85R7190 JXC-D
By: Isaac H.B. No. 2959
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the provision of wholesale water and sewer service to
certain municipalities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 13, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 13.088 to read as follows:
Sec. 13.088. MUNICIPAL WHOLESALE SERVICE IN CERTAIN
COUNTIES. (a) This section applies only to:
(1) a home-rule municipality primarily located in a
county with a population of more than one million; and
(2) a general-law municipality with a population of
less than 301 located in a county with a population of more than
150,000.
(b) A municipally owned utility of a home-rule municipality
shall provide wholesale water and sewer service to a general-law
municipality on the request of the general-law municipality, at the
level of service requested by the general-law municipality, if:
(1) the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the
home-rule municipality borders the extraterritorial jurisdiction
of the general-law municipality;
(2) the general-law municipality possesses a
certificate of public convenience and necessity;
(3) an aquifer provides the sole water supply for the
general-law municipality;
(4) a groundwater conservation district with
jurisdiction over the aquifer has determined that the aquifer has
limited capacity and experiences frequent droughts; and
(5) at least 50 percent of the territory of the
general-law municipality, including territory in the
municipality's corporate boundaries and extraterritorial
jurisdiction, is located in a recharge zone of the aquifer
described by Subdivision (3) and the groundwater conservation
district described by Subdivision (4) has determined that the
recharge zone is environmentally sensitive.
(c) A general-law municipality that makes a request under
this section is responsible for paying the costs of construction of
new facilities or extending existing facilities required for the
service.
(d) A municipally owned utility that receives a request
under this section:
(1) may request that the utility commission determine
whether the requesting municipality meets the requirements of
Subsection (b); and
(2) may not recover through its rates the costs of
construction of new facilities or extending existing facilities
required for the service.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2017.