By: Lucio S.B. No. 1842
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an application for the amendment of a certificate of
public convenience and necessity in an area inside the boundaries
of a political subdivision.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 13.002, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subdivision (13-a) to read as follows:
(13-a) "Municipal utility district" means a political
subdivision of this state operating under Chapter 54.
SECTION 2. Subchapter G, Chapter 13, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 13.258 to read as follows:
Sec. 13.258. UTILITY'S APPLICATION FOR SERVICE INSIDE
MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT UNDER CONTRACT. (a) Notwithstanding
any other provision of this chapter, a Class A utility may apply to
the commission to provide services inside the boundaries of a
municipal utility district.
(b) An application under this section must be accompanied
by:
(1) information identifying the applicant;
(2) the name of the municipal utility district;
(3) the written consent of the municipal utility
district that holds the certificate of convenience and necessity;
(4) a written statement by the municipal utility
district that the application is supported by a contract between
the municipal utility district and the utility for the utility to
provide services inside the boundaries of the municipal utility
district; and
(5) a description of the proposed service area by:
(A) a metes and bounds survey certified by a
licensed state land surveyor or a registered professional land
surveyor;
(B) the Texas State Plane Coordinate System;
(C) verifiable landmarks, including roads,
creeks, or railroad lines; or
(D) if a recorded plat of the area exists, lot and
block number.
(c) For an application under this section, the utility
commission may not require any information other than the
information required by this section.
(d) Not later than the 60th day after the date an applicant
files an application under this section, the utility commission
shall review whether the application is complete. If the utility
commission finds that the application is complete, the utility
commission shall:
(1) find that the application is necessary for the
service, accommodation, convenience, or safety of the public; and
(2) grant the application.
(e) The utility commission's decision under this section
becomes final after reconsideration, if any, authorized by utility
commission rule, and may not be appealed.
(f) The consent of a municipality is not required for the
utility commission to grant an application as provided by
Subsection (a) for an area that is in the municipality's
extraterritorial jurisdiction.
(g) Sections 13.241(d) and 13.245 do not apply to an
application under this section.
(h) Chapter 2001, Government Code, does not apply to an
application for an amendment of a certificate of public convenience
and necessity under this section.
SECTION 3. Section 341.035(d), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) A person is not required to file a business plan under
Subsection (a)(1) or (b) if the person:
(1) is a county;
(2) is a retail public utility as defined by Section
13.002, Water Code, unless that person is a utility as defined by
that section;
(3) has executed an agreement with a political
subdivision to transfer the ownership and operation of the water
supply system to the political subdivision; [or]
(4) is a Class A utility, as defined by Section 13.002,
Water Code, that has applied for or been granted an application to
provide service under Section 13.258, Water Code, for the area in
which the construction of the public drinking water supply system
will operate; or
(5) is a noncommunity nontransient water system and
the person has demonstrated financial assurance under Chapter 361
or 382 of this code or Chapter 26, Water Code.
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an application for an amendment of a certificate of public
convenience and necessity filed on or after the effective date of
this Act. An application filed before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the application is
filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.