Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3366 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R11636 CBH-D
2	2	By: Rose H.B. No. 3366
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the rates charged by a water and sewer utility.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Sections 13.043(e) and (h), Water Code, are
10	10	amended to read as follows:
11	11	(e) In an appeal under Subsection (b) of this section, the
12	12	commission shall hear the appeal de novo and shall fix in its final
13	13	order the rates the governing body should have fixed in the action
14	14	from which the appeal was taken. The commission may establish the
15	15	effective date for the commission's rates at the original effective
16	16	date as proposed by the service provider and[,] may order refunds or
17	17	allow a surcharge to recover lost revenues. The commission[, and]
18	18	may not allow recovery of any rate case [reasonable] expenses
19	19	incurred by the retail public utility in the appeal proceedings.
20	20	The commission may consider only the information that was available
21	21	to the governing body at the time the governing body made its
22	22	decision [and evidence of reasonable expenses incurred by the
23	23	retail public utility in the appeal proceedings]. The rates
24	24	established by the commission in an appeal under Subsection (b) of
25	25	this section remain in effect until the first anniversary of the
26	26	effective date proposed by the retail public utility for the rates
27	27	being appealed or until changed by the service provider, whichever
28	28	date is later, unless the commission determines that a financial
29	29	hardship exists.
30	30	(h) The commission or executive director may[, on a motion
31	31	by the executive director or by the appellant under Subsection (a),
32	32	(b), or (f) of this section,] establish interim rates to be in
33	33	effect until a final decision is made in an appeal filed under
34	34	Subsection (a), (b), or (f).
35	35	SECTION 2. (a) Section 13.145(a), Water Code, is amended to
36	36	read as follows:
37	37	(a) A utility may consolidate more than one system under a
38	38	single tariff only if:
39	39	(1) the regulatory authority finds that at the time
40	40	the utility applies for a uniform tariff, all of the systems under
41	41	the tariff are substantially similar in terms of facilities,
42	42	quality of service, and cost of service; and
43	43	(2) the tariff provides for rates that promote water
44	44	conservation for single-family residences and landscape
45	45	irrigation.
46	46	(b) The changes in law made to Section 13.145(a), Water
47	47	Code, as amended by this section, apply only to applications for a
48	48	uniform tariff filed on or after the effective date of this Act. An
49	49	application filed before the effective date of this Act is governed
50	50	by the law in effect on the date the application is filed, and that
51	51	law is continued in effect for that purpose.
52	52	SECTION 3. (a) Section 13.184, Water Code, is amended by
53	53	adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
54	54	(d) A utility may file with the commission an application to
55	55	increase the utility's rates not more than one time in a 36-month
56	56	period. A rate increase under this section may not exceed 20
57	57	percent of the cost of the utility's rates at the time of the
58	58	application.
59	59	(b) The changes in law made to Section 13.184, Water Code,
60	60	as amended by this section, apply only to an application for a rate
61	61	increase that is filed on or after the effective date of this Act.
62	62	An application that is filed before the effective date of this Act
63	63	is subject to the law in effect at that time, and that law is
64	64	continued in effect for that purpose.
65	65	SECTION 4. Section 13.185(h), Water Code, is amended to
66	66	read as follows:
67	67	(h) The regulatory authority may not include for ratemaking
68	68	purposes:
69	69	(1) legislative advocacy expenses, whether made
70	70	directly or indirectly, including legislative advocacy expenses
71	71	included in trade association dues;
72	72	(2) legal expenses, including attorney, consultant,
73	73	and expert witness fees and court costs, incurred by a water and
74	74	sewer utility in a contested proceeding under Section 13.187 or in
75	75	an appeal of that proceeding, other than legal expenses described
76	76	by Section 13.084 [costs of processing a refund or credit under
77	77	Section 13.187 of this chapter]; or
78	78	(3) any expenditure found by the regulatory authority
79	79	to be unreasonable, unnecessary, or not in the public interest,
80	80	including executive salaries, advertising expenses, legal expenses
81	81	not described by Subdivision (2), and civil penalties or fines.
82	82	SECTION 5. Sections 13.187(a), (b), (d), (d-1), (e), (f),
83	83	(k), (l), and (o), Water Code, are amended to read as follows:
84	84	(a) A utility may not make changes in its rates except by
85	85	delivering a statement of intent to each ratepayer and with the
86	86	regulatory authority having original jurisdiction at least 120 [60]
87	87	days before the proposed effective date of the proposed change. The
88	88	proposed effective date of the new rates must be the first day of a
89	89	billing period, and the new rates may not apply to service received
90	90	before the proposed effective date of the new rates. The statement
91	91	of intent must include:
92	92	(1) the information required by the regulatory
93	93	authority's rules;
94	94	(2) a billing comparison regarding the existing water
95	95	rate and the new water rate computed for the use of:
96	96	(A) 10,000 gallons of water; and
97	97	(B) 30,000 gallons of water; and
98	98	(3) a billing comparison regarding the existing sewer
99	99	rate and the new sewer rate computed for the use of 10,000 gallons,
100	100	unless the utility proposes a flat rate for sewer services.
