Sec. 16.146. AUTHORIZED PROJECTS FOR STATE PARTICIPATION ACCOUNT II. (a) The board may use the state participation account II created under Section 17.957 to provide financial assistance for the development of a desalination or aquifer storage and recovery facility, including associated intake or distribution facilities, to meet existing or projected future water needs by acquiring such a facility or an ownership interest in such a facility.

(b) The board may act singly or in a joint venture in partnership with any person, including a public or private entity, an agency or political subdivision of this state, another state or a political subdivision of another state, the United States, or a foreign nation, to the extent permitted by law. The board may provide financial assistance under this section for a facility without regard to any requirements provided by board rules regarding the portion of the capacity of the facility that will serve an existing need or the portion of the cost of the facility that the applicant will finance from sources other than the state participation account II.

(c) Section 16.135 does not apply to the use of the state participation account II to develop a facility described by Subsection (a) of this section by acquiring the facility or an interest in the facility.

(d) Before the board may acquire a facility or an interest in a facility described by Subsection (a), the board must find affirmatively that:

(1) it is reasonable to expect that the state will recover its investment in the facility; and

(2) the public interest will be served by the acquisition of the facility.

(e) The board may not provide financial assistance under this section for a facility unless the facility is included in the state water plan.

(f) The board shall establish a point system for prioritizing facilities for which financial assistance is sought from the board under this section. The system must include a standard for the board to apply in determining whether a facility qualifies for financial assistance at the time the application for financial assistance is filed with the board.

(g) The board may not issue more than $200 million in water financial assistance bonds designated by the board as issued to provide financial assistance for facilities under this section.

(h) If the board does not provide financial assistance for a facility under this section from the state participation account II before September 1, 2024, the board may not provide financial assistance for any facility from that account after that date.

Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 752 (H.B. 1052), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2019.