Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 3059 amends Health and Safety Code provisions relating to the regulation of on-site sewage disposal facilities. The act requires an electric utility to submit to the county judge of each county a weekly list of the new hookups it has performed in the unincorporated areas of the county. The county judge is required to forward the list to an authorized agent, who may then use the information for implementing and enforcing on-site sewage disposal system rules. The act strengthens notification and enforcement provisions regarding required repairs to malfunctioning systems and amends the definition of "on-site sewage disposal system" to include cluster systems.

            House Bill 3059 also provides that an authorized agent or the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission may condition approval of a permit for an on-site sewage disposal system on the system's owner contracting for maintenance of the system. The act requires certain maintenance contractors to obtain a performance bond, but provides exemptions to these provisions under certain circumstances. The act also requires the owner of an on-site system to submit a copy of any new or revised maintenance contracts to the permitting authority and authorizes the permitting authority to assess and collect a reasonable fee to cover the cost of administering the performance bond program.