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 amends Subtitle F, Title 6, Special District Local Laws Code by adding Chapter 8336 to create Waller County Municipal Utility District No. 13 (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, Texas Constitution, and Article III, Section 52, Texas Constitution to benefit the property within the District.  

The District is subject to confirmation election by the voters.

The District is subject to consent of all municipalities in whose corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction the district is located.  The bill does not name five temporary directors.  The majority owners of the assessed land value inside the District may submit a petition requesting the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) appoint the five temporary directors listed in the petition.

The bill becomes effective immediately with two-thirds vote of the members or on September 1, 2009.

1)     Population – The proposed Waller County Municipal Utility District No. 13 is in a county that is expected to grow in the future, doubling its population from 2000 in 2040.  While the proposed MUD boundaries cover a rural area, it is anticipated to be developed in the future.

Waller County had a population of 32,663 in 2000 and it is expected to grow to 41, 137 in 2010 and onward to 51,175 in 2020.  The county-other population for Waller County was 16, 755 in 2000 and is expected to grow to 22,746 in 2010 and continue up to 29,844 in 2020.

2)     Location – The proposed district is located in the southwestern part of Waller County near the county line between Waller County and Fort Bend County.  The area is bounded on the west by Bessie’s Creek and is bounded in the south by FM 1489.  The district is between the cities of Brookshire, to the north, and Simonton, to the south.  The proposed area does not overlap any known CCN boundaries.  It is located south of Pattison Water Supply Corporation’s boundaries and southeast of Brookshire Municipal Water District.

3)  Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts-The District will have road, recreational facilities powers. The bill gives the District the ability to a contract tax.  The District has the power of limited use of eminent domain expect for road projects or recreational facilities. The District has road powers.

4)  Overlapping Services- The stated boundaries form an acceptable closure.  The District has no overlapping service providers.

5)  TCEQ 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 – Within Waller County, 96.7 percent of the total water used was groundwater in 2004.  Around 14 percent of the groundwater used was for municipal purposes and 82.5 percent was used for irrigation.  Groundwater is pumped from the Gulf Coast Aquifer.