The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Texas Water Development Board ordered to study district groundwater and pauses certain permit approvals until 2027
Last action · August 21, 2025: FiledSponsor: Robert Nichols
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What This Bill Proposed
The Texas Water Development Board must conduct a groundwater study for the Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District, pausing certain new permit and permit amendment approvals for groundwater production and transfer out of the district until late 2027.
Applicants seeking to produce and transfer groundwater out of the Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District face a temporary halt on new permits and amendments while a state hydrological study is conducted.
- The Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District manages groundwater resources across parts of East Texas. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District
The district must wait until the completion of the state study and the expiration of the moratorium window before issuing certain new permits or permit amendments for groundwater transfer out of the district.
Groundwater permit applicants
Applicants seeking permits for groundwater production and out-of-district transfer face a temporary restriction on permit issuance.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Texas Water Development Board study have to evaluate?
Who is affected by the permit moratorium?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the Senate · in the House.
Procedural history
2 actions- Aug 21, 2025SenateIntroducedFiled
- Aug 21, 2025SenateReceived by the Secretary of the Senate
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
State-Mandated Groundwater Moratorium
The legislation connects state-level scientific evaluation by the Texas Water Development Board directly to a mandatory pause on local groundwater permit issuance.
Connected Entities
Sources
capitol.texas.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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