bill requiring water conservation plans for new MUDs

The text as introduced · 475 words

89R3055 MP-D

By: Zwiener
H.B. No. 2015

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the consideration of water conservation by the Texas

Commission on Environmental Quality when determining whether to

grant or deny a petition for the creation of a municipal utility

district.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 54.015, Water Code, is amended to read as

follows:

Sec. 54.015. CONTENTS OF PETITION. The petition shall:

(1) describe the boundaries of the proposed district

by metes and bounds or by lot and block number, if there is a

recorded map or plat and survey of the area;

(2) state the general nature of the work proposed to be

done, the necessity for the work, and the cost of the project as

then estimated by those filing the petition; [ and ]

(3) include a water conservation plan that meets the

requirements of Section 13.146, regardless of whether that section

applies to the district; and

(4) include a name of the district which shall be

generally descriptive of the locale of the district followed by the

words Municipal Utility District, or if a district is located

within one county, it may be designated "__________ County

Municipal Utility District No. ______." (Insert the name of the

county and proper consecutive number.) The proposed district shall

not have the same name as any other district in the same county.

SECTION 2. Section 54.021(b), Water Code, is amended to

read as follows:

(b) In determining if the project is feasible and

practicable and if it is necessary and would be a benefit to the

land included in the district, the commission shall consider:

(1) the availability of comparable service from other

systems, including but not limited to water districts,

municipalities, and regional authorities;

(2) the reasonableness of projected construction

costs, tax rates, and water and sewer rates; and

(3) whether or not the district and its system and

subsequent development within the district will have an

unreasonable effect on the following:

(A) land elevation;

(B) subsidence;

(C) groundwater level within the region;

(D) recharge capability of a groundwater source;

(E) natural run-off rates and drainage;

(F) water quality; [ and ]

(G) water conservation; and

(H) total tax assessments on all land located

within a district.

SECTION 3. This Act applies only to a petition requesting

the creation of a municipal utility district that is filed with the

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or after the effective

date of this Act. A petition requesting the creation of a municipal

utility district that was filed with the commission before the

effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the

date the petition was filed, and the former law is continued in

effect for that purpose.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.