| 1 | 1 | | 85R4937 DMS-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Clardy H.B. No. 1685 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the authority of the General Land Office to sell retail |
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| 8 | 8 | | electric power. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 35.102, Utilities Code, is transferred |
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| 11 | 11 | | to Subchapter A, Chapter 101, Utilities Code, redesignated as |
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| 12 | 12 | | Section 101.009, Utilities Code, and amended to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | Sec. 101.009 [35.102]. STATE AUTHORITY TO SELL OR CONVEY |
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| 14 | 14 | | [POWER OR] NATURAL GAS. (a) In this section: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the |
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| 16 | 16 | | General Land Office. |
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| 17 | 17 | | (2) "Public retail customer" means a retail customer |
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| 18 | 18 | | that is an agency of this state, a state institution of higher |
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| 19 | 19 | | education, a public school district, a political subdivision of |
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| 20 | 20 | | this state, a military installation of the United States, or a |
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| 21 | 21 | | United States Department of Veterans Affairs facility. |
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| 22 | 22 | | (b) The commissioner, acting on behalf of the state, may |
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| 23 | 23 | | sell or otherwise convey [power or] natural gas generated from |
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| 24 | 24 | | royalties taken in kind as provided by Sections 52.133(f), 53.026, |
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| 25 | 25 | | and 53.077, Natural Resources Code, directly to a public retail |
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| 26 | 26 | | customer [regardless of whether the public retail customer is also |
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| 27 | 27 | | classified as a wholesale customer under other provisions of this |
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| 28 | 28 | | title]. |
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| 29 | 29 | | (c) [(b)] To ensure that the state receives the maximum |
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| 30 | 30 | | benefit from the sale of [power or] natural gas generated from |
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| 31 | 31 | | royalties taken in kind, the commissioner shall use all feasible |
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| 32 | 32 | | means to sell that [power or] natural gas first to public retail |
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| 33 | 33 | | customers that are military installations of the United States, |
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| 34 | 34 | | agencies of this state, institutions of higher education, or public |
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| 35 | 35 | | school districts. The remainder of the [power or] natural gas, if |
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| 36 | 36 | | any, may be sold to public retail customers that are political |
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| 37 | 37 | | subdivisions of this state or to a United States Department of |
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| 38 | 38 | | Veterans Affairs facility. |
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| 39 | 39 | | SECTION 2. Section 104.2545(d), Utilities Code, is amended |
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| 40 | 40 | | to read as follows: |
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| 41 | 41 | | (d) In this section, "public retail customer" has the |
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| 42 | 42 | | meaning assigned by Section 101.009 [35.101]. |
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| 43 | 43 | | SECTION 3. (a) The heading to Subchapter D, Chapter 35, |
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| 44 | 44 | | Utilities Code, is repealed. |
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| 45 | 45 | | (b) Sections 35.101, 35.103, 35.104, 35.105, and 35.106, |
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| 46 | 46 | | Utilities Code, are repealed. |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 4. The General Land Office or an entity operating |
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| 48 | 48 | | under a contract with the General Land Office may continue to |
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| 49 | 49 | | provide retail electric service in accordance with Subchapter D, |
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| 50 | 50 | | Chapter 35, Utilities Code, as that subchapter existed before the |
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| 51 | 51 | | effective date of this Act, under the terms of an agreement with a |
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| 52 | 52 | | customer entered into before the effective date of this Act, only |
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| 53 | 53 | | until the date the agreement expires. |
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| 54 | 54 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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