TO:	Honorable Jim Murphy, Chair, House Committee on Special Purpose Districts
FROM:	Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB4349 by Cortez (Relating to the creation of the Alamo Management District; providing authority to issue bonds; providing authority to impose assessments and fees.), 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 the Alamo Management District (District) with the powers and duties of a standard municipal management district under Local Government Code Chapter 375.

Population - Based on the intersections mentioned in HB 4349, the approximate population for 2010 is estimated to be 290.
     
Population growth in the specific area since the 2010 census is unknown. The 2010 population estimate for San Antonio is 1,327,407. The San Antonio population projections approved for the 2017 State Water Plan projects the population to grow to 1,528,129 in 2020, 1,727,491 in 2030 and 1,910,744 in 2040.
 
Location - The proposed district's initial boundaries are described with street intersections, and the area is approximately 0.18 square miles in central Bexar County. The district is located within the downtown district of the City of San Antonio.
 
Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts:  The creation of the District is necessary to protect and preserve the Alamo shrine and the area surrounding the Alamo shrine; the bill specifies that in the event of any overlap or conflict with any authority or power granted to the San Antonio River Authority; the authority or power granted to the San Antonio River Authority shall supersede the authority granted to the District unless the Authority consents to the authority of the District; the District is to be governed by a board of seven voting directors with knowledge of Texas History and the preservation or operation of historic sites; Six of the members shall be appointed by the Commissioner of the General Land Office; who also serves as the presiding officer; the bill grants the District the power to adopt standards for land use, site development, and architectural design that are compatible with the Alamo complex; the District may exercise the powers given to a development corporation under Chapter 505, Local Government Code; the board by resolution may authorize the creation of a nonprofit corporation to assist and act for the district in implementing a project providing a service authorized by this Act; the District may contract with the county, the city, or another political subdivision of this state without further authorization providing a service authorized by this Act; the District may join and pay dues to a charitable or nonprofit organization that performs a service or provides an activity consistent with furtherance of a District purpose; the District may annex adjacent land as provided by Chapter 49.301, Water Code; the District may not exercise the power of eminent domain; the District may impose an assessment, impact fee, or other fee to finance: an improvement this Act authorizes the District to construct or acquire; a service this Act authorizes the District to provide; assessments, impact fees, and other fees can only apply to property on which a structures is, on or after the date the district is created: constructed; or renovated in a manner that removes or replaces, or renovates at least 50% of the square footage of the structure; the District may finance, acquire, construct, improve, operate, maintain, or charge a fee for the use of District conduits for: fiber-optic cable and supporting facilities; electronic transmission lines and supporting facilities; or other types of transmission lines and supporting facilities; the District may not impose an ad valorem tax; the District may issue bonds, notes, or other obligations under Subchapter J, Chapter 375, Local Government Code; the board of directors may dissolve the District regardless of whether the District has debt; the bills specifies that the District may not issue bonds from revenue derived from assessments on real property until: the District submits to the TCEQ an engineer 's report describing the project for which the bonds will provide funding, including data, profiles, maps, plans, and specifications related to the project and a cash flow analysis to determine the projected rate of assessment; the completion of at least 75 percent of the projected value of the improvements, including houses and other buildings, that are liable for District assessments and necessary to support the District bonds; and the District has obtained an independent market study from a firm recognized in the area of real estate market analysis supporting the development projects for the real property that is liable for District assessments and necessary to support the District bonds.
 
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:  The proposed District is a Municipal Management District, which must only obtain TCEQ approval for bonds issued to provide water, sewage, or drainage facilities. With the exception of bonds issued to provide water, sewage, or drainage facilities, and Local Government Code Sections 375.062 and 375.064, a Municipal Management District is not subject to the jurisdiction of the TCEQ.
 
Water Use - HB 4349 specifies that "the district may annex territory that is adjacent to the district in the manner provided by Section 49.301, Water Code".
 
Within the City of San Antonio, 92 percent of the total water supply was groundwater (Edwards Aquifer) in 2014, and total water use was 204,641 acre feet.