LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
WATER DEVELOPMENT POLICY IMPACT STATEMENT

87TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
April 19, 2021

TO:
Honorable Joe Deshotel, Chair, House Committee on Land & Resource Management
 
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB3140 by Bell, Cecil (Relating to the creation of the Harris-Waller Counties Municipal Utility District No. 5; granting a limited power of eminent domain; providing authority to issue bonds; providing authority to impose assessments, fees, and taxes.), 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 Harris-Waller Counties Municipal Utility District No. 5 (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 Harris County served by small water systems or private wells (‘County-Other') was 35,856. The Harris County-Other population projections adopted for the 2022 State Water Plan projects the population to grow to 153,437 in 2030 and 166,386 in 2040.

The 2010 population estimate for areas of Waller County served by small water systems or private wells (‘County-Other') was 19,280. The Waller County-Other population projections adopted for the 2022 State Water Plan projects the population to grow to 27,579 in 2030 and 32,807 in 2040.

Location: The proposed district's initial boundaries are described with a combination of Original Texas Land Surveys, Harris County Deed Records, Waller County Deed Records, 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 0.07 square miles along the border of Harris County and Waller County, located west of the City of Hockley, and south of the City of Waller. The proposed boundary appears to be near the intersection of Highway 290 and Farm to Market Road 362.

Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts: 
House Committee Substitute (HCS):
The HCS removes language related to road powers that made reference to territory within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality. The HCS specifies that if a road project extends across the boundary of the corporate limits of a municipality, the road project must meet: for a segment of a road project located in a municipality, the applicable construction standards, subdivision requirements, and regulations of that municipality; and for a segment of a road project located in the unincorporated area of a county, the applicable construction standards, subdivision requirements, and regulations of that county. The HCS does not make any other changes to the Introduced version of the bill.

Introduced:
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 grants the District authority for road projects. 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. 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 Harris County, 76% of the total water use was supplied by surface water, and municipal use was the largest volume water use category comprising 67% of the county total water use in 2018.

Within Waller County, 96% of the total water use was supplied by groundwater (Gulf Coast Aquifer), and irrigation use was the largest volume water use category comprising 64% of the county total water use in 2018. 30% of the county total water use was for municipal use in 2018.


Source Agencies:
580 Water Development Board, 582 Commission on Environmental Quality
LBB Staff:
JMc, AJL