Relating to management plans adopted by groundwater conservation districts.

Contracts

• Water Supply Agreements: Review "Regulatory Force Majeure" and "Change in Law" clauses immediately. The timeline for regulatory reductions in Modeled Available Groundwater (MAG) is now statutorily fixed at two years from DFC adoption; indefinite delays via litigation are no longer a valid assumption for contract duration.
• Real Estate Purchase Agreements: For land deals contingent on water availability, the definition of "Final Regulatory Approval" must be adjusted. A Management Plan can now be deemed "approved" even if the underlying water science is actively being sued in court.

Hiring/Training

• Legal & Compliance Teams: Staff responsible for water rights must be trained to track GCD board meeting agendas specifically for "DFC Adoption" votes. This vote now triggers an irreversible two-year countdown to regulatory enforcement.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Petition Tracking: If your organization challenges a DFC, you must maintain a parallel record of the petition's status. The GCD is required to submit a "statement of status" to the TWDB to bypass the litigation hold; you must be prepared to contest this statement if it misrepresents the active nature of your legal challenge.

Fees & Costs

• No Direct Fee Increases: This bill does not authorize new taxes or filing fees.
• Indirect Costs: Budget for accelerated legal costs. Because the "administrative hold" is removed, you may need to litigate the DFC reasonableness and the Management Plan implementation simultaneously, rather than sequentially.