HB 5560

relating to penalties in certain suits involving a groundwater
conservation district; increasing a penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1.  Section 36.102, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
(b)  Except as provided by Subsection (f), the [The] board by
rule may set reasonable civil penalties that the district may
recover from [against] any person for breach of any rule of the
district in an amount not to exceed $25,000 [$10,000] per day per
violation, and each day of a continuing violation constitutes a
(f)  In an enforcement action brought by a district against a
person, the court may assess a penalty greater than the maximum
penalty authorized under Subsection (b) if the court determines
that the person gained an economic benefit as a result of the
violation that was greater than the maximum penalty under
Subsection (b).  A penalty assessed under this subsection must be in
an amount determined by the court to be necessary and appropriate to
outweigh the economic benefit gained by the person as a result of
the violation and discourage future violations.
SECTION 2.  Section 36.102, Water Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to a suit involving a groundwater conservation
district that is filed on or after the effective date of this Act.  A
suit filed before the effective date of this Act is subject to the
law in effect on the date the suit is filed, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.