HB2015 - 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 certain municipal utility districts.

  89R22396 MP-D     By: Zwiener, Virdell 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 certain municipal   utility districts.          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)   if the district will be located wholly or partly in   a county located wholly or partly within the boundaries of the Hill   Country Priority Groundwater Management Area, 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)   if the district will be located wholly or   partly in a county located wholly or partly within the boundaries of   the Hill Country Priority Groundwater Management Area, 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.