TO:	Honorable Charles Perry, Chair, Senate Committee on Water & Rural Affairs
FROM:	John McGeady, Assistant Director     Sarah Keyton, Assistant Director Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	SB911 by Hinojosa (Relating to the supervision of water districts by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.), As Introduced

The bill would amend the Water Code to transfer responsibility for administrative hearings of water districts from examiners appointed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to the State Office of Administrative Hearings. The bill would allow the TCEQ Executive Director to request additional information after reviewing the audit report of a water district and would allow this same position to review and investigate a district's financial records and to conduct an on-site audit of a district's financial information. 
 
Although information provided by TCEQ indicates that additional costs would be realized with implementing the provisions of the bill, this estimate assumes these costs can be absorbed within available resources. According to the State Office of Administrative Hearings, duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill can be absorbed within available resources.

Local Government Impact

The Northeast Texas Municipal Water District assumes that the bill could have a significant financial impact on a water district in the event an audit reveals deficiencies that the state agency requires to be addressed, however the extent of the fiscal impact on water districts cannot be determined at this time.