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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the award of attorney's fees and other costs in certain |
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proceedings involving a groundwater conservation district. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Sections 36.066(g) and (h), Water Code, are |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(g) In a suit to which [If] the district is a party, the |
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prevailing party [prevails in any suit other than a suit in which it
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voluntarily intervenes, the district] may seek and the court shall |
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grant, in the interests of justice and as provided by Subsection |
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(h), in the same action, recovery for attorney's fees, costs for |
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expert witnesses, and other costs incurred by the prevailing party |
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[district] before the court. The amount of the attorney's fees |
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shall be fixed by the court. |
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(h) If a party [the district] prevails on some, but not all, |
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of the issues in the suit, the court shall award attorney's fees and |
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costs only for those issues on which the party [district] prevails. |
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The prevailing party [district] has the burden of segregating the |
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attorney's fees and costs in order for the court to make an award. |
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SECTION 2. Section 36.102(d), Water Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(d) In [If the district prevails in] any suit to enforce the |
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district's [its] rules, the prevailing party [district] may seek |
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and the court shall grant against any party [person], in the same |
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action, recovery for attorney's fees, costs for expert witnesses, |
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and other costs incurred by the prevailing party [district] before |
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the court. The amount of the attorney's fees shall be fixed by the |
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court. |
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SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to a proceeding commenced on or after the effective date of this |
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Act. A proceeding commenced before the effective date of this Act |
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is governed by the law applicable to the proceeding immediately |
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before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in |
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effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |