AT THE CAPITOL
News from the 88th legislative session
Local legislator files bill for the creation of the Cypress Creek Drainage Improvement District
NEXT STEPS A bill proposing the creation of the Cypress Creek Drainage Improvement District has been led in the state Legislature, but more action is needed before the bill can become law.
BY EMILY LINCKE
May 2022: The Cypress Creek Flooding Task Force proposes a drainage improvement district to help mitigate ooding in the watershed. Jan. 10, 2023: The 88th Texas Legislature convenes. March 30: State Rep. Sam Harless, R-Spring, les House Bill 5334 proposing the creation of the Cypress Creek Drainage Improvement District. June: If approved by the Legislature, the bill will go before Gov. Greg Abbott for consideration. Sept. 1: If approved by Abbott, HB 5334 will take eect. Sept. 1, 2027: The temporary board of directors has until this date to call for an election for a permanent board and to uphold the creation of the drainage improvement district.
authority to impose taxes or issue bonds,” reads an April 5 newsletter from Harless’ oce. Those named to the proposed district’s temporary board of directors are also members of the Cypress Creek Flooding Task Force: Joe Myers and Mark Adam, who serve as the president and vice president of the Cypress Creek Flood Control Coalition, respectively; Barbara Schlattman, chair of the Green Medians Project; and Calvin Cobb and Clara Lewis. For HB 5334 to be passed in the ongoing legislative session, two- thirds approval of the House of Representatives and the Senate is needed. According to Harless’ oce, the bill was sent to the Natural Resources Committee on April 4, and a hearing will soon follow. The regular 88th legislative session will end May 29.
Creek Flooding Task Force initially proposed the creation of a drainage improvement district in May to help mitigate ooding in the Cypress Creek watershed. The watershed—which largely covers unincorporated communities such as Spring, Klein and Cypress— has a history of ooding. During Hurricane Harvey in 2017, 9,450 homes ooded within the watershed, according to the Harris County Flood Control District. According to HB 5334, the drainage improvement district’s boundaries would run the area of the Cypress Creek watershed, except for areas falling within the cities of Waller and Prairie View. The district would not have the powers of eminent domain, to impose a tax or to issue bonds. “Our commitment to pursuing this eort has always been conditional in that the district would not have the
A bill proposing the creation of the Cypress Creek Drainage Improvement District has been led in the 88th Texas Legislature and would take eect Sept. 1, if approved. State Rep. Sam Harless, RSpring, led House Bill 5334 on March 30, according to the Texas Legislature’s website. If approved in the ongoing 88th legislative session, the bill would create a board of ve temporary directors and require an election to be held before Sept. 1, 2027. The election would select ve permanent directors and conrm the creation of the district. To hold an election for a permanent board, the temporary directors must get the approval of each municipal utility district falling within the district’s boundaries. As previously reported by Community Impact , the Cypress
SOURCES: CYPRESS CREEK FLOODING TASK FORCE, TEXAS LEGISLATURE ONLINE, OFFICE OF STATE REP. SAM HARLESSCOMMUNITY IMPACT
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