TO:	Honorable Robert Puente, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB4006 by Olivo (Relating to the creation of Booth Ranch Municipal Utility District of Fort Bend County, Texas; providing authority to impose taxes and issue bonds; granting the power of eminent domain. ), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

The Legislative Budget Board, in cooperation with the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), has determined the following:
 
The bill creates Booth Ranch Municipal Utility District of Fort Bend County (District) with the powers and duties of a municipal utility district under Water Code Chapters 49 and 54. The purpose of the District includes: providing works and projects under powers conferred by Article XVI, Section 59 of the Texas Constitution to benefit the property within the District and the power of eminent domain.  The bill indicates that the temporary directors will be appointed by the TCEQ upon petition of any landowner in the District.  The District is subject to confirmation election by the voters.
 
1)  Population – The detailed description of the proposed boundaries does not allow staff to develop precise population estimates.  The 2000 Census population of Fort Bend County was 354,452, with 38,168 living in areas identified in the 2007 State Water Plan as “County-Other” (outside cities of more than 500 and established water utility districts).  The total county population is projected to increase to 630,624 by 2020, the County-Other population is projected to increase to 120,315.
 
2)  Location – The proposed district is located within Fort Bend County.
 
3)  Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts –  None
 
4)  Overlapping Services  –   The stated boundaries form a closure. However, the coordinates provided as reference points to locate the exact position of the tract were invalid. An area map containing at least two reference points (major road names, road intersections) and the proposed district’s geographic location mapped within Fort Bend County is needed to complete overlapping services check. The known overlapping services may be: Fort Bend County Levee Improvement District; Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District (MUD) 106, Fort Bend County MUD 108, Fort Bend County MUD 109, Fort Bend County MUD 117, Plantation MUD, the City of Sugar Land, the Town of Thompsons; and, CCN Nos. 12922 and 20870: Royal Valley Utilities.
 
5)  TCEQ's Supervision  –  As with general law districts, the TCEQ will have general supervisory authority, including bond review authority and review of financial reports. 
 
6)  Water Use  –  Forty-two percent of Fort Bend County water use in 2004 was for municipal purposes, with 33 percent for power generation and 19 percent for irrigation. Fifty-three percent of the total water use and 92 percent of the municipal water use comes from groundwater sources.