TO:	Honorable Kip Averitt, Chair, Senate Committee on Natural Resources
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB4029 by Morrison (Relating to the creation of the Lavaca County Groundwater Conservation District; providing authority to impose a tax. ), Committee Report 2nd 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 that:
 
The bill creates the Lavaca County Groundwater Conservation District (District) in Lavaca County with the powers and duties of Water Code, Chapter 36 related to general law for groundwater conservation districts (GCDs). The purpose of the District is to benefit property by providing for the conservation, preservation, protection, recharging, and prevention of waste of groundwater, and to control subsidence caused by the withdrawal of groundwater under powers conferred by Article XVI, Section 59 of the Texas Constitution. Creation of the District is subject to a confirmation election. 
 

1)  Population- The total 2000 Census population of Lavaca County was 19,210.  The total population is projected to be 18,731 by 2020. 
 
2)  Location- The boundaries of the proposed district are coextensive with the boundaries of Lavaca County.
 
3)  Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts-     Unlike general law GCDs, the bill provides that the temporary directors of the District must hold the confirmation election on the uniform election date in May 2008 and may hold subsequent elections if creation of the District is not confirmed at the May 2008 election. The District is prohibited from requiring meters on wells that are exempt from permitting or regulation and from exercising the power of eminent domain. The District may adopt rules to require the owners or operators of exempt wells, other than exempt domestic or livestock wells, to report groundwater usage. Existing wells are exempt from District well spacing requirements and the District, by rule, may require exempt wells to comply with spacing requirements. The District is required to expand and add territory by May 31, 2012, and TCEQ must dissolve the District if TCEQ finds that the territory has not been added. The District may not levy a tax that exceeds $0.05 per $100 assessed valuation.
 
4) Overlapping Services-    There are no other GCDs in Lavaca County. GCD functions do not conflict with services provided by other types of water districts or utilities.
 
5) TCEQ's  Supervision-     As with general law GCDs, the TCEQ will have general supervisory authority, including bond review authority and authority as it is related to the District’s development and implementation of a management plan. The District would not have to comply with TCEQ financial auditing requirements. In accordance with the bill, TCEQ must dissolve the District if the agency finds that the District has not added at least one adjacent county by May 31, 2012.

6) Water Use- In 2004, 56 percent of the total water use in Lavaca County was for irrigation, with 21 percent for municipal use and 20 percent for livestock.   90 percent of the total water use (and 99.9 percent of the municipal water use) is from groundwater sources.