TO:	Honorable Cody Harris, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources
FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB1532 by Cunningham (relating to the creation of the Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District; providing the authority to issue bonds.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted

The Legislative Budget Board, in cooperation with the Texas Water Development Board and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), has determined that:

This bill creates Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District (the “District”) with the powers and duties of a district under Water Code Chapters 49.

Population: HB 1532 states that the boundaries of the proposed district are coextensive with the boundaries of Harris County. The 2020 Census population for Harris County was 4,731,145. The Harris County population projections adopted for the 2027 State Water Plan project the population to be 5,193,657 in 2030 and 5,392,541 in 2040.

Location: The proposed district's area is approximately 1,748 square miles, and the proposed boundaries of the district are coextensive with the boundaries of Harris County.

Comments on Powers/Duties Different from Similar Types of Districts: 
The bill grants the District the power to perform dredging and maintenance operations and allows the District to take sand, gravel, marl, shell, and mudshell from Lake Houston and its tributaries to restore, maintain, or expand the capacity of the lake and its tributaries to covey storm flows. The District may not finance, develop, or maintain a recreational facility, exercise the power of eminent domain, or perform the same function as another conservation and reclamation district whose territory overlaps with the territory of the District, except for dredging operations. The bill grants the District the authority to issue revenue bonds to carry out any power conferred by this chapter. The District may not impose a tax or charge a fee. The Legislature may appropriate up to $25 million from the State Treasury to the District to fund the District's activities under this chapter, but not after the state fiscal year beginning on September 1, 2027.

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 review of financial reports.

Water Use: Within Harris County, 77% of the total water use was supplied by surface water, and municipal was the largest volume water use category comprising 72% of the county total water use in 2022. The water source the proposed district might pursue is unknown.