Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4254 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Metcalf H.B. No. 4254
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the procedure for amending or revoking certificates of
7	7	public convenience and necessity issued to certain water utilities.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. The heading to Section 13.254, Water Code, is
10	10	amended to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 13.254. DECERTIFICATION INITIATED BY COMMISSION OR
12	12	UTILITY; EXPEDITED RELEASE INITIATED BY LANDOWNER [REVOCATION OR
13	13	AMENDMENT OF CERTIFICATE].
14	14	SECTION 2. Sections 13.254(a-2) and (d), Water Code, are
15	15	amended to read as follows:
16	16	(a-2) A landowner is not entitled to file a petition under
17	17	[make the election described in] Subsection (a-1) or Section
18	18	13.2541 [(a-5)] but is entitled to contest under Subsection (a) the
19	19	involuntary certification of the landowner's [its] property in a
20	20	hearing held by the utility commission if the landowner's property
21	21	is located:
22	22	(1) in [within] the boundaries of any municipality or
23	23	the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality with a
24	24	population of more than 500,000 and the municipality or retail
25	25	public utility owned by the municipality is the holder of the
26	26	certificate; or
27	27	(2) in a platted subdivision actually receiving water
28	28	or sewer service.
29	29	(d) A retail public utility may not in any way render retail
30	30	water or sewer service directly or indirectly to the public in an
31	31	area that has been decertified under this section unless just and
32	32	adequate compensation required under Subsection (g) has been paid
33	33	[without providing compensation for any property that the utility
34	34	commission determines is rendered useless or valueless] to the
35	35	decertified retail public utility [as a result of the
36	36	decertification].
37	37	SECTION 3. Subchapter G, Chapter 13, Water Code, is amended
38	38	by adding Section 13.2541 to read as follows:
39	39	Sec. 13.2541. STREAMLINED EXPEDITED RELEASE INITIATED BY
40	40	LANDOWNER. (a) Sections 13.254(a-7), (c), (d), and (h) apply to a
41	41	proceeding under this section.
42	42	SECTION 4. Sections 13.254(a-5) and (a-6), Water Code, are
43	43	transferred to Section 13.2541, Water Code, as added by this Act,
44	44	redesignated as Sections 13.2541(b), (c), (d), (e), and (f), Water
45	45	Code, and amended to read as follows:
46	46	(b) [(a-5)] As an alternative to decertification or [under
47	47	Subsection (a) and] expedited release under Section 13.254
48	48	[Subsection (a-1)], the owner of a tract of land that is at least 25
49	49	acres and that is not receiving water or sewer service may petition
50	50	for expedited release of the area from a certificate of public
51	51	convenience and necessity in the manner provided by this section
52	52	and is entitled to that release if the landowner's property is
53	53	located in a county with a population of at least one million, a
54	54	county adjacent to a county with a population of at least one
55	55	million, or a county with a population of more than 200,000 and less
56	56	than 220,000 that does not contain a public or private university
57	57	that had a total enrollment in the most recent fall semester of
58	58	40,000 or more, and not in a county that has a population of more
59	59	than 45,500 and less than 47,500.
60	60	(c) [(a-6)] The utility commission shall grant the [a]
61	61	petition [received under Subsection (a-5)] not later than the 60th
62	62	day after the date the landowner files the petition.
63	63	(d) The utility commission may not deny a petition [] based
64	64	on the fact that a certificate holder is a borrower under a federal
65	65	loan program.
66	66	(e) A certificate holder that is the subject of a petition
67	67	under this section may not borrow money under a federal loan program
68	68	after the date the petition is filed until the utility commission
69	69	issues a decision on the petition. A landowner that submits a
70	70	petition under this section may pay or defease federal loans for a
71	71	certificate holder that is a borrower under a federal loan program.
72	72	The utility commission may issue an order to require the
73	73	certificate holder to accept a loan payment or defeasance under
74	74	this subsection.
75	75	(f) The utility commission may require an award of
76	76	compensation by the petitioner to the certificate holder in the
77	77	manner provided by Sections 13.254(f), (g), and (g-1) [a
78	78	decertified retail public utility that is the subject of a petition
79	79	filed under Subsection (a-5) as otherwise provided by this
80	80	section]. The utility commission shall ensure that:
81	81	(1) the monetary amount of compensation is determined
82	82	not later than the 90th calendar day after the date the utility
83	83	commission approves the petition; and
84	84	(2) the landowner pays the compensation to the
85	85	certificate holder not later than the 90th calendar day after the
86	86	date the monetary amount of compensation is determined.
87	87	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
88	88	a proceeding affecting a certificate of public convenience and
89	89	necessity that commences on or after the effective date of this Act.
90	90	A proceeding affecting a certificate of public convenience and
91	91	necessity that commenced before the effective date of this Act is
92	92	governed by the law in effect on the date the proceeding is
93	93	commenced, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
94	94	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.