Bill Text: TX HB2015 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Engrossed

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Bill Title: 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.

Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2025-05-15 - Received from the House [HB2015 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-HB2015-Engrossed.html

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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.