87R2067 JXC-D
By: Schwertner S.B. No. 387
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the appeal of rates for water or sewer service charged
to certain customers in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a
municipality.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 13, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 13.0442 to read as follows:
Sec. 13.0442. RATES CHARGED IN EXTRATERRITORIAL
JURISDICTION BY NEW PROVIDER. (a) A ratepayer paying for water or
sewer service in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a
municipality may appeal the rates for that service to the utility
commission in the manner provided by this section if:
(1) the rates for the service increase when a new
service provider takes over the provision of the service; and
(2) the retail public utility that is the new service
provider is:
(A) subject to the appellate jurisdiction of the
utility commission under Section 13.043(b) for the service area; or
(B) a utility permitted under Section 13.242(c).
(b) The ratepayer may appeal the increased rates by filing a
petition for review with the utility commission and the service
provider not later than the 90th day after the effective date of the
increased rates.
(c) The petition must be signed by the lesser of 10,000 or 10
percent of the ratepayers whose rates have been increased due to the
takeover by the new service provider. Each person receiving a
separate bill is considered a ratepayer, but one person may not be
considered more than one ratepayer regardless of the number of
bills the person receives. The petition for review is considered
properly signed if signed by a person, or the spouse of a person, in
whose name utility service is carried.
(d) The utility commission shall hear the appeal de novo and
shall fix in its final order the rates the governing body of the
provider should have fixed. The utility commission may establish
the effective date for the utility commission's rates at the
original effective date as proposed by the service provider, may
order refunds or allow a surcharge to recover lost revenues, and may
allow recovery of reasonable expenses incurred by the service
provider in the appeal proceedings. The utility commission may
consider only:
(1) the information that was available to the
governing body that approved the increased rates at the time the
governing body approved the rates; and
(2) evidence of reasonable expenses incurred by the
service provider in the appeal proceedings.
(e) The rates established by the utility commission remain
in effect until the first anniversary of the effective date
proposed by the service provider for the rates being appealed or
until changed by the service provider, whichever date is later,
unless the utility commission determines that a financial hardship
exists.
(f) The utility commission may, on a motion by the utility
commission or by the appellant, establish interim rates to be in
effect until a final decision is made under this section.
(g) In an appeal under this section, the utility commission
shall ensure that every rate made, demanded, or received by the
service provider is just and reasonable. Rates may not be
unreasonably preferential, prejudicial, or discriminatory but must
be sufficient, equitable, and consistent in application to each
class of customers. The utility commission shall use a methodology
that preserves the financial integrity of the service provider.
SECTION 2. Section 13.1325, Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 13.1325. ELECTRONIC COPIES OF RATE INFORMATION. On
request, the utility commission shall provide, at a reasonable
cost, electronic copies of or Internet access to all information
provided to the utility commission under Sections 13.016, [and]
13.043, 13.0442 and Subchapter F to the extent that the information
is available and is not confidential. Copies of all information
provided to the utility commission shall be provided to the Office
of Public Utility Counsel, on request, at no cost to the office.
SECTION 3. (a) Notwithstanding Section 13.0442(b), Water
Code, as added by this Act, a ratepayer described by Section
13.0442(a), Water Code, as added by this Act, may use the appeal
process in Section 13.0442, Water Code, as added by this Act, to
appeal increased rates charged to the ratepayer by a new service
provider by filing a petition for review with the Public Utility
Commission of Texas and the service provider not later than
December 1, 2021, if the new service provider began providing
service to the ratepayer on or after September 1, 2016.
(b) Subsection (a) of this section applies only to rates
that the service provider has not changed since the service
provider began providing service to the ratepayer.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.