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 Title 6, Special District Local Laws Code by adding Subtitle L.,Municipal Water Districts, and Chapter 9601 to create the Riverbend Water Resources District with the powers and duties of a district under Water Code Chapter 49 in addition to the specific powers listed in the bill.

The Purpose of the District includes providing works and projects under powers conferred by Article XVI, Section 59, Texas Constitution to benefit property within the District. A confirmation election is not required.

The District is composed of the following members: The City of Annona; The City of Avery; The City of DeKalb; The City of Hooks; The City of Maud; The City of New Boston; The City of Texarkana, Texas; The City of Wake Village; and the Red River Redevelopment Authority. The governing body of each member shall appoint a director to represent the member.

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

1)     Population – The proposed Riverbend Water Resources District includes several cities in Bowie and Red River Counties.  The 2000, 2010, and 2010 populations of the counties are as follows:

County	2000 Population	2010 Population	2020 Population
Bowie	89,306	96,953	103,397
Red River	14,314	14,251	14,251

The district includes six cities from Bowie County as well as two cities in Red River County.  The two cities in Red River County are fairly rural and therefore their population is included in the County Other population for Red River County.  The included cities population projections are as follows:

City	County	2000 Pop	2010 Pop	2020 Pop
De Kalb	Bowie	1,769	1,920	2,049
Hooks	Bowie	2,973	3,228	3,442
Maud	Bowie	1,028	1,116	1,190
New Boston	Bowie	4,808	5,219	5,567
Texarkana	Bowie	34,782	37,761	40,270
Wake Village	Bowie	5,129	5,546	5,993
Red River County Other	Red River	3,684	3,667	3,667

2)     Location – The territory of the proposed district is composed of all the territory contained in: the cities of Annona, Avery, De Kalb, Hooks, Maud, New Boston, Texarkana, Texas, and Wake Village; and the Red River Redevelopment Authority.  These cities and authority are located in Bowie and Red River counties in northeast Texas.

3)  Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts- The District has the power of eminent domain. The District may exercise the power to adopt and enforce a trade name or trademark, bylaws and rules, and specific rates, charges, fees, or rentals, and rules and regulations. The District may not impose an assessment on the value of real property or an ad valorem tax. District facilities are exempt from taxation and assessment. The District has the authority to issue bonds.

4)  Overlapping Services- The territory of the District is composed of all the territory contained in the cities of Annona, Avery, Dekalb, Hooks, Maud, New Boston, Texarkana, Texas, Wake Village; and the Red River Redevelopment Authority. The territory of the District also includes all of the territory of any municipality, county, or other political subdivision that joins the District as a member.

5)  TCEQ Supervision- The TCEQ supervision is limited to review of the District's financial reports required by the Water Code; otherwise, the District is not subject to TCEQ supervision.

6)     Water Use – According to the 2006 Northeast Texas Regional Water Plan, Texarkana's water supply comes from Lake Wright Patman through a contract with the U.S. Corps of Engineers for 108,661 acre-feet per year.  Texarkana sells water to meet the municipal demands of all the other member cities of the proposed district, as well as a number of other municipal utilities and commercial and industrial customers.