| 1 | 1 | | By: Anchia H.B. No. 4155 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to low income individuals who cannot afford to make |
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| 7 | 7 | | repairs and upgrades to appliances. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 3, Utilities Code, is amended |
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| 10 | 10 | | by adding Chapter 106 to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | CHAPTER 106. GAS CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 106.0001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "commission" |
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| 13 | 13 | | means the railroad commission. |
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| 14 | 14 | | Sec. 106.0002. GAS CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE ACCOUNT; FEE. (a) |
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| 15 | 15 | | The gas customer assistance account is an account in the general |
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| 16 | 16 | | revenue fund. |
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| 17 | 17 | | (b) Money in the account may be appropriated only to the |
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| 18 | 18 | | commission to provide funding for gas utility programs authorized |
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| 19 | 19 | | by Section 106.0003. |
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| 20 | 20 | | (c) Interest earned on the gas customer assistance account |
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| 21 | 21 | | shall be credited to the fund. |
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| 22 | 22 | | (d) The gas customer assistance account is financed by a fee |
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| 23 | 23 | | imposed by the commission on customers of gas distribution |
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| 24 | 24 | | utilities and deposited into the gas customer assistance account. |
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| 25 | 25 | | The fee may be a set amount or may be based on the volume of gas |
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| 26 | 26 | | purchased by customers. |
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| 27 | 27 | | (e) The commission shall set the amount of the fee by rule. |
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| 28 | 28 | | Sec. 106.0003. GAS CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. (a) A gas |
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| 29 | 29 | | utility may establish a customer assistance program to provide |
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| 30 | 30 | | grants to low-income customers of the utility for repairing or |
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| 31 | 31 | | upgrading gas appliances or gas pipes. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (b) The commission by rule shall adopt: |
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| 33 | 33 | | (1) criteria for a gas utility program to be eligible |
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| 34 | 34 | | to receive money from the gas customer assistance account; and |
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| 35 | 35 | | (2) procedures for providing money from the gas |
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| 36 | 36 | | customer assistance account to a participating gas utility. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (c) For the purposes of this section, "low-income customer" |
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| 38 | 38 | | means an individual in whose name gas utility service is billed who: |
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| 39 | 39 | | (1) is a member of a household with a total annual |
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| 40 | 40 | | income that is below 125 percent of the applicable income level |
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| 41 | 41 | | established by the federal poverty guidelines; or |
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| 42 | 42 | | (2) receives assistance from: |
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| 43 | 43 | | (A) the financial assistance program established |
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| 44 | 44 | | under Chapter 31, Human Resources Code; |
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| 45 | 45 | | (B) the medical assistance program under Chapter |
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| 46 | 46 | | 32, Human Resources Code; |
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| 47 | 47 | | (C) the supplemental nutrition assistance |
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| 48 | 48 | | program established under Chapter 33, Human Resources Code; |
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| 49 | 49 | | (D) the federal special supplemental nutrition |
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| 50 | 50 | | program for women, infants, and children authorized by 42 U.S.C. |
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| 51 | 51 | | Section 1786; or |
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| 52 | 52 | | (E) the child health plan program under Chapter |
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| 53 | 53 | | 62, Health and Safety Code. |
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