| 2 | | - | (In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2025; March 24, 2025, read |
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| 3 | | - | first time and referred to Committee on Water, Agriculture and |
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| 4 | | - | Rural Affairs; April 15, 2025, reported adversely, with favorable |
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| 5 | | - | Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; |
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| 6 | | - | April 15, 2025, sent to printer.) |
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| 7 | | - | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 8 | | - | COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2161 By: Hancock |
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| 18 | | - | SECTION 1. Section 13.043, Water Code, is amended by adding |
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| 19 | | - | Subsection (e-1) to read as follows: |
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| 20 | | - | (e-1) A ratepayer of a municipally owned utility who resides |
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| 21 | | - | outside the corporate limits of the municipality and is represented |
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| 22 | | - | by an attorney may allege that rates prescribed by the municipally |
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| 23 | | - | owned utility are excessive and, if the ratepayer is a prevailing |
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| 24 | | - | party in a proceeding for review of the municipally owned utility's |
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| 25 | | - | rates, and the regulatory authority finds that a rate increase by |
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| 26 | | - | the municipally owned utility had no basis in fact or law, in the |
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| 27 | | - | same action the ratepayer may recover reasonable fees for attorneys |
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| 28 | | - | and expert witnesses and other costs incurred for the proceeding by |
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| 29 | | - | the ratepayer. The amount of the attorney's fees shall be fixed by |
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| 30 | | - | the utility commission. |
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| 12 | + | SECTION 1. Section 13.043, Water Code, is amended by |
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| 13 | + | amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsections (e-1) and (e-2) to |
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| 14 | + | read as follows: |
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| 15 | + | (e) In an appeal under Subsection (b), the utility |
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| 16 | + | commission shall hear the appeal de novo and shall fix in its final |
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| 17 | + | order the rates the governing body should have fixed in the action |
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| 18 | + | from which the appeal was taken. The utility commission may |
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| 19 | + | establish the effective date for the utility commission's rates at |
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| 20 | + | the original effective date as proposed by the service provider |
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| 21 | + | and[,] may order refunds or allow a surcharge to recover lost |
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| 22 | + | revenues[, and may allow recovery of reasonable expenses incurred |
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| 23 | + | by the retail public utility in the appeal proceedings. The utility |
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| 24 | + | commission may consider only the information that was available to |
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| 25 | + | the governing body at the time the governing body made its decision |
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| 26 | + | and evidence of reasonable expenses incurred by the retail public |
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| 27 | + | utility in the appeal proceedings]. The rates established by the |
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| 28 | + | utility commission in an appeal under Subsection (b) remain in |
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| 29 | + | effect until the first anniversary of the effective date proposed |
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| 30 | + | by the retail public utility for the rates being appealed or until |
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| 31 | + | changed by the service provider, whichever date is later, unless |
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| 32 | + | the utility commission determines that a financial hardship exists. |
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| 33 | + | (e-1) Any party represented by counsel who alleges that |
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| 34 | + | existing rates are excessive or that rates prescribed by a |
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| 35 | + | governing body are excessive and who is a prevailing party in |
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| 36 | + | proceedings for review of a governing body decision may in the same |
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| 37 | + | action recover reasonable fees for attorneys and expert witnesses |
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| 38 | + | and other costs incurred by the prevailing party before the utility |
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| 39 | + | commission. The amount of the attorney's fees shall be fixed by the |
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| 40 | + | utility commission. |
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| 41 | + | (e-2) On a finding by the utility commission that an action |
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| 42 | + | under this subchapter was groundless and brought in bad faith and |
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| 43 | + | for the purpose of harassment, the utility commission may award to |
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| 44 | + | the defendant retail public utility reasonable attorney's fees. |
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