Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB1772 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Turner of Tarrant, Anchia, Turner of Harris H.B. No. 1772
2	2	(Senate Sponsor - Davis)
3	3	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 8, 2013;
4	4	May 9, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Business
5	5	and Commerce; May 14, 2013, reported favorably by the following
6	6	vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 14, 2013, sent to printer.)
7	7
8	8
9	9	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	10	AN ACT
11	11	relating to the disconnection of electric or gas utility service.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Subchapter G, Chapter 92, Property Code, is
14	14	amended by adding Section 92.302 to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 92.302. NOTICE OF UTILITY DISCONNECTION OF
16	16	NONSUBMETERED MASTER METERED MULTIFAMILY PROPERTY TO
17	17	MUNICIPALITIES, OWNERS, AND TENANTS. (a) In this section:
18	18	(1) "Customer" means a person who is responsible for
19	19	bills received for electric utility service or gas utility service
20	20	provided to nonsubmetered master metered multifamily property.
21	21	(2) "Nonsubmetered master metered multifamily
22	22	property" means an apartment, a leased or owner-occupied
23	23	condominium, or one or more buildings containing at least 10
24	24	dwellings that receive electric utility service or gas utility
25	25	service that is master metered but not submetered.
26	26	(b) A customer shall provide written notice of a service
27	27	disconnection to each tenant or owner at a nonsubmetered master
28	28	metered multifamily property not later than the fifth day after the
29	29	date the customer receives a notice of service disconnection from
30	30	an electric service provider or a gas utility. The customer must
31	31	provide the notice by mail to the tenant's or owner's preferred
32	32	mailing address or hand deliver the notice to the tenant or owner.
33	33	The written notice must include the customer's contact information
34	34	and the tenant's remedies under Section 92.301. The notice must
35	35	include the following text in both English and Spanish:
36	36	"Notice to residents of (name and address of nonsubmetered
37	37	master metered multifamily property): Electric (or gas) service to
38	38	this property is scheduled for disconnection on (date) because
39	39	(reason for disconnection)."
40	40	(c) If the property is located in a municipality, the
41	41	customer shall provide the same notice described by Subsection (b)
42	42	to the governing body of that municipality by certified mail. The
43	43	governing body of the municipality may provide additional notice to
44	44	the property's tenants and owners after receipt of the service
45	45	disconnection notice under this subsection.
46	46	(d) A customer is not required to provide the notices
47	47	described by this section if the customer avoids the disconnection
48	48	by paying the bill.
49	49	SECTION 2. Chapter 17, Utilities Code, is amended by adding
50	50	Subchapter E to read as follows:
51	51	SUBCHAPTER E. PROTECTION AGAINST UTILITY SERVICE DISCONNECTION
52	52	Sec. 17.201. DEFINITION. In this subchapter,
53	53	"nonsubmetered master metered multifamily property" means an
54	54	apartment, a leased or owner-occupied condominium, or one or more
55	55	buildings containing at least 10 dwellings that receive electric
56	56	utility service that is master metered but not submetered.
57	57	Sec. 17.202. NOTICE OF DISCONNECTION TO MUNICIPALITIES FOR
58	58	NONSUBMETERED MASTER METERED MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES. (a) A retail
59	59	electric provider or a vertically integrated electric utility, not
60	60	including a municipally owned utility or an electric cooperative,
61	61	in an area where customer choice has not been introduced shall send
62	62	a written notice of service disconnection to a municipality before
63	63	the retail electric provider or vertically integrated electric
64	64	utility disconnects service to a nonsubmetered master metered
65	65	multifamily property for nonpayment if:
66	66	(1) the property is located in the municipality; and
67	67	(2) the municipality establishes an authorized
68	68	representative to receive the notice as described by Section
69	69	17.203(c).
70	70	(b) The retail electric provider or vertically integrated
71	71	electric utility in an area where customer choice has not been
72	72	introduced shall send the notice required by this section not later
73	73	than the 10th day before the date electric service is scheduled for
74	74	disconnection.
75	75	Sec. 17.203. ADDITIONAL SAFEGUARDS. (a) The customer
76	76	safeguards provided by this subchapter are in addition to
77	77	safeguards provided by other law or agency rules.
78	78	(b) This subchapter does not prohibit a municipality or the
79	79	commission from adopting customer safeguards that exceed the
80	80	safeguards provided by this chapter.
81	81	(c) The commission by rule shall develop a mechanism by
82	82	which a municipality may provide the commission with the contact
83	83	information of the municipality's authorized representative to
84	84	whom the notice required by Section 17.202 must be sent. The
85	85	commission shall make the contact information available to the
86	86	public.
87	87	SECTION 3. Chapter 104, Utilities Code, is amended by
88	88	adding Subchapter H to read as follows:
89	89	SUBCHAPTER H. PROTECTION AGAINST UTILITY SERVICE DISCONNECTION
90	90	Sec. 104.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
91	91	(1) "Customer" means any person in whose name gas
92	92	utility service is billed, including individuals, governmental
93	93	units at all levels of government, corporate entities, and any
94	94	other entity with legal capacity to be billed for gas service.
95	95	(2) "Gas utility" has the meaning assigned by Section
96	96	181.021 but does not include a municipally owned utility or gas
97	97	utility owned by an electric cooperative.
98	98	(3) "Nonsubmetered master metered multifamily
99	99	property" means an apartment, a leased or owner-occupied
100	100	condominium, or one or more buildings containing at least 10
101	101	dwellings that receive gas utility service that is master metered
102	102	but not submetered.
103	103	Sec. 104.352. NOTICE OF DISCONNECTION TO MUNICIPALITIES FOR
104	104	NONSUBMETERED MASTER METERED MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES. (a) A gas
105	105	utility shall send a written notice of service disconnection to a
106	106	municipality before the gas utility disconnects service to a
107	107	nonsubmetered master metered multifamily property for nonpayment
108	108	if:
109	109	(1) the property is located in the municipality; and
110	110	(2) the municipality establishes an authorized
111	111	representative to receive the notice as described by Section
112	112	104.353(c).
113	113	(b) The gas utility shall send the notice required by this
114	114	section not later than the 10th day before the date gas utility
115	115	service is scheduled for disconnection.
116	116	Sec. 104.353. ADDITIONAL SAFEGUARDS. (a) The customer
117	117	safeguards provided by this subchapter are in addition to
118	118	safeguards provided by other law or agency rules.
119	119	(b) This subchapter does not prohibit a municipality or the
120	120	regulatory authority from adopting customer safeguards that exceed
121	121	the safeguards provided by this chapter.
122	122	(c) The regulatory authority by rule shall develop a
123	123	mechanism by which a municipality may provide the regulatory
124	124	authority with the contact information of the municipality's
125	125	authorized representative to whom the notice required by Section
126	126	104.352 must be sent. The regulatory authority shall make the
127	127	contact information available to the public.
128	128	SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
129	129	in regard to disconnection of service for nonpayment of a utility
130	130	bill issued for a billing period that begins on or after the
131	131	effective date of this Act.
132	132	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect January 1, 2014.
133	133	* * * * *