LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                                   Austin, Texas
         
                                   FISCAL NOTE
                               75th Regular Session
         
                                  May 22, 1997
         
         
      TO: Honorable Steven Wolens, Chair            IN RE:  Senate Bill No. 965, Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted
          Committee on State Affairs                              By: Armbrister
          House
          Austin, Texas
         
         
         
         
         FROM:  John Keel, Director    
         
In response to your request for a Fiscal Note on SB965 ( Relating 
to the powers and duties of the Public Utility Commission of 
Texas. ) this office has detemined the following:
         
         Biennial Net Impact to General Revenue Funds by SB965-Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted
         
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. 
 
         

         
 
The bill would amend the Public Utility Regulatory Act of 1995 
(PURA) to amend the powers and duties of the Public Utility 
Commission (PUC) and establish a statutory framework to implement 
various proposals from the Texas Performance Review (TPR) report, 
"Light Years: The Future of the Public Utility Commission on 
Texas."

Section 1 of the bill would amend Section 1.002 of 
PURA to state that PUC shall ensure adequate customer service 
and protection, promote public awareness of changes in the electric 
and telecommunications markets, provide customers with information 
necessary to make informed choices about available options, 
and ensure that customers have an adequate understanding of 
their rights.

Section 11 of the bill would add Sections 1.105 
through 1.109 to PURA.  Section 1.105 would require PUC to adopt 
procedures authorizing disposition of contested cases by use 
of proposed orders.  Section 1.106 would require PUC to adopt 
procedures to dispose of contested cases by use of staff reports 
(detailing the information and evidence the staff would have 
presented in a contested case hearing).  Section 1.107 would 
require PUC to adopt procedures to use alternative dispute resolution 
(ADR) to resolve a pending issue or proceeding.  Section 1.108 
would allow PUC to establish and ensure service quality and 
reliability and customer service and protection for both electric 
and telephone providers.  Existing PUC staff would be adjusted 
to accommodate the increased workload created by Section 1.108 
without additional cost to the state.  Section 1.109 would clarify 
PUC's authority to educate and provide information to consumers 
and providers of electric and telecommunications services.

Sections 
14 and 15 of the bill would amend Sections 1.401 and 2.003 of 
PURA to require PUC to submit a report to the legislature, not 
later than January 15 of each odd-numbered year, on complaints 
received from consumers during the previous two years.  This 
activity would be absorbed using existing PUC resources.

Section 
19 of the bill would add Section 2.058 to PURA to require PUC 
to implement reliability standards relating to the delivery 
of electricity to retail customers, develop rule reliability 
standards, and compute a reliability score for each electric 
utility. This could increase PUC's workload, but would not cause 
a significant fiscal impact.

Section 24 of the bill would 
require PUC and the Comptroller to conduct and prepare a joint 
study, for submission not later than January 15, 1999, on the 
structure of the gross receipts tax and the potential effect 
of deregulation on the revenue generated by this tax during 
the next ten years.  This workload could be absorbed using current 
PUC and Comptroller resources.

Note: Sections 1, 11, 14, 
and 15 of the bill would establish a framework to implement 
TPR recommendations related to strengthening consumer affairs 
functions and case streamlining.  The Comptroller estimates 
that if these TPR recommendations are implemented there would 
be a slight net savings to General Revenue because increased 
staffing and communications requirements needed to perform consumer 
education and consumer complaint functions would be offset by 
reduced hearings charges as a result of the use of proposed 
orders and ADR.  PUC's estimate of the TPR report's costs are 
higher and its estimate of savings are lower than the Comptroller's. 
 PUC has estimated during the appropriations process that the 
net cost of additional resources needed to strengthen its consumer 
affairs functions to fully implement the TPR recommendations 
would be $391,200 in FY 1998 and $332,000 in FY 1999.  Because 
these estimates relate to increasing resources to perform functions 
generally authorized under current law, they are not included 
in this analysis.
          
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
          
   Source:            Agencies:   304   Comptroller of Public Accounts
                                         360   State Office of Administrative Hearings
                                         473   Public Utility Commission of Texas
                                         475   Office of the Public Utility Counsel
                                         
                      LBB Staff:   JK ,JD ,BK