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| SPONSOR: | Gubbels | DATE TYPED: | 02/22/99 | HB | 405 | ||
| SHORT TITLE: | State Engineer Enforcement | SB | |||||
| ANALYST: | Pickering | ||||||
| Recurring
or Non-Rec |
Fund
Affected | ||||
| FY99 | FY2000 | FY99 | FY2000 | ||
| NFI | NFI | NFI | NFI | N/A | N/A |
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates/Conflicts with/Companion to/Relates to
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
Office of the State Engineer (OSE)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
HB 405 would provide authority to the State Engineer to enforce regulations, permits, licenses and orders of adjudication courts. The State Engineer can issue compliance orders and other enforcement powers including providing a penalty. Compliance orders may include suspension or revocation of a permit or license, repayment of water in amounts up to double of over diversion or illegal diversion and, installation of measuring devices and payment of civil penalties for failure to comply with a final compliance order.
Significant Issues
The State Engineer may impose the following civil penalties for violating compliance: 1) for the first violation, up to one hundred dollars per day; 2) for the second violation, up to two hundred dollars per day; and 3) for two or more violations, up to five hundred dollars per day.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
According to the OSE, HB 405 does not have a fiscal impact on the agency since civil penalties would go to the general fund unless otherwise provided.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
The OSE reported that enactment of this bill would require a minor amount of additional staff time to administer. In addition, repayment of over-diverted or illegally diverted water may entail the filing of an application with the OSE. The agency believes HB 405 would provide a necessary tool in the administration of water rights in the state. Currently, the State Engineer must go to court to enforce his orders which has proved to be a cumbersome and inefficient administrative tool according to the OSE.
RWP/gm