Committee substitute for Northeast Texas Municipal Water District bill narrows city oversight for water‑sale approvals

House Bill 5,659 would revise the governing statute for the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District, which holds water rights in Lake of the Pines and serves seven member cities, a Senate sponsor told the committee.

Senator Charles Hughes, appearing as sponsor, said the bill and committee substitute add guardrails and more local oversight for any interbasin sale of water rights by the district. Under the substitute, an interbasin sale would require approval from a majority of the seven member city councils along with public notice and open‑meeting procedures.

Dominic Sabire, chief operating officer for the district, said the district supports transparency but warned the substitute could impose constraints that hinder routine contracts and large industrial sales. “The member cities are the district’s smallest customer,” Sabire told the committee, and he said the district holds about 203,000 acre‑feet of water rights in Lake of the Pines that are used by industrial customers, power plants and public water systems.

Senators and stakeholders said negotiators on both sides had reached a working compromise and that the substitute provides a clearer local consent process without removing options required for future water development. The committee adopted the substitute and reported the bill favorably to the full Senate; a subsequent committee vote recorded in the hearing shows the committee substitute passed by roll call (6 ayes, 1 nay).