TO:	Honorable Robert Puente, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB4014 by Otto (Relating to the creation of the Plum Creek Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 of Liberty, Montgomery, and Harris Counties; providing authority to impose a tax 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 amends Special District Local Laws Code by adding Chapter 9018 to create Plum Creek Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 of Liberty, Montgomery, and Harris Counties (District) with the powers and duties of a water control and improvement district under Water Code Chapters 49 and 51. 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 District is subject to confirmation election by the voters. The temporary directors will be appointed by the TCEQ.
 
1)  Population - The detailed description of the proposed boundaries does not allow staff to develop precise population estimates. The 2000 Census population of Liberty County was 70,154, with 39,529 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 94,898 by 2020, the County-Other population is projected to increase to 58,633.  In Harris County, the total population is projected to increase from 3,400,578 to 4,502,786 by 2020; the County-Other population from 76,009 to 51,260. In Montgomery County, the total population is projected to increase from 293,768 to 542,051 in 2020; the County-Other population from 99,788 to 198,870.
 
2)  Location - The proposed district encompasses areas of Liberty, Harris, and Montgomery Counties.
 
3)  Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts  -  The District will have road powers. The word turnpike was removed from the road powers in this version. If the District has not been confirmed at a confirmation election held under Section 9018.24 before September 1, 2011, then the District is dissolved on September 1, 2011. The District may be divided into two districts; however, Sections 51.748 through 51.753 of the Water Code, concerning the division of the original district, do not apply.
 
4)  Overlapping Services  -  The stated boundaries do not form a closure. An area map containing at least two reference points (major road names, road intersections) and the proposed district’s geographic location mapped with the counties is needed. The known overlapping service provider may be Liberty Public Utility District.
 
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 - Seventy-eight percent of Liberty County water use in 2004 was for irrigation, with 11 percent for municipal purposes. Virtually all of Liberty County’s agricultural water use comes from surface water sources (77 percent of total use), while all municipal and other non-agricultural uses are entirely from groundwater sources. Fifty-nine percent of Harris County water use in 2004 was for municipal purposes, with 39 percent for manufacturing. Sixty-one percent of the total water use, and 43 percent of the municipal use, comes from surface water sources. In Montgomery County, 95 percent of the water use was for municipal purposes, with 3 percent for manufacturing. Ninty-nine percent of the total water use, and 100 percent of the municipal use, comes from groundwater sources.