101	101	(b) A copy of the statement of intent shall be mailed or
102	102	delivered to the appropriate offices of each affected municipality,
103	103	to the executive director, and to any [other] affected persons as
104	104	required by the regulatory authority's rules.
105	105	(d) Except as provided by Subsection (d-1), if the
106	106	application or the statement of intent is not substantially
107	107	complete or does not comply with the regulatory authority's rules,
108	108	it may be rejected and the proposed effective date of the rate
109	109	change may be suspended until a properly completed application is
110	110	accepted by the regulatory authority and a proper statement of
111	111	intent is provided. The commission may also suspend the proposed
112	112	effective date of any rate change if the utility does not have a
113	113	certificate of public convenience and necessity or a completed
114	114	application for a certificate or to transfer a certificate pending
115	115	before the commission or if the utility is delinquent in paying the
116	116	assessment and any applicable penalties or interest required by
117	117	Section 5.701(n) of this code.
118	118	(d-1) Subject to Subsection (k), after [After] written
119	119	notice to the utility, a local regulatory authority may suspend the
120	120	proposed effective date of a rate change for not more than 90 days
121	121	from the proposed effective date[, except that the suspension shall
122	122	be extended by two days for each day a hearing exceeds 15 days. If
123	123	the local regulatory authority does not make a final determination
124	124	on the proposed rate before the expiration of the applicable
125	125	suspension period, the proposed rate shall be considered approved.
126	126	The approval is subject to the local regulatory authority's
127	127	continuation of a hearing in progress].
128	128	(e) The regulatory authority shall hold a hearing on the
129	129	proposed rate increase if, [If,] before the 91st day after the
130	130	[effective] date the statement of intent was provided to the
131	131	authority and each ratepayer under Subsection (a) [of the rate
132	132	change], the regulatory authority receives a complaint from any
133	133	affected municipality, or from the lesser of 1,000 or 10 percent of
134	134	the ratepayers of the utility over whose rates the regulatory
135	135	authority has original jurisdiction[, the regulatory authority
136	136	shall set the matter for hearing].
137	137	(f) The regulatory authority may set the matter for hearing
138	138	on its own motion at any time within 120 days after the [effective]
139	139	date the statement of intent was provided to the authority and each
140	140	ratepayer under Subsection (a) [of the rate change]. If more than
141	141	half of the ratepayers of the utility receive service in a county
142	142	with a population of more than 2.5 million, the hearing must be held
143	143	at a location in that county.
144	144	(k) If the regulatory authority sets the matter for
145	145	[receives at least the number of complaints from ratepayers
146	146	required for the regulatory authority to set] a hearing under
147	147	Subsection (e), the regulatory authority shall [may], pending the
148	148	hearing and a decision, suspend the date the rate change would
149	149	otherwise be effective until the date the regulatory authority
150	150	issues a final decision on the matter. [Except as provided by
151	151	Subsection (d-1), the proposed rate may not be suspended for longer
152	152	than:
153	153	[(1) 90 days by a local regulatory authority; or
154	154	[(2) 150 days by the commission.]
155	155	(l) At any time during the pendency of the rate proceeding
156	156	the regulatory authority or, if the regulatory authority is the
157	157	commission, the executive director may fix interim rates to remain
158	158	in effect until a final determination is made on the proposed rate.
159	159	(o) If the [a] regulatory authority does not set a hearing
160	160	on the proposed rate increase under Subsection (e) or (f), [other
161	161	than the commission establishes interim rates or an escrow account,
162	162	the regulatory authority must make a final determination on the
163	163	rates not later than the first anniversary of the effective date of
164	164	the interim rates or escrowed rates or] the rates are automatically
165	165	approved as requested by the utility.
166	166	SECTION 6. Sections 13.187(i), (j), and (n), Water Code,
167	167	are repealed.
168	168	SECTION 7. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
169	169	Act applies only to a statement of intent filed on or after the
170	170	effective date of this Act. A rate change to which a statement of
171	171	intent filed before the effective date of this Act applies is
172	172	governed by the law in effect on the date the statement was filed,
173	173	and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
174	174	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.