Transcript Highlights:

• And backflow prevention again licensed irrigators fire.
• Are, are, can, uh, a licensed irrigator make the inspections in the state of Texas?
• I represent Texas Irrigation Association and Dallas Irrigation Association, and we are against this bill
• Swar, uh, with the Texas Irrigation Association.
• I'm actually a, a licensed irrigator. I'm not a, uh, BPAT.

Bills: HB 5208, SB 863, SB 1243, SB 1624, SB 1965, SB 2660, SB 2702, SB 2885

Keywords: water filtration, public drinking water, health and safety, well maintenance, water quality, Edwards Aquifer, water conservation, reclaimed water, aquifer storage, environmental protection, public utility agency, dissolution, local government, regulatory framework, municipal authority, Texas Water Bank, Texas Water Trust, water rights, water banking, instream flow

Transcript Highlights:

• But some residential customers decide that they want to have an actual irrigation meter.
• We have an irrigation meter.
• One is the irrigation meter, and the other is the domestic meter. Okay.
• Let's say you know that a neighborhood is building in systems to use gray water irrigation.
• We realized that over 50% of the water used by single-family homes is for irrigation.

Bills: HB158, HB714, HB 1198, HB1630, HB1998, HB3509, HB3788, HB3875, HB3948, HB3977, HB4097, HB4313, HB4314, HB4317, HB158

Keywords: housing, veterans, surplus government property, affordable housing, funding sources, housing assistance, homeless prevention, landlord incentives, rural housing, domestic violence, community development, tenant readiness, program participants, financial assistance, homelessness, rental support, Texas Tenant Readiness Program, tenant assistance, housing stability, Texas Department of Housing

Transcript Highlights:

• So the Irrigation Works Construction Fund, let's just talk about it for a minute.
• And, but we're still robbing the Irrigation Works Construction Fund.
• And, but we're still robbing the Irrigation Works Construction Fund.
• It's designed for infrastructure, too, just like the Irrigation Works Construction Fund.
• I'm the president of Elephant Butte Irrigation District.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The State Water Plan identifies six user groups: irrigation, municipal, manufacturing, steam electric
• The irrigated agricultural use is represented in blue-green, with municipal demand being in red.
• In 2060, municipal demand is going to overtake irrigation.
• In the county of the state, the needs for irrigation are particularly large, especially in the Valley
• The agricultural production, basically irrigation, is declining.

Bills: SB7

Keywords: water infrastructure, financial assistance, Texas Water Development Board, water supply, environmental sustainability, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Adding to that, properties are selling in excess of $250,000 per acre in an area where irrigated cropland
• If you are growing, for example, an annual crop— That requires irrigation and you are not able to irrigate
• There are other categories for farmland other than irrigated farmland, Madam Chair and Representative
• Something like that hasn't happened in my irrigation district in decades. In decades.
• Like, there's been seasons where we get two irrigations off the river. Two. Not two a month.

Transcript Highlights:

• and use of water for irrigation and use of water for irrigation purposes.<01:05:02.400> The
• <01:22:22.800> So irrigation 2026 irrigation season.
• So irrigation 2026 irrigation season.
• a member of Crook County Irrigation a member of Crook County Irrigation District<02:17:21.040>
• <02:41:06.000> water our potable water or irrigation water our potable water or irrigation

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There's not much irrigation in the Sandhills.
• Irrigation is more important.
• This amounts to 90% of the irrigation in our state and uses about 70% of the irrigation water.
• They can move that irrigation over to other parcels.
• No irrigation acres were lost.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• You can use it for toilet flushing, for irrigation, and then there's not a concern so much about what
• That's, there's 23 irrigation districts that basically move all the water.
• So the water they get actually comes from the irrigation districts that move the water from the river
• It moves through the irrigation district. So, you know.
• Uh, currently, irrigation districts like any eligible entity can apply.

Bills: SB 7

Keywords: water infrastructure, financial assistance, Texas Water Development Board, water supply, environmental sustainability

Transcript Highlights:

• Speak on your behalf and tell me what damage is and repairs is needed on your irrigation systems.
• We need Waimea and Molokai irrigation systems.
• Speak on your behalf and tell me what damage is and repairs is needed on your irrigation systems.
• We need Waimea and Molokai irrigation systems.
• Um, our current irrigation systems on the other islands, right?

