Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2284 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		84R20290 DDT-F
2	2		By: Walle H.B. No. 2284
3		-	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2284:
4		-	By: Ashby C.S.H.B. No. 2284
5	3
6	4
7	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	6		AN ACT
9	7		relating to the revocation of certain water utilities' certificate
10	8		of public convenience and necessity for major rules violations.
11	9		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	10		SECTION 1. Subchapter G, Chapter 13, Water Code, is amended
13	11		by adding Section 13.2541 to read as follows:
14	12		Sec. 13.2541. REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATE FOR CERTAIN MAJOR
15	13		VIOLATORS. (a) Utility commission staff shall file a petition to
16	14		revoke an investor-owned water utility's certificate of public
17	15		convenience and necessity if the staff has reason to believe:
18	16		(1) the utility has committed repeated or continuous
19	17		major violations of one or more commission rules related to safe
20	18		drinking water for at least six years before the petition is filed;
21	19		(2) none of the owners of the utility have borrowed
22	20		money from a federally insured lending institution to use to remedy
23	21		a violation of one or more commission rules related to safe drinking
24	22		water;
25	23		(3) the utility serves more than 1,000 connections but
26	24		is made up of less than five public water systems;
27	25		(4) the utility does not serve customers who are
28	26		located in a municipality; and
29	27		(5) the utility is located in a county with a
30	28		population of more than four million.
31	29		(b) If, after notice and hearing, the utility commission
32	30		finds that the facts alleged in the petition are true, the utility
33	31		commission may revoke the investor-owned water utility's
34	32		certificate on or before the 90th day after the date the petition is
35	33		filed.
36	34		(c) At the time the utility commission revokes the
37	35		certificate it shall appoint a temporary manager and temporarily
38	36		transfer the certificate to the temporary manager. On accepting
39	37		the transfer, the temporary manager has all the powers necessary to
40	38		operate and manage the utility until the utility commission
41	39		certifies another retail public utility.
42	40		(d) Not more than 12 months after the date the utility
43	41		commission appoints a temporary manager under Subsection (c), the
44	42		utility commission shall offer at auction any property that the
45	43		utility commission determines is rendered useless or valueless to
46	44		the decertified investor-owned water utility as a result of the
47	45		decertification.
48	46		(e) Any person, including public and private water
49	47		utilities and the temporary manager appointed under Subsection (c),
50	48		may apply for approval to bid on the decertified utility's assets
51	49		and property. The utility commission shall review each application
52	50		and approve applicants that it determines have the financial,
53	51		managerial, and technical ability to provide safe, adequate, and
54	52		continuous water service to the decertified utility's customers.
55	53		Only approved applicants may bid in the auction. The utility
56	54		commission shall request proposals from all approved bidders.
57	55		(f) Before the auction, the utility commission and the
58	56		temporary manager shall:
59	57		(1) make the books and records of the decertified
60	58		utility available to all approved bidders; and
61	59		(2) provide an opportunity for all approved bidders to
62	60		inspect the decertified utility's assets and property.
63	61		(g) Each bid must:
64	62		(1) estimate the rates the bidder would charge for
65	63		service during the first five years following the date of the sale;
66	64		and
67	65		(2) agree that the bidder, if the bidder purchases the
68	66		assets and property, will consider making improvements to remedy
69	67		and prevent damages from previous violations of commission rules
70	68		related to safe drinking water before the third anniversary of the
71	69		purchase date.
72	70		(h) The utility commission shall select the bidder that has
73	71		the best plan to remedy previous violations of commission rules, as
74	72		determined by the utility commission, and, on completion of the
75	73		sale to the selected bidder and payment to the decertified utility,
76	74		transfer the certificate of public convenience and necessity from
77	75		the temporary manager to the selected bidder.
78	76		(i) This section expires December 31, 2019.
79	77		SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.