By Eleni Himaras
reporter@ltview
The bill that would expand the Lakeway Municipal Utility District Board of Directors from five to seven members and allow water-only customers a chance to vote for them, became mired in the House and did not get voted on by session’s end.

 “The truth of the matter is the MUD bill became, to some degree, a victim of house politics. I find it comforting that both sides are talking and there is now a template for a compromise,” said Texas Sen. Kirk Watson, who sponsored the bill. “I’m going to stay engaged until we get to a resolution.”
While it passed through the Senate quickly, it became clear early on that the small bill would not be heard in the House, so Watson tacked it on as a rider to a larger water bill that he believed would get called up in time.
“We worked so hard on it and sadly, it ran out of time,” he said.
Lakeway Mayor Dave DeOme believes that despite the failure of the bill, the spotlight the debate over it brought will bring improvements to the governance of the MUD.
“I think all of this activity around trying to get that bill through and all the publicity ended up raising awareness in the community to this issue. I really believe that in the long run that is going to be beneficial to the community,” he said.
He also believes that the community’s involvement is key to reaping those benefits.
“Without that bill being passed, we only hope that the people in the district next may actually take an active role in understanding who the candidates are and really having a hard look at the candidates and taking a very active role in the election,” he said. “I know there are a number of people that are very interested in trying to get people to run and get a contested election.”
LMUD Board President Tom Rogers said that while the board may allow out-of-district customers to vote without the bill being signed into law, MUD officials are looking at ways to make improvements to the governance.
“We want to pick up on some of the ideas that came through and it’s going to be a long day but we’re going to be looking into committee appointments, a whole multitude of different things,” he said of the regularly scheduled board meeting planned for June 4. “There’s not a whole lot we can do without a law, so we’re going to try to polish up our image.”
LMUD Board President Tom Rogers said that while the board may not allow out of district customers to vote without the bill being signed into law, they are looking at ways to make improvements to the governance.
“We want to pick up on some of the ideas that came through and it’s going to be a long day but we’re going to be looking into committee appointments, a whole multitude of different things,” he said of the regularly scheduled board meeting planned for June 4. “There’s not a whole lot we can do with out a law, so we’re going to try to polish up and our image”