Bills: SB2706, SB2320

Keywords: workforce development, agriculture, biosecurity, pilot program, Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, University of Hawaii, Leeward Community College, DHRD, training, apprenticeship, career pathways, credentialing, job training, internship, hands-on experience, state employment, workforce pipeline, agricultural jobs, biosecurity jobs, general fund appropriation

Summary: The committees first heard SB 2371, which would prioritize lease offers on agrivoltaics parcels for beginning farmers, require annual compliance reports to DAB, authorize penalties for noncompliance, and allow solar facilities on certain agricultural lands. DAB, the State Energy Office, PUC, and Hawaii Farm Bureau generally supported the intent, while OPPSD recommended amendments to preserve agricultural lease affordability and strengthen food-production language. Members questioned whether the bill would meaningfully encourage solar on ag lands, whether beginning farmers would have enough information to use such parcels, and how the bill would interact with Land Use Commission review. The Farm Bureau said agrivoltaics remains challenging and largely in pilot form, and noted the Mililani project as a promising example of dual use. The committees voted to pass SB 2371 with amendments, with one member expressing a preference that it be opened to all farmers rather than only beginning farmers. The next measure, SB 2800, appropriates funds to DAB, DLNR, and ADC for acquisition, repair, and maintenance of irrigation systems. All testifying agencies and the Farm Bureau supported the bill, and members pressed them for estimates of needed funding and the condition of existing systems. DAB cited major repair needs, including Waimea, Molokai, Kahuku, and Kawailoa, and said its backlog could total roughly $65 million; ADC estimated about $35 million for several systems; and DLNR said its current needs for three systems were about $35 million, with the largest cost tied to piping in Kekaha. The committees amended the bill to defer its effective date to July 1, 2050 and to blank out the appropriation amounts in the bill text, with the agencies’ requested amounts to be included in the committee report for consideration. SB 2800 then passed in AEN, Water and Land, and EIG. The final measure discussed was SB 2718, a food hub pilot program beginning in 2028 that would require state departments and UH to source 30% of certain food purchases from local agricultural products, create a nutrition- and ʻāina-based school program, and have DAT partner with a regional aggregator for Native Hawaiian staple crops. DAT, DOH, the Farm Bureau, Food Plus Policy Group, HAPA, and others supported the bill’s intent, while the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation opposed it, saying it is already struggling to meet the current local procurement percentage and faces procurement and quantity barriers, especially for staple items used daily. The testimony focused on whether agencies could realistically meet the higher local purchasing target and whether smaller farms could supply the needed volumes.

Transcript Highlights:

• What about for farming irrigation?
• What about for farming irrigation?
• What about for farming irrigation?
• What about for farming irrigation?
• What about for farming irrigation?

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several agriculture, water, invasive species, and land-use bills. HB 299 and HB 1220, both relating to invasive species, drew broad support from the Hawaii Invasive Species Council, DLNR, the Department of Agriculture, C-GAPS, Sierra Club, Hawaii Farm Bureau, Hawaii Farmers Union, and others. Testifiers said HISC funding fills gaps between agency mandates, supports research and technology, and helps respond to both terrestrial and marine invasive threats. On HB 1220, C-GAPS described a marine anemone infestation in Kāneʻohe linked to aquarium release and said control and restoration would be difficult without the bill’s funding. A committee member asked for tracking information on the species, and the Division of Aquatic Resources said it maintains monitoring data and annual reports. No opposition was noted on either measure. HB 506, relating to conservation enforcement, also received support from DLNR and Malama Pu‘u Ma. Committee discussion focused on the bill’s scope and how the funding would be used. Members asked about a prior boat purchase mentioned in opposition testimony and about whether mainland vendors were being used; the department said it did not buy that boat and that procurement follows the normal state process, with total bid price including delivery, taxes, and other fees. The department explained that the bill’s funding is primarily for marine enforcement work in nearshore fisheries, including herbivore protection around O‘ahu. HB 915, relating to water use, had mixed testimony. DLNR supported alternative water sources and amendments to the water code, while the Department of Agriculture opposed the bill as drafted, saying its irrigation program is designed for non-potable agricultural use and is not structured for residential or mixed-use development. The Department of Health said it needed more information on its reuse guidelines and noted concern about removing the recycled water manager requirement, which it said helps ensure safe operation and maintenance of reuse systems. Members questioned the bill’s preemption language and whether county or state rules would be displaced, and Agriculture suggested county water agencies might be better suited for some of the proposed uses. HB 502, concerning land use, drew support from the Attorney General’s office, the Land Use Commission, Hawaii Realtors, Hawaii Farm Bureau, and Hawaii Farmers Union, with the Department of Agriculture standing on its written testimony. The Attorney General warned that allowing important agricultural lands to be redistricted through a declaratory ruling process could conflict with the state constitution and recommended excluding IAL from the bill. The Land Use Commission said it has an inventory of IAL lands and did not believe the bill would affect them, and it agreed to the suggested protection. Supporters said the bill could help move lands with limited agricultural value into the rural district, reduce pressure on productive farmland, and better align land use with actual farming potential. HB 929, relating to the agricultural land conveyance tax, received comments from the Department of Taxation and opposition from Hawaii Farm Bureau and Hawaii Realtors; Farm Bureau said it supports preserving agricultural land but was concerned about unintended consequences and questioned whether speculative flipping of ag land is a current problem.

