TexasLand USA Theme Park vs. Rural Texas: A Fight for the Land We Call Home
Special District Taxing Authority in Waller County
Public authority for private development — created through legislative and administrative pathways, often without a direct public vote.
How Developers Gain Power — Without a Public Vote
This issue did not begin with a ballot measure.
It began with a legislative proposal in Austin.
In May 2025, House Bill 5685 was introduced by Stan Kitzman, who represents Waller County in the Texas House.
HB 5685 proposed creating a project-specific improvement district tied to the TexasLand USA site. The district would have been granted taxing, borrowing, and self-governance authority for infrastructure associated with a single private development.
Required legal notice for HB 5685 appeared only in the Houston Chronicle, rather than in local Waller County newspapers, which contributed to residents learning of the bill only late in the legislative process.
When the bill became public, the community was blindsided. Residents raised urgent concerns about transparency, precedent, and whether extraordinary public powers were appropriate for a speculative private project. Following public scrutiny, HB 5685 was withdrawn and did not advance.
The Pivot to a Municipal Management District (MMD)
The withdrawal of HB 5685 did not end the pursuit of special-district authority for the TexasLand USA project.
After the bill was pulled, TexasLand USA representatives indicated that they intended to pursue creation of a Municipal Management District (MMD) — a form of special district that can exercise taxing, borrowing, and governance authority without a direct public vote. This was conveyed during a July 2025 meeting with a small group of Citizens in Defense of Waller County (CDWC) representatives.
Since that time, it has become clearer that an MMD may be pursued through more than one pathway under state law, including administrative processes involving the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). While no special district has been approved, this confirms that the withdrawal of HB 5685 did not eliminate the underlying strategy — it shifted it.
The core concern is not whether nearby residents would pay these taxes directly.
It is that public taxing and governing authority could be transferred to a private, developer-controlled entity, without voter approval, creating a model that could be replicated by other large developments. Once established, this approach becomes precedent — reshaping how infrastructure, financing, and local control are handled in fast-growth areas like Waller County.
The CAD Vote — A Second Attempt, With Higher Stakes
The County Assistance District (CAD) was not created for TexasLand USA.
Waller County first attempted to establish a CAD in 2022 as a way to claim the final 1% of available local sales-tax authority for county-controlled roads, drainage, and public safety in unincorporated areas. That effort did not pass.
In 2025, the CAD was placed before voters again.
This second attempt occurred against a very different backdrop. The failed effort to pass HB 5685 — and growing awareness of developer-controlled special districts — raised the stakes by clarifying what unclaimed taxing authority could be used for.
On November 4, 2025, voters in unincorporated Waller County rejected the CAD for a second time, by a margin of 684 FOR / 1,726 AGAINST, with approximately 16% turnout.
The vote settled that proposal.
It did not eliminate the underlying issue of who controls the final 1% of local taxing authority.