| 1 | 1 | | By: Nichols, Gallegos, Patrick S.B. No. 637 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Filed February 14, 2011; February 23, 2011, |
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| 3 | 3 | | read first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources; |
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| 4 | 4 | | April 18, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable Committee |
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| 5 | 5 | | Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 1; April 18, 2011, |
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| 6 | 6 | | sent to printer.) |
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| 7 | 7 | | COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 637 By: Nichols |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | |
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| 10 | 10 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 11 | 11 | | AN ACT |
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| 12 | 12 | | relating to the recovery of certain rate case expenses by an |
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| 13 | 13 | | investor-owned water and sewer utility. |
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| 14 | 14 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 15 | 15 | | SECTION 1. Subsection (h), Section 13.185, Water Code, is |
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| 16 | 16 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (h) The regulatory authority may not include for ratemaking |
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| 18 | 18 | | purposes: |
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| 19 | 19 | | (1) legislative advocacy expenses, whether made |
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| 20 | 20 | | directly or indirectly, including legislative advocacy expenses |
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| 21 | 21 | | included in trade association dues; |
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| 22 | 22 | | (2) costs of processing a refund or credit under |
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| 23 | 23 | | Section 13.187 [of this chapter]; [or] |
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| 24 | 24 | | (3) legal expenses, including attorney's fees and |
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| 25 | 25 | | court costs, incurred by an investor-owned water and sewer utility |
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| 26 | 26 | | in a contested proceeding under Section 13.187 or an appeal of that |
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| 27 | 27 | | proceeding unless the proceeding or appeal results in the approval |
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| 28 | 28 | | of the utility's proposed rate, other than legal expenses described |
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| 29 | 29 | | by Section 13.084; or |
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| 30 | 30 | | (4) any expenditure found by the regulatory authority |
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| 31 | 31 | | to be unreasonable, unnecessary, or not in the public interest, |
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| 32 | 32 | | including executive salaries, advertising expenses, legal expenses |
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| 33 | 33 | | not described by Subdivision (3), and civil penalties or fines. |
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| 34 | 34 | | SECTION 2. This Act applies only to a statement of intent |
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| 35 | 35 | | for which a regulatory authority has not issued a final decision |
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| 36 | 36 | | before the effective date of this Act. A statement of intent for |
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| 37 | 37 | | which a regulatory authority has issued a final decision before the |
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| 38 | 38 | | effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the |
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| 39 | 39 | | date that final decision was issued, and that law is continued in |
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| 40 | 40 | | effect for that purpose. |
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| 41 | 41 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |
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| 42 | 42 | | * * * * * |
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