TO:	Honorable Jim Murphy, Chair, House Committee on Special Purpose Districts
FROM:	Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB4321 by Schofield (Relating to the creation of Harris County Improvement District No. 25; providing authority to levy an assessment, impose a tax, and issue bonds.), As Introduced

The Legislative Budget Board, in cooperation with the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), has determined that:
 
This bill creates Harris County Improvement District No. 25 (District) with the powers and duties of a standard municipal management district under Local Government Code Chapter 375.

Population - The very specific description of the proposed boundaries does not allow staff to develop precise population estimates. Based on the Original Texas Land Surveys mentioned in HB 4321, staff is unable to determine a population estimate.
     
Population growth in the specific area since the 2010 census is unknown. The 2010 population estimate for Houston is 2,100,263. The Houston population projections approved for the 2017 State Water Plan projects the population to grow to 2,248,414 in 2020, 2,428,680 in 2030 and 2,606,077 in 2040.
 
Location - The Proposed district's initial boundaries are described with a combination of Original Texas Land Surveys, Harris County Real Property Records and metes and bounds. Due to the complexity of these boundaries for the various sub areas of the district, staff is able to determine only the general location of the proposed district.
 
The proposed district's area is approximately 0.17 square miles in southwestern Harris County, within the City limits of Houston and located east of the City of Katy.
 
Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts:  The District is to be governed by a board of five voting directors that are appointed by the TCEQ from persons recommended by the board; the District may exercise the powers given to a development corporation; the board by resolution may authorize the creation of a nonprofit corporation to assist and act for the District in implementing a project or providing a service authorized by this chapter; the District may contract with a qualified party, including the county, to provide law enforcement services in the District for a fee; the District may join and pay dues to a charitable or nonprofit organization that performs a service or provides an activity consistent with the furtherance of a District purpose; the District may engage in activities that accomplish the economic development purposes of the District; the District may acquire, lease as lessor or lessee, construct, develop, own, operate, and maintain parking facilities or a system of parking facilities, including lots, garages, parking terminals, or other structures or accommodations for parking motor vehicles off the streets and related appurtenances; the District may annex land as provided by Subchapter J, Chapter 49, Water Code; the District may not exercise the power of eminent domain; Local Government Code Section 375.243 states that the board may not call a bond election unless a written petition has been filed with the board requesting an election. The bill specifies that this section does not apply to the District; Section 49.107(h), Water Code states that an operation and maintenance tax to be used for recreational facilities, as defined by Section 49.462, Water Code, levied by a district located in a county with a population of more than 3.3 million or in a county adjacent to that county may not exceed 10 cents per $100 of assessed valuation of taxable property in the District. The bill specifies that this section does not apply to the District; the bill specifies that the District is a "water or sewer district" under Section 43.071, Local Government Code; Local Government Code Section 375.264 states that a district may not be dissolved by its board if the district has any outstanding bonded indebtedness until that bonded indebtedness has been repaid or defeased in accordance with the order or resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds. The bill specifies that this section does not apply to the District.
 
Overlapping Services:  TCEQ does not have mapping information for water and/or wastewater providers because this function was transferred from the TCEQ to the Public Utility Commission on September 1, 2014.  As a result, TCEQ is unaware of possible overlapping service providers.
 
TCEQ's Supervision:  As with general law districts, the TCEQ will have general supervisory authority, including bond review authority and review of financial reports.
 
Water Use - HB 4321 specifies that the district "may annex land as provided by Subchapter J of Chapter 49 Water Code" applicable to management districts created under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution.
 
Total water use within Harris County was 863,362 acre feet of which 26 percent was groundwater (Gulf Coast Aquifer) and 74 percent from surface water in 2014. The highest water use category was municipal (67 percent of use).