| 1 | 1 | | By: Uresti S.B. No. 117 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Filed November 8, 2010; January 31, 2011, |
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| 3 | 3 | | read first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental |
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| 4 | 4 | | Relations; March 17, 2011, reported favorably by the following |
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| 5 | 5 | | vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; March 17, 2011, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 9 | 9 | | AN ACT |
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| 10 | 10 | | relating to allowing municipally owned utility systems in certain |
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| 11 | 11 | | cities to fund a program to aid low-income residents in paying their |
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| 12 | 12 | | bills. |
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| 13 | 13 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 14 | 14 | | SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 1502.056, Government |
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| 15 | 15 | | Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (a) If the revenue of a utility system, park, or swimming |
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| 17 | 17 | | pool secures the payment of public securities issued or obligations |
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| 18 | 18 | | incurred under this chapter, each expense of operation and |
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| 19 | 19 | | maintenance, including all salaries, labor, materials, interest, |
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| 20 | 20 | | repairs and extensions necessary to provide efficient service, and |
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| 21 | 21 | | each proper item of expense, is a first lien against that |
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| 22 | 22 | | revenue. For a municipality with a population of more than one |
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| 23 | 23 | | million, the first lien against the revenue of a municipally owned |
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| 24 | 24 | | [electric or gas] utility system that secures the payment of public |
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| 25 | 25 | | securities issued or obligations incurred under this chapter also |
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| 26 | 26 | | applies to funding, as a necessary operations expense, for a bill |
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| 27 | 27 | | payment assistance program for utility system customers who have |
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| 28 | 28 | | been threatened with disconnection from service for nonpayment of |
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| 29 | 29 | | bills and who have been determined by the municipality to be |
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| 30 | 30 | | low-income customers. |
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| 31 | 31 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 32 | 32 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 33 | 33 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 34 | 34 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 35 | 35 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |
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| 36 | 36 | | * * * * * |
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