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 8306 to create XS Ranch Municipal Utility District (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 of the 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 names five temporary directors. The temporary board consists of Mark Engels, Mark Oldenmeye, J. Sulester, William Faust and Don Montague. 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 if permanent directors have not been elected by the time the terms of the temporary directors have expired.

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

1)     Population – The proposed XS Ranch Municipal Utility District is located in Bastrop County which is expected to grow in the future, doubling its population between the years 2000 and 2030.  The population of the proposed district in 2000 was around 3500.  Population growth in this area since the 2000 census is unknown, but development is expected.  The 2007 State Water Plan projects Bastrop County to grow from 57,733 people in 2000 to 75,386 in 2010 and continue to grow to 97,601 in 2020.  The proposed district is located in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of the City of Bastrop.  Bastrop is projected to grow from 5,340 in 2000 to 6,515 in 2010 and up to 7994 in 2020.

2)     Location – The proposed district includes several adjacent pieces of land that total nearly 10,000 acres in Bastrop County.  The area is to the northwest of the City of Bastrop in Bastrop’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) and is bounded on the south by the Colorado River.  The proposed area does not appear to overlap any known CCN boundaries.

3)  Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts- The bill authorizes the District to levy a contract tax and a maintenance and operation tax. The District has limited power of eminent domain, but it is limited to inside the district for road projects or recreational facilities. The District has road powers.

4)  Overlapping Services- The stated boundaries form an acceptable closure on tracts 1, 2, 3 and 4. The stated boundaries do not form an acceptable closure on tract 5. There is insufficient information provided in the bill. An area map containing at least two references points (major road names, road intersections) and the proposed district’s geographic location mapped within Bastrop County is needed to complete overlapping service check. The District may overlap: Certificates of Convenience and Necessity Nos. 11198 and 20466: City of Bastrop, Certificates of Convenience and Necessity No. 10294: Aqua Water Supply Corporation, and Lower Colorado River Authority.

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 Bastrop County, almost 70 percent of the total water use was groundwater, primarily from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer, in the year 2004.  Of the total groundwater use, 89 percent was for municipal use.  Future water management strategies for the City of Bastrop include municipal conservation and expansion of another aquifer in the area.