1-1 By: Duncan S.B. No. 950
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 5, 1999; March 8, 1999, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources;
1-4 April 9, 1999, reported favorably, as amended, by the following
1-5 vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; April 9, 1999, sent to printer.)
1-6 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 By: Armbrister
1-7 Amend SECTION 1 of S.B. No. 950 by striking lines 32 through 36,
1-8 page 2, and replacing them with the following:
1-9 (8) "Manufactured home rental community" ["Mobile home
1-10 park"] means a property on which [parking] spaces are rented for
1-11 the occupancy of manufactured homes [to mobile dwelling units
1-12 primarily] for nontransient residential use and for which rental is
1-13 paid at intervals of one month or longer.
1-14 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 2 By: Armbrister
1-15 Amend SECTION 1 of S.B. No. 950 by striking on page 2 line 43
1-16 through page 3 line 2, Section 13.503, and replacing it with the
1-17 following:
1-18 Sec. 13.503. SUBMETERING RULES. (a) The commission shall
1-19 encourage submetering of individual rental or dwelling units by
1-20 master meter operators to enhance the conservation of water
1-21 resources.
1-22 (b) Notwithstanding any other law, the commission shall
1-23 adopt rules and standards under which an owner, operator, or
1-24 manager of an apartment house, manufactured home rental community
1-25 [mobile home park], or multiple use facility that is not
1-26 individually metered for water for each rental or dwelling unit may
1-27 install submetering equipment for each individual rental or
1-28 dwelling unit for the purpose of fairly allocating the cost of each
1-29 individual rental or dwelling unit's water consumption, including
1-30 wastewater charges based on water consumption. In addition to
1-31 other appropriate safeguards for the tenant, the rules shall
1-32 require that an apartment house owner, manufactured home rental
1-33 community [mobile home park] owner, multiple use facility owner, or
1-34 condominium manager may not impose on the tenant any extra charges,
1-35 over and above the cost per gallon and any other applicable taxes
1-36 and surcharges that are [is] charged by the retail public utility
1-37 to the owner or manager, and that the rental unit or apartment
1-38 house owner or manager shall maintain adequate records regarding
1-39 submetering and make the records available for inspection by the
1-40 tenant during reasonable business hours. All submetering equipment
1-41 is subject to the rules and standards established by the commission
1-42 for accuracy, testing, and record keeping of meters installed by
1-43 utilities and to the meter-testing requirements of Section 13.140
1-44 of this code.
1-45 (c) In addition to the charges permitted under Subsection
1-46 (b), the rules shall authorize a manufactured home rental community
1-47 owner or manager to impose a service charge of not more than nine
1-48 percent of the costs related to submetering allocated to each
1-49 submetered rental or dwelling unit.
1-50 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-51 AN ACT
1-52 relating to submetered and nonsubmetered water utility service
1-53 provided to residents of apartment houses and manufactured home
1-54 rental communities.
1-55 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-56 SECTION 1. Subchapter M, Chapter 13, Water Code, is amended
1-57 to read as follows:
1-58 SUBCHAPTER M. SUBMETERING AND NONSUBMETERING FOR APARTMENTS
1-59 AND MANUFACTURED HOME RENTAL COMMUNITIES
1-60 [MOBILE HOME PARKS] AND OTHER MULTIPLE USE FACILITIES
1-61 Sec. 13.501. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
2-1 (1) "Apartment house" means one or more buildings
2-2 containing five or more dwelling units which are occupied primarily
2-3 for nontransient use, including a residential condominium whether
2-4 rented or owner occupied, and having rental paid, if a dwelling
2-5 unit is rented, at intervals of one month or longer.
2-6 (2) "Dwelling unit" means:
2-7 (A) one or more rooms in an apartment house or
2-8 condominium, suitable for occupancy as a residence, and containing
2-9 kitchen and bathroom facilities; or
2-10 (B) a manufactured [mobile] home in a
2-11 manufactured home rental community [mobile home park].
2-12 (3) "Customer" means the individual, firm, or
2-13 corporation in whose name a master meter has been connected by the
2-14 utility service provider.
2-15 (4) "Nonsubmetered master metered utility service"
2-16 means water utility service that is master metered for the
2-17 apartment house but not submetered, and wastewater utility service
2-18 based on master metered water utility service.
2-19 (5) "Owner" means the legal titleholder of an
2-20 apartment house, manufactured home rental community [mobile home
2-21 park], or multiple use facility and any individual, firm, or
2-22 corporation that purports to be the landlord of tenants in the
2-23 apartment house, manufactured home rental community [mobile home
2-24 park], or multiple use facility.
2-25 (6) "Tenant" means a person who is entitled to occupy
2-26 a dwelling unit or multiple use facility unit to the exclusion of
2-27 others and who is obligated to pay for the occupancy under a
2-28 written or oral rental agreement.
2-29 (7) "Multiple use facility" means commercial or
2-30 industrial parks, office complexes, marinas, and others
2-31 specifically identified in commission rules with five or more
2-32 units.
2-33 (8) "Manufactured home rental community" ["Mobile home
2-34 park"] means a property on which parking spaces are rented to
2-35 manufactured homes [mobile dwelling units] primarily for
2-36 nontransient use and for which rental is paid at intervals of one
2-37 month or longer.
2-38 Sec. 13.502. SUBMETERING. An apartment house owner,
2-39 manufactured home rental community [mobile home park] owner,
2-40 multiple use facility owner, or condominium manager may provide for
2-41 submetering of each dwelling unit or rental unit for the
2-42 measurement of the quantity of water, if any, consumed by the
2-43 occupants of that unit.
2-44 Sec. 13.503. SUBMETERING RULES. (a) The commission shall
2-45 encourage submetering of individual rental or dwelling units by
2-46 master meter operators to enhance the conservation of water
2-47 resources.
2-48 (b) Notwithstanding any other law, the commission shall
2-49 adopt rules and standards under which an owner, operator, or
2-50 manager of an apartment house, manufactured home rental community
2-51 [mobile home park], or multiple use facility that is not
2-52 individually metered for water for each rental or dwelling unit may
2-53 install submetering equipment for each individual rental or
2-54 dwelling unit for the purpose of fairly allocating the cost of each
2-55 individual rental or dwelling unit's water consumption, including
2-56 wastewater charges based on water consumption. In addition to
2-57 other appropriate safeguards for the tenant, the rules shall
2-58 require that an apartment house owner, manufactured home rental
2-59 community [mobile home park] owner, multiple use facility owner, or
2-60 condominium manager may not impose on the tenant any extra charges,
2-61 over and above the cost per gallon and any applicable taxes and
2-62 surcharges that are [is] charged by the retail public utility to
2-63 the owner or manager and a service charge imposed by the owner or
2-64 manager of not more than nine percent of the costs related to
2-65 submetering allocated to each submetered rental or dwelling unit.
2-66 The rules shall also require[, and] that the rental unit or
2-67 apartment house owner or manager shall maintain adequate records
2-68 regarding submetering and make the records available for inspection
2-69 by the tenant during reasonable business hours. All submetering
3