81R3429 TRH-F
By: Turner of Harris H.B. No. 630
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation and governing bodies of independent
organizations that govern power regions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 39.151, Utilities Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (e) and (g) and by adding Subsection (g-2) to
read as follows:
(e) The commission may authorize an independent
organization that is certified under this section to charge a
reasonable and competitively neutral rate to wholesale buyers and
sellers to cover the independent organization's costs. The
commission shall investigate the organization's cost efficiencies,
salaries and benefits, and use of debt financing and may require the
organization to provide any information needed to effectively
evaluate the organization's budget and the reasonableness and
neutrality of a rate or proposed rate or to evaluate the
effectiveness or efficiency of the organization. The commission
may require prior approval of the use of debt financing by the
organization. The commission shall work with the organization to
establish the detail of information, both current and historical,
and the time frames the commission needs to effectively evaluate a
rate or a rate request.
(g) To maintain certification as an independent
organization under this section, an organization's governing body
must be composed of persons specified by this section and selected
in accordance with formal bylaws or protocols of the
organization. The bylaws or protocols must be approved by the
commission and must reflect the input of the commission. The
bylaws must specify the process by which appropriate stakeholders
elect members and, for unaffiliated members, prescribe
professional qualifications for selection as a member. [The
bylaws must require the use of a professional search firm to
identify candidates for membership of unaffiliated members.] The
process must allow for commission input in identifying
candidates. The governing body must be composed of:
(1) the chairman of the commission as an ex officio
voting [nonvoting] member;
(1-a) the other two commissioners as ex officio
nonvoting members;
(2) the counsellor as an ex officio voting member
representing residential and small commercial consumer interests;
(3) the chief executive officer of the independent
organization as an ex officio voting member;
(4) four [six] market participants elected by their
respective market segments to serve one-year terms, with:
(A) one representing [independent] generators;
(B) one representing investor-owned utilities;
(C) [one representing power marketers;
[(D)] one representing retail electric
providers; and
(D) [(E)] one representing municipally owned
utilities and electric cooperatives; [and
[(F) one representing electric cooperatives;]
(5) one member representing industrial consumer
interests and elected by the industrial consumer market segment to
serve a one-year term;
(6) one member representing large commercial consumer
interests selected in accordance with the bylaws to serve a
one-year term; and
(7) five members unaffiliated with any market segment,
nominated [and selected] by the other members of the governing body
and selected by the commission to serve three-year terms.
(g-2) The commission may require removal of a member of the
governing body if the member:
(1) does not have at the time of appointment or
maintain during service the qualifications required by this section
and by the formal bylaws or protocols of the organization;
(2) fails to comply with the requirements of Section
39.1512; or
(3) fails to impartially and adequately discharge the
member's duties and responsibilities.
SECTION 2. An independent organization certified by the
Public Utility Commission of Texas before September 1, 2009, shall
modify the organization's governing body to comply with Section
39.151(g), Utilities Code, as amended by this Act, not later than
September 1, 2010. On or after September 1, 2010, the Public
Utility Commission of Texas may decertify an independent
organization whose governing body does not comply with Section
39.151(g), Utilities Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.