TO:	Honorable Eddie Lucio, Jr., Chair, Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations
FROM:	Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	SB2244 by West (Relating to the creation of the University Hills Municipal Management District; providing authority to issue bonds; providing authority to impose assessments or 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 University Hills Municipal Utility District (District) with the powers and duties of a standard municipal utility district (MUD) under Chapters 49 and 54, Water Code.

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 SB 2244, the population estimate appears to be 0 in 2010.
     
Population growth in the specific area since the 2010 census is unknown. The 2010 population estimate for areas of Dallas County served by small systems or private wells (County-Other) is 5,339. The Dallas County-Other population projections approved for the 2017 State Water Plan projects the population to be 5,339 in 2020, 3,000 in 2030 and 2,000 in 2040.

Location - The Proposed district's initial boundaries are described with a combination of Original Texas Land Surveys, Dallas County Real Property Records and metes and bounds. Due to the complexity of these boundaries for the various sub areas of the district, staff was able to determine only the general location of the proposed district.

The proposed district's area is approximately 0.44 square miles in south central Dallas County, located within the city limits of Dallas, and north of the City of Lancaster. The proposed district does not appear to overlap any portions of an existing Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) boundary.
 
Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts:  The District has the powers and duties of a standard public improvement district under Chapter 372, Local Government Code, and a standard municipal management district (MMD) under Local Government Code Chapter 375; Local Government Code Chapter 375, Subchapter B, relating the creation of a district, and Subchapter O, relating to defense adjustment management authority, do not apply to the District; this bill specifies that if the legislature grants the District a power that is in addition to the powers approved by the initial resolution of the governing body of the City of Dallas (City) consenting to the creation of the District, the District may not exercise that power unless the governing body of the City consents to that change by ordinance or resolution; this bill grants the District authority for road projects; the District may not construct, acquire, maintain, or operate a toll road; the District may not impose an ad valorem tax; the District may not establish, operate, maintain, or finance a police or fire department without the consent of the City by ordinance or resolution; the board may add territory inside the corporate boundaries or the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City to the District or remove territory inside the corporate boundaries or the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City from the District; the District may not exercise the power of eminent domain; this bill allows the District to divide only if the District has no outstanding bonded debt; the board may dissolve the District in the manner provided by Section 375.261, Local Government Code, subject to Section 375.264, Local Government Code, relating to bond indebtedness; the governing body of the City may dissolve the district by ordinance; Section 375.262, Local Government Code, relating to dissolution by petition, 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 - SB 2244 specifies that "the district has the powers and duties provided by the general law of the state, including Chapters 49 and 54, Water Code, applicable to municipal utility districts created under Section 59, Article XVI, Texas Constitution".
 
Within Dallas County, 98 percent of the total water use was surface water in 2014. Ninety five percent of all the surface water use was for municipal purposes. The water source of the proposed district might pursue is unknown.