Transcript Highlights:

• Licensed irrigators are trained in this and backflow prevention.
• Can a licensed irrigator make the inspections in the state of Texas?
• I represent the Texas Irrigation Association and the Dallas Irrigation Association.
• Swor from the Texas Irrigation Association.
• I'm actually a licensed irrigator, not a BPAT.

Bills: HB5208, SB863, SB1243, SB1624, SB1965, SB2660, SB2702, SB2885

Keywords: water filtration, public drinking water, health and safety, well maintenance, water quality, Edwards Aquifer, water conservation, reclaimed water, aquifer storage, environmental protection, public utility agency, dissolution, local government, regulatory framework, municipal authority, Texas Water Bank, Texas Water Trust, water rights, water banking, instream flow

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:26:18.320> So irrigation component of of this. So irrigation component of of this.
• at the consumptive use of the irrigated at the consumptive use of the irrigated a a a and<01:27:
• acre feet per acre of an irrigated crop. acre feet per acre of an irrigated crop.
• to be irrigated identifying the acres to be irrigated and<01:31:19.600> the<01:31:19.760>
• <01:35:03.199> or use is industrial irrigation or use is industrial irrigation or municipal

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There's not much irrigation in the Sandhills.
• Irrigation is more important.
• This amounts to 90% of the irrigation in our state and uses about 70% of the irrigation water.
• They can move that irrigation over to other parcels.
• No irrigation acres were lost.

Summary: The Water Topics Overview Committee met with a quorum and received updates from the Department of Water Resources and the State Water Commission, followed by presentations from Deloitte on two legislative studies required by House Bill 1020. Director Reese Haas reviewed major project and budget updates, including the Northwest Area Water Supply and Southwest Pipeline projects, Resources Trust Fund balances, carryover spending, project prioritization, bid conditions, regional water system coverage, and department process improvements. Members also discussed how the commission prioritizes projects, maintenance expectations, and the impact of limited municipal water supply funding. No formal committee action was taken during the DWR update; the commission’s municipal funding decisions were described as pending its April 8 meeting. Deloitte then presented the cost-share policy study, which found that under current policy and forecasted revenues, North Dakota faces an estimated $1.3 billion shortfall over 14 years, with a near-term gap of about $1.8 billion through 2031. The firm outlined seven recommended options, including tighter definitions and a 25% cost share for eligible replacement projects, caps and financing strategies for the Mouse River and Red River Valley projects, aligning cost share with commission priority guidance, delaying lower-priority projects, using available lines of credit, and adjusting reimbursement timing for revolving loan funds. Committee members questioned inflation assumptions, affordability, user fees, and the use of legacy fund earnings for bonding, but no decisions were made. In the governance and finance study, Deloitte said final recommendations are still being refined, with a final report due May 29. The study examined the Southwest Pipeline, NAWS, and Red River Valley systems using governance and finance criteria such as decision authority, transparency, affordability, risk, and access to funding. For Southwest, Deloitte outlined options ranging from improved state-authority coordination to transferring ownership to the Southwest Water Authority; for NAWS, options focused on strengthening the authority’s role and potentially transitioning operations and maintenance; and for Red River, options ranged from enhanced facilitation to formal state oversight or state ownership. Members asked follow-up questions about ownership transfer, capital repayment streams, and why NAWS was not considered for transfer, and Deloitte said NAWS’s limited organizational maturity made that option less viable in the near term.

Transcript Highlights:

• Greg Alvers, representing irrigation conservation, District, surface water.
• Timothy McGinn, irrigation Community representative Timothy McGinn, Irrigation Conservation District,
• We provide irrigation drainage and flood control from Cochiti to Bosque Del Apache.
• We have 1,200 miles of irrigation infrastructure.
• Small users, we have irrigators throughout.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In response to concerns from the Texas Irrigation Council, the committee substitute removes the challenge
• We have around 26 or 27 water districts and irrigation districts.
• The water district will cooperate, which is most of the water districts and irrigation districts, but
• But we have around 26, 27 water districts and irrigation districts.
• Water district will cooperate, which is most of the water districts and irrigation district.

