. 49-d-2. (a) The Texas Water Development Board
may issue additional Texas Water Development Bonds up to
an additional aggregate principal amount of $980 million. Of
the additional bonds authorized to be issued, $590 million of
those bonds are dedicated for use for the purposes provided
by Sec. 49-c and Sec. 49-d of this article with $400 million of
those bonds to be used for state participation in the acquisi-
tion and development of facilities for the storage, trans-
mission, transportation, and treatment of water and
wastewater as authorized by Sec. 49-d of this article. The
Legislature may set limits on the extent of state partici-
pation in projects in each fiscal year through the General
Appropriations Act or other law, and state participation is
limited to 50 percent of the funding for any single proiect. Of
the additional bonds authorized, $190 million are dedicated
for use for the purposes provided by Sec. 49-d-1 of this article
and $200 million are dedicated exclusively for flood control
projects and may be made available for any acquisition or
construction necessary to achieve structural and nonstruc-
tural flood control purposes.
(b) The Texas Water Development Board shall issue the
additional bonds authorized by this section for the terms, in
the denominations, form, and installments, on the condi-
tions, and subject to the limitations provided by Sec. 49-c,
Sec. 49-d, and Sec. 49-d-1 of this article and by laws adopted
by the Legislature implementing those sections.CONSTITUTION
351
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Kingston, Mike. Texas Almanac, 1992-1993, book, 1991; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth279642/m1/355/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.