TO: | Honorable Allan Ritter, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources |
FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
IN RE: | HB4811 by Miller, Doug (Relating to the creation of the Comal County Water Control and Improvement District No. 6; providing authority to impose a tax and issue bonds; granting a limited power of eminent domain. ), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted |
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 I, Title 6, Special District Local Laws Code by adding Chapter 9037 to create Comal County Water Control and Improvement District No. 6 (District) with the powers and duties of a water control and improvement district under Water Code Chapters 49 and 51. The purpose of the District includes providing works and projects under powers conferred by Article XVI, Section 59 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 majority owners of the assessed land value inside the District may submit a petition requesting the TCEQ appoint the five successor temporary directors listed in the petition, if permanent directors have not been elected by the fourth anniversary of the effective date of the bill.
The bill becomes effective immediately with two-thirds vote of the members or on September 1, 2009.
1) Population - The proposed Comal County Water Control and Improvement District (WCID) No. 6 is in a county that is expected to have significant growth in the near future.
The county-other population for
2) Location - The proposed WCID is located northwest of the City of
3) Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts - The bill grants the District the authority for road projects and limits the use of eminent domain to within the District’s boundaries for road projects and recreational facilities. The District has the ability to levy a contract tax.
The bill requires each municipality in whose corporate limits and whose extraterritorial jurisdiction the district is located to consent and to have approved and entered into a strategic partnership agreement with the district before any action can be taken by the district. The bill would not allow the division of the district into two or more new districts. The bill would not exercise the power of eminent domain outside the boundaries of the district for any purpose unless the proposed exercise is approved by a written resolution of the commissioner’s court of each county in which the district is located.
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
5) TCEQ Supervision - The TCEQ supervision is limited to review of the District’s bonds to finance water, wastewater, or drainage facilities and financial reports required by the Water Code; otherwise, the District is not subject to TCEQ supervision.
6) Water Use - Within
Source Agencies: | 580 Water Development Board, 582 Commission on Environmental Quality
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LBB Staff: | JOB, KK
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