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 Legacy Municipal Management District (the “District”) with the powers and duties of a standard municipal management district under Local Government Code Chapter 375.
Population: The very specific description of the proposed boundaries does not allow staff to develop precise population estimates.
The 2020 population estimate for areas of Webb County served by small water systems or private wells (‘County-Other') was 2,403. The Webb County-Other population projections adopted for the 2022 State Water Plan projects the population to grow to 3,199 in 2030 and 3,781 in 2040.
Location: The proposed district's initial boundaries are described with a combination of Original Texas Land Surveys, Webb County Deed Records, Official Public Records of Webb 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 17.67 square miles in Webb County, located north of the City of Laredo and near the intersections of Interstate Highway 35, State Highway 255, and U.S. Highway 83.
Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts:
The District may provide for water, wastewater, drainage, road, and recreational facilities for the District. The bill specifies that the provisions of Sections 375.063, and 375.066 through 375.072, related to director requirements, apply to the District. The bill specifies that Section 49.052, Water Code, related to the disqualification of directors does not apply to the District. The District may provide, design, construct, acquire, improve, relocate, operate, maintain, or finance an improvement project or service using money available to the District, or contract with a governmental or private entity to provide, design, construct, acquire, improve, relocate, operate, maintain, or finance an improvement project or service. The District may contract to provide law enforcement services in the District for a fee. The District may join and pay dues to a charitable or nonprofit organization that performs a service or provides an activity consistent with the furtherance of a District purpose.
The bill allows the District to create economic development programs and exercise economic development powers under Chapter 380, Local Government Code and Subchapter A, Chapter 1509, Government Code. The District may acquire, lease, construct, develop, own, operate, and maintain parking facilities. The bill specifies that the District may add or exclude land as provided by Subchapter J, Chapter 49, Water Code or by Subchapter H, Chapter 54, Water Code. The District may not exercise the power of eminent domain. The board may not finance a service or improvement project with assessments unless a written petition requesting that service or improvement has been filed with the board. The bill specifies that Section 375.243, Local Government Code, related to a petition required for bond election does not apply to the District's tax elections. The District may impose an operation and maintenance tax on taxable property in the District if authorized by a majority of the District voters. The bill specifies that the limitation on the outstanding principal amount of bonds, notes, or other obligations provided by Section 49.4645, Water Code, does not apply to the District. The board may not issue bonds until the county has consented by ordinance or resolution to the conversion of the Legacy Water Control and Improvement District to the District. The bill specifies that the board shall dissolve the district on written petition filed with the board by owners of at least two-thirds of the assessed value of the property subject to assessment by the District or by at least two-thirds of the surface area of the District.
The bill specifies that the board by majority vote may dissolve the District at any time. The bill specifies that the district may not be dissolved by its board if the District has any outstanding bonded indebtedness until that bonded indebtedness has been repaid or defeased, has a contractual obligation to pay money until that obligation has been fully paid, or owns, operates, or maintains public works, facilities, or improvements, unless the District contracts with another person for the ownership, operation, or maintenance of the public works, facilities, or improvements. The bill specifies that Sections 375.261, 375.262, and 375.264, Local Government Code, do 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: Within Webb County, 89% of the total water use was supplied by surface water, and municipal was the largest volume water use category comprising 88% of the county total water use in 2020. The water source the proposed district might pursue is unknown.