Water Bill Flowing Again

Just when you're ready to write off Sen. Ken Armbrister's omnibus water bill for this session, it springs back to life. The House Natural Resources Committee met on the floor a few minutes ago, after the House adjourned, and passed out an amended version of Senate Bill 3. We gather that the House version keeps many of the Senate bill's best environmental provisions, including those that would protect much of the state's in-stream river water. The biggest difference in the House's SB 3 relates to ground water. We won't, um, drown you in the details, but we're told the House version is much less restrictive on the use of ground water, which made some ground water districts a lot more comfortable.

With 11 days left in the session, is there enough time left in the session for SB 3 to get through the full House and a conference committee? Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has said the water bill is a major priority for him (and hence the low bill number). SB 3 may give Speaker Tom Craddick one more bargaining chip to use against Lite Gov.