The board may use the loan fund to make loans and grants for specified water, flood control, drainage, and related projects, and it may not disqualify drainage districts for certain missing records or services.
Sec. 15.102. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. (a) The loan fund may be used by the board to provide loans of financial assistance to political subdivisions, federal agencies, or both political subdivisions and federal agencies acting jointly for the construction, acquisition, improvement, or enlargement of projects involving water conservation, water development, or water quality enhancement, providing nonstructural and structural flood control, or drainage, project recreation lands and revenue-generating recreational improvements within any watershed, or providing recharge, chloride control, subsidence control, brush control, weather modification, regionalization, or desalination as provided by legislative appropriations, this chapter, and the board rules. (b) The loan fund may also be used by the board to provide: (1) grants or loans for projects that include supplying water and wastewater services in economically distressed areas or nonborder colonias as provided by legislative appropriations, this chapter, and board rules, including projects involving retail distribution of those services; (2) grants for: (A) projects for which federal grant funds are placed in the loan fund; (B) projects, on specific legislative appropriation for those projects; or (C) water conservation, desalination, brush control, weather modification, regionalization, and projects providing regional water quality enhancement services as defined by board rule, including regional conveyance systems; and (3) grants to drainage districts established under Section 52, Article III, or Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, for water supply projects, including projects that contain a flood control component. (c) A political subdivision may enter into an agreement with a federal agency to submit a joint application for financial assistance under this subchapter. Before the board may grant financial assistance under a joint application, the board must find that the project is designed to produce effluent that will meet federal and state approved water quality standards. (d) A grant or loan of financial assistance under a joint application by the federal government and a political subdivision may be made only for a project that is covered by an international contract or treaty to which the United States government is a party, and a grant or loan made under such a joint application is subject to the provisions, terms, and conditions of the international contract or treaty to which the United States government is a party. (e) The board may not disqualify a drainage district from receiving a grant under Subsection (b)(3) because the district does not: (1) notwithstanding Section 16.012(m), have historical data about water use; (2) provide retail water service to consumers; or (3) have a certificate of convenience and necessity under which it provides retail water or wastewater service. Added by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., 1st C.S., p. 102, ch. 12, Sec. 1, eff. Nov. 10, 1981. Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 133, Sec. 2.04; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 977, Sec. 9, eff. June 19, 1987; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 1103, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 624, Sec. 2.04, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 966, Sec. 4.07, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1234, Sec. 16, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1367, Sec. 11.03, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1276, Sec. 18.003, eff. Sept. 1, 2003. Amended by: Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1352 (H.B. 4), Sec. 7, eff. June 15, 2007. Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1430 (S.B. 3), Sec. 2.10, eff. September 1, 2007. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 92 (S.B. 1967), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2025.