Bills: HB2018, HB1633, HB1689, SB612, SB3058

Keywords: agricultural conservation, land preservation, environmental protection, wildlife habitat, Texas Farm and Ranch, groundwater conservation district, Texas Water Code, water permit, permit amendment, groundwater permit, water rights, aquifer, well registration, exempt wells, beneficial use, water conservation, groundwater quality, well plugging, Hill Country Priority Groundwater Management Area, surface water resources

Summary: The Senate Water, Agriculture, Rural Affairs Committee heard several bills focused on groundwater management, water infrastructure, and agricultural land conservation. SB 612 would limit certain water districts in Hidalgo, Cameron, and Willacy counties from charging developers pipeline construction fees above actual, documented costs; the committee substitute removed a developer challenge mechanism to preserve district discretion over construction standards. HB 1633 would require groundwater conservation districts to consider registered exempt wells when reviewing or amending permits, and testimony from landowners, district representatives, and advocacy groups largely supported the bill as a way to protect domestic and livestock wells from drawdown caused by large export projects. HB 1689 would clarify that export fee revenues may be used for well operability, alternative water supplies, and aquifer monitoring, including through interlocal cooperation, and HB 3058 would give the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District authority to use export fees for county road improvements and environmental programs tied to well inspection and groundwater management. HB 2018 would clarify that the Texas Farm and Ranchland Conservation Program is intended to purchase conservation easements only on working agricultural lands, with support from cattle raisers and Farm Bureau representatives. The committee also considered HB 29, which would require large water systems to validate water loss audits and submit mitigation plans; a committee substitute removed the water-loss threshold and adjusted the timeline for more detailed validation. Public testimony on the bills was generally supportive, with several witnesses describing declining well levels, road damage from export projects, and the need to preserve agricultural land and local water supplies. The committee adopted committee substitutes and voted favorably on HB 29, HB 1689, HB 2018, SB 612, and SB 3058, recommending several of them for the local and uncontested calendar; HB 1633 was left pending awaiting a committee substitute.

Transcript Highlights:

• Opting to use it to irrigate their own crops. This makes the outlook going forward very bleak.
• I'm only planting one-half of my farm because of very limited irrigation water. throughout the Rio Grande
• Texas A&M AgriLife conducted a study on the economic impact of irrigation water shortages in agriculture
• Some of its major findings include the loss of irrigated crop production in the lower Rio Grande Valley
• Likewise, the loss of irrigated crop production in the lower Rio Grande Valley would generate a loss

Bills: SCR13, SB1248

Keywords: water rights, treaty compliance, Rio Grande, agriculture, drought, international water, Texas water supply, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, TPWD, harvest reports, wildlife harvest data, public information act, open records, confidentiality, hunter privacy, angler data, game animals, game birds, fur-bearing animals, nongame animals

Transcript Highlights:

• This is only those high volume water users, like you said, our data center irrigation, you know, sometimes
• It has people from the industrial water conservation, water irrigation, water, agricultural water, municipal
• Well, you know, I've got a complement very much the Irrigators, they you know, panhandle irrigators,
• That's my short answer, but my long answer is that I know that in irrigation districts and similar entities
• , last year we set up that all counties with an irrigation district would have to participate.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• with maybe another 60,000 irrigated with maybe another 60,000 irrigated acres.<01:08:51.839>
• irrigators irrigators uh<01:10:21.840> you<01:10:22.000> know<01:10:22.159> could
• And I'd say the way we put our flood irrigation, we got flood irrigation going through the pivots.
• And so those people that flood irrigate And so those people that flood irrigate are<01:12:37.120
• our flood irrigation, we got flood irrigation<01:12:53.360> going<01:12:53.600> through

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And what we don't want to do is to irrigate to the point where we're moving it to deeply.
• So if we can manage the water and not over irrigate, then we have a much better chance of keeping the
• We're still looking at so moisture sensors as a methodology to to manage the irrigation.
• You got to have short intervals short irrigation intervals, multiple irrigation events over the course
• And we also now are beginning to track what benefit we're having from automation of irrigation.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Water conservation grants are designed to help our irrigation entities develop more efficient irrigation
• I was asked to focus a little bit on agricultural irrigation.
• There are many factors that impact irrigation use throughout the state.
• Water use is for agricultural irrigation.
• Irrigators know, and make sure producers throughout the state know.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all