Section 51.038 - Municipal Districts(a) A district operating under the provisions of this chapter may, by order of the board entered in the minutes, become a "municipal district."(b) To become a municipal district, a district shall have a taxing power unlimited as to rate and amount and may not have outstanding or authorized bond obligations exceeding 20 percent of the established assessable, taxable evaluation of the real estate subject to the district's taxing power. In computing outstanding or authorized bond obligations, the bond obligations which may be retired by the district out of revenues from sources other than the income from district taxation shall not be included.(c) To be eligible to become a municipal district, a district:(1) shall embrace the total area of a municipal corporation which has bond obligations which may be declared eligible for purchase by savings banks and trusts under the acts of the State of New York, and which has plans designed for furnishing, in whole or in part, a water supply, sanitation facilities, flood protection, or other service inuring to the general benefit of the inhabitants of the embraced city; or(2) shall have a population, according to the last preceding federal census, of at least 30,000 persons and have established assessable real estate values of at least $50 million. Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 110, ch. 58, Sec. 1, eff. 8/30/1971.