89R9040 CS-D
By: Johnson S.B. No. 1513
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a program to provide assistance for certain retail
electric customers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 17.007, Utilities Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(a) The Health and Human Services Commission, on request of
the commission, shall assist in:
(1) developing an automatic process for identifying
low-income customers to retail electric providers and certificated
telecommunications utilities to enable those providers and
utilities to offer customer service, discounts, bill payment
assistance, or other methods of assistance; and
(2) implementing Section 39.9035.
(e) Subsection (d) does not apply in a state fiscal biennium
in which money is available under Section 39.9035 for the process
established by this section.
SECTION 2. Section 39.002, Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter, other than
Sections 39.151, 39.1516, 39.155, 39.157(e), 39.161, 39.162,
39.163, 39.203, 39.9035, 39.9051, 39.9052, and 39.914(e), and
Subchapters M and N, does not apply to a municipally owned utility
or an electric cooperative. Sections 39.157(e), [and] 39.203, and
39.9035 apply only to a municipally owned utility or an electric
cooperative that is offering customer choice. If there is a
conflict between the specific provisions of this chapter and any
other provisions of this title, except for Chapters 40 and 41, the
provisions of this chapter control.
SECTION 3. Subchapter Z, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is
amended by adding Section 39.9035 to read as follows:
Sec. 39.9035. INCOME-BASED ASSISTANCE FUND. (a) In this
section, "fund" means the income-based assistance fund.
(b) The income-based assistance fund is an account in the
general revenue fund. Money in the account may be appropriated only
for the purposes provided by this section or other law.
(c) The fund consists of:
(1) money appropriated, credited, transferred, or
deposited to the credit of the fund by the legislature;
(2) gifts, grants, or donations made to the fund; and
(3) interest or other earnings attributable to the
investment of money in the fund.
(d) Money in the fund may be appropriated to the commission
and used to provide funding only for the following purposes, in the
following order of priority:
(1) programs to:
(A) assist low-income electric customers by
making available the discounts described by Subsection (f); and
(B) provide one-time bill payment assistance as
described by Subsection (k) to critical care residential customers,
as defined by Section 17.002, who have received notice of an
impending service disconnection for nonpayment;
(2) customer education that provides information on
other assistance programs;
(3) administrative expenses incurred by the
commission in implementing and administering this chapter and
expenses incurred by the office under this chapter; and
(4) reimbursement to the commission and the Health and
Human Services Commission for expenses incurred in the
implementation and administration of the automatic identification
process established under Section 17.007 for customer service
discounts relating to retail electric service, including outreach
expenses the commission determines are reasonable and necessary.
(e) The commission shall adopt rules regarding programs to
assist low-income electric customers in areas where customer choice
is available. The programs may not be targeted to areas served by
municipally owned utilities or electric cooperatives that have not
adopted customer choice.
(f) Programs adopted under Subsection (e) must include a
retail electric service discount program for low-income electric
customers that the commission implements periodically as money is
made available in the fund for the purpose of making the
reimbursements authorized under Subsection (i). The commission by
rule shall require electric cooperatives that have adopted customer
choice, municipally owned utilities that have adopted customer
choice, and retail electric providers to provide the discount. The
commission shall set the amount of the discount as a fixed amount
and may periodically revise the fixed amount. The discount for
electric cooperatives that have adopted customer choice and
municipally owned utilities that have adopted customer choice must
be in addition to any rate reduction that may result from local
programs for low-income electric customers of the municipally owned
utility or electric cooperative.
(g) The commission by rule shall establish eligibility
criteria for the discount program required under Subsection (f).
The criteria must provide that a customer is eligible for a discount
if identified by the Health and Human Services Commission as
eligible as a low-income customer under Section 17.007.
(h) The commission by rule shall prescribe methods of
enrolling customers eligible to receive a discount under Subsection
(f) that are compatible with the automatic identification process
established under Section 17.007. The rules must provide for
automatic enrollment as one enrollment option for customers that
have been identified as low-income customers under Section 17.007.
(i) The commission shall provide reimbursement from the
fund for each electric cooperative, municipally owned utility, or
retail electric provider that provides a discount under Subsection
(f) for the amount of the discount provided to eligible customers.
The commission shall adopt rules providing for the reimbursement.
(j) A retail electric provider may not charge the customer a
fee for receiving a discount.
(k) Programs adopted under Subsection (e) must include a
bill payment assistance program as described by Subsection
(d)(1)(B) that the commission implements periodically as money is
made available in the fund for the purpose of making the
reimbursements authorized under this subsection. The commission
may prescribe the documentation necessary to demonstrate
eligibility for the assistance and may establish additional
eligibility criteria. The Health and Human Services Commission, on
request of the commission, shall assist in the adoption and
implementation of these rules. The commission shall provide
reimbursement from the fund for each electric cooperative,
municipally owned utility, or retail electric provider that
provides bill payment assistance under this subsection for the
amount of the bill payment assistance provided to eligible
customers. The commission shall adopt rules providing for the
reimbursement.
SECTION 4. Section 40.001(a), Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except
Sections 39.155, 39.157(e), [and] 39.203, and 39.9035, this chapter
governs the transition to and the establishment of a fully
competitive electric power industry for municipally owned
utilities. With respect to the regulation of municipally owned
utilities, this chapter controls over any other provision of this
title, except for sections in which the term "municipally owned
utility" is specifically used.
SECTION 5. Section 41.001, Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 41.001. APPLICABLE LAW. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, except Sections 39.155, 39.157(e), [and] 39.203,
and 39.9035, this chapter governs the transition to and the
establishment of a fully competitive electric power industry for
electric cooperatives. Regarding the regulation of electric
cooperatives, this chapter shall control over any other provision
of this title, except for sections in which the term "electric
cooperative" is specifically used.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.