TO:	Honorable Tracy O. King, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources
FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB3006 by Middleton (Relating to the creation of the Trinity Bay Special Utility District and the powers and duties of the Trinity Bay Conservation District; providing authority to issue bonds; providing authority to impose assessments or fees.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

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 Trinity Bay Special Utility District (District) with the powers and duties of a standard special utility district under Water Code Chapters 49 and 65.

Population: House Bill 3006 relates to the creation of Trinity Bay Special Utility District and proposes transferring the Certificates of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) from Trinity Bay Conservation District to the proposed district.

The specific description of the proposed boundaries does not allow staff to develop precise population estimates. Based on the boundary of the public water systems of Trinity Bay Conservation District utility, staff is able to estimate a 2010 population of less than 9,820 persons. Population growth in the specific area since the 2010 census is unknown. The Trinity Bay Conservation District utility population projections adopted for the 2022 State Water Plan projects the population to grow to 14,140 in 2030 and 16,564 in 2040.

The boundary of Trinity Bay Special Utility District may also include Chambers County and parts of Jefferson County. Population growth in the specific area since the 2010 census is unknown. The 2010 population estimate for Chambers County was 35,096. The Chambers County population projections adopted for the 2022 State Water Plan projects the population to grow to 50,543 in 2030 and 59,210 in 2040.

The 2010 population estimate for areas of Jefferson County served by small water systems or private wells (‘County-Other') was 11,486. Population growth in the specific area since the 2010 census is unknown. The Jefferson County-Other population projections adopted for the 2022 State Water Plan projects the population to grow to 17,880 in 2030 and 23,611 in 2040.

Location: The proposed district is located in Chambers County and part of Jefferson County. The territory of the CCN mentioned in HB 3006 are located along the western edge of Chambers County, near Lake Anahuac, and in the northeast corner of Chambers County, near the Census-designated places Winnie and Stowell.

Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts: 
House Committee Substitute (HCS):
The HCS changes the deadline for temporary directors to be appointed to the board of the Trinity Bay Special Utility District from 45 day after the effective date of this Chapter to not later than October 15, 2022.

Introduced:
The bill states that the Trinity Bay Special Utility District may not perform a function that may be performed by a drainage district operating under Chapter 56, Water Code.

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 the Trinity Bay Conservation District utility, 100% of the total water use was supplied by surface water for municipal purposes.

Within Chambers County, 93% of the total water use was supplied by surface water, and irrigation was the largest volume water use category comprising 67% of the county total water use in 2018. 6% of the county total water use was for municipal use in 2018. The water source the proposed district might pursue is unknown.

Within Jefferson County, 99% of the total water use was supplied by surface water, and manufacturing was the largest volume water use category comprising 57% of the county total water use in 2018. 20% of the county total water use was for municipal use in 2018. The water source the proposed district might pursue is unknown.