TO:	Honorable Lyle Larson, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources
FROM:	John McGeady, Assistant Director     Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB4669 by Wilson (Relating to the creation of the Northeast Burnet County Water District No. 1; granting a limited power of eminent domain; providing authority to issue bonds; providing authority to impose assessments, fees, and taxes.), 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 Northeast Burnet County Water District No. 1 (District) with the powers and duties of a standard municipal utility district under Water Code Chapters 49 and 54.

Population - The very specific description of the proposed boundaries does not allow staff to develop precise population estimates.
     
Population growth in the specific area since the 2010 census is unknown. The 2010 population estimate for areas of Burnet County served by small water systems or private wells (County-Other) was 16,595. The Burnet County-Other population projections adopted for the 2022 State Water Plan projects the population to grow to 22,242 in 2020 and 25,317 in 2030.
 
Location - The proposed district's initial boundaries are described with a combination of Original Texas Land Surveys, Official Public Records of Burnet County and metes and bounds. Due to the complexity of these boundaries for the various subareas of the district, staff is only able to determine the general location of the proposed district.
 
The proposed district's area is approximately 2.91 square miles in east Burnet County, located northwest of the City of Florence, and near the intersection of Farm to Market Road 2657 and County Road 219.
 
Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts:
The District must receive consent to the creation of the District from each municipality in whose corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction the District is located prior to holding a confirmation election; the bill requires the TCEQ to appoint the five initial temporary directors upon receipt of a petition from the owners of a majority of the assessed value of the real property in the district; the bill grants the District authority for road projects; the District may provide or finance, or contract to provide or finance, an improvement project that is a public improvement, facility, or service that may be provide by a municipal utility district or a municipal management district in a manner authorized by Chapter 375, Local Government Code, or Chapter 54, Water Code and the purchase and maintenance of conservation land for endangered species; Sections 375.161 through 375.163, Local Government Code, do not apply to an assessment imposed by the District; the bill allows the District to divide; the District may negotiate and enter into a written strategic partnership agreement under Local Government Code Section 43.0751, with a municipality in whose extraterritorial jurisdiction the District is located; the District may not issue bonds payable wholly or partly from assessments; the District may finance a recreational facility or improvement with assessments on residential or commercial property only if a written petition requesting that facility or improvement has been filed with the board and the District holds a hearing on the proposed assessment; the District may not impose an impact fee or assessment on the property of an electric utility or a power generation company, a gas utility, a telecommunications provider, or a person who provides to the public cable television or advanced telecommunications services; the bill specifies that at the time of issuance, the total principal amount of bonds or other obligations issued or incurred to finance road projects and payable from ad valorem taxes may not exceed one-fourth of the assessed value of real property in the District; the bill allows the District to establish defined areas; and if the bill does not receive a two-thirds vote of all members elected to each house, the District may not exercise the power of eminent domain.

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 - Within Burnet County, 40% of the total water use was supplied by surface water, and municipal was the largest volume water use category comprising 77% of the county total water use in 2016. The water source the proposed district might pursue is unknown.