TO:	Honorable Lyle Larson, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources
FROM:	John McGeady, Assistant Director     Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB4726 by Dominguez (Relating to the creation of the Cameron County Flood Control District; granting a limited power of eminent domain; providing authority to impose assessments, fees, and taxes and to 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 Cameron County Flood Control District (District) with the powers and duties of a standard levee improvement district under Water Code Chapters 49 and 57.

Population - HB 4726 states that the boundaries of the proposed district are coextensive with the boundaries of Cameron County. The 2010 Census population for Cameron County was 406,220. The 2016 population estimate for the county was 421,766. The Cameron County projections adopted for the 2022 State Water Plan projects the population to grow to 478,974 in 2020 and 559,593 in 2030.
 
Location - The proposed district would be composed of Cameron County, which is approximately 1,276 square miles in south Texas and key cities within the County include Brownsville, Harlingen, and Port Isabel.
 
Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts: The bill specifies that before the annexation of land inside the corporate limits of a municipality, the District must obtain the approval of the municipality; the District may exercise the power of eminent domain in Cameron County necessary for constructing and maintaining all levees and other improvements for the improvement of rivers, creeks, streams, or drainage courses in the District or bordering the District and to prevent overflows; the District may not exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire land or other property that is used for cemetery purposes; the District may not exercise the power of eminent domain within the corporate limits of a municipality without the prior approval by resolution of the governing body of the municipality; the District may not engage in, spend money for, or issue bonds for any park, water service, wastewater service, police, or firefighting function; 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 Cameron County, 98% of the total water use was supplied by surface water, and irrigation was the largest volume water use category comprising 87% of the county total water use in 2016. 13% of the county total water use was for municipal use in 2016.