LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
WATER DEVELOPMENT POLICY IMPACT STATEMENT
 
81ST LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
April 20, 2009

TO:
Honorable Allan Ritter, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources
 
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB4772 by Kleinschmidt (Relating to the creation of the Bastrop County Municipal Utility District No. 2; providing authority to impose a tax and issue bonds; granting a limited power of eminent domain.), As Introduced

The Legislative Budget Board, in cooperation with the Texas Water Development Board (TPWD) 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 8335 to create Bastrop County Municipal Utility District No. 2 (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 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 names five temporary directors. The majority owners of the assessed land value inside the District may submit a petition requesting the 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 district’s initial boundaries are described in a combination of Original Texas Land Surveys and metes and bounds.  Due to the complexity of these boundaries, staff is unable to develop precise population estimates.  Based on the Original Texas Survey mentioned in HB 4772, the population in the 2000 census could be as high as 273.

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 county other population of Bastrop County was 10,603 in 2000 and is projected to grow to 17,770 in 2010 and to 26,787 in 2020.

2)     Location - The proposed district is located in west Bastrop County, west of the City of Bastrop and south of the City of Webberville.  The proposed area does not appear to overlap any known CCN boundaries.

 

3) Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts - The District has the power of eminent domain limited to inside the District’s boundaries for road projects and recreational facilities.  The District has the authority to impose a contract tax and for road projects.  The District must enter into a contract agreement with any municipality within whose extraterritorial jurisdiction the District is located in order to use the powers of a municipal utility district.

 

4) Overlapping Services - The stated boundaries form an acceptable closure. An area map containing at least two reference points (major road names, road intersections) and the proposed district’s geographic location mapped within Bastrop County is needed to complete overlapping services check. The District may overlap Bastrop County Water Control and Improvement District No. 3, Certificates of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) Nos. 10294 and 20962 for Aqua Water Supply Corporation, and for the Lower Colorado River Authority including CCN No. 20769.

 

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 this, 89 percent was for municipal use.



Source Agencies:
582 Commission on Environmental Quality, 580 Water Development Board
LBB Staff:
JOB, KK