Texas Senate Bill SB 3035

Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

• Filed: 3/28/25
• Out of Senate Committee: 5/6/25

Caption

Relating to the creation of the Montgomery County Water Control and Improvement District No. 7; granting a limited power of eminent domain; providing authority to issue bonds; providing authority to impose assessments, fees, and taxes.

Summary

SB 3035 creates the Montgomery County Water Control and Improvement District No. 7 as a special district under Texas law. The district is authorized to provide water control and improvement services, including domestic, industrial, or communal waste collection and stormwater control, and to undertake road-related improvements and drainage projects that support those roads. The bill also establishes the district’s initial territory, provides for temporary directors and later elected permanent directors, and requires confirmation of the district’s creation through an election after the necessary municipal consents are obtained. The bill gives the district a broad set of financing tools, including the ability to issue bonds and other obligations, levy assessments, impose fees, and, if approved by voters, impose ad valorem taxes and operation and maintenance taxes. It also authorizes contract taxes and allows bonds to be secured by various revenue sources. For road projects, the bill sets standards for compliance with local construction and subdivision rules and limits the amount of ad valorem-tax-supported debt that may be issued for road financing. The bill further allows recreational facilities and related bonds, even where the district overlaps with another political subdivision that has similar authority.

Impact

If enacted, SB 3035 would add a new chapter to the Special District Local Laws Code and formally establish a new water control and improvement district in Montgomery County. It would affect landowners and residents within the district boundaries by creating a local governmental entity with authority over water, drainage, road, and potentially recreational infrastructure, along with the power to finance those projects through bonds, taxes, assessments, fees, and contract-based revenues. The bill also includes a conditional eminent domain provision: the district may have limited eminent domain authority only if the bill receives the required two-thirds vote; otherwise, the district would have no eminent domain power.

Sentiment

The available legislative history suggests the bill moved through committee without recorded opposition. It was reported favorably from the Senate Local Government Committee by a 6-0 vote, with one member present not voting. No committee transcript or floor vote information is provided, so the broader sentiment can only be characterized as generally supportive at the committee stage and procedurally noncontroversial based on the recorded vote.

Contention

The main substantive point of contention in the bill is eminent domain. The bill is drafted to grant only a limited power of eminent domain, but it also contains a fallback provision eliminating eminent domain entirely if the measure does not receive the constitutionally required two-thirds vote. That structure indicates sensitivity to property-rights concerns and constitutional vote thresholds. Other likely areas of interest, though not reflected in recorded debate, include the district’s taxing and bonding authority, the scope of its road and drainage powers, and the requirement that affected municipalities consent before the district can be confirmed.