Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3609 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R9512 SLB-F
2	2	By: Miller of Comal H.B. No. 3609
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to a requirement to provide sufficient water pressure for
8	8	fire suppression in certain special utility districts.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 13.254(a), Water Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	(a) The commission at any time after notice and hearing may,
13	13	on its own motion or on receipt of a petition described by
14	14	Subsection (a-1), revoke or amend any certificate of public
15	15	convenience and necessity with the written consent of the
16	16	certificate holder or if it finds that:
17	17	(1) the certificate holder has never provided, is no
18	18	longer providing, is incapable of providing, or has failed to
19	19	provide continuous and adequate service in the area, or part of the
20	20	area, covered by the certificate;
21	21	(2) in an affected county as defined in Section
22	22	16.341, the cost of providing service by the certificate holder is
23	23	so prohibitively expensive as to constitute denial of service,
24	24	provided that, for commercial developments or for residential
25	25	developments started after September 1, 1997, in an affected county
26	26	as defined in Section 16.341, the fact that the cost of obtaining
27	27	service from the currently certificated retail public utility makes
28	28	the development economically unfeasible does not render such cost
29	29	prohibitively expensive in the absence of other relevant factors;
30	30	(3) the certificate holder has agreed in writing to
31	31	allow another retail public utility to provide service within its
32	32	service area, except for an interim period, without amending its
33	33	certificate; [or]
34	34	(4) the certificate holder has failed to file a cease
35	35	and desist action pursuant to Section 13.252 within 180 days of the
36	36	date that it became aware that another retail public utility was
37	37	providing service within its service area, unless the certificate
38	38	holder demonstrates good cause for its failure to file such action
39	39	within the 180 days; or
40	40	(5) the certificate holder has failed to comply with
41	41	Section 65.301.
42	42	SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 65, Water Code, is amended
43	43	by adding Section 65.301 to read as follows:
44	44	Sec. 65.301. WATER PRESSURE ADEQUATE FOR FIRE SUPPRESSION.
45	45	(a) This section applies only to a district whose territory
46	46	includes land in the corporate limits or extraterritorial
47	47	jurisdiction of a municipality with a population of more than
48	48	10,000.
49	49	(b) A district shall maintain and make available for fire
50	50	suppression a system that, when tested according to procedures
51	51	prescribed by commission rules, is capable of producing at least
52	52	250 gallons per minute.
53	53	(c) The commission shall revoke a district's certificate of
54	54	convenience and necessity under Section 13.254(a) on finding that
55	55	the district is in violation of this section.
56	56	SECTION 3. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
57	57	shall adopt rules as necessary to implement and enforce Section
58	58	65.301, Water Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable.
59	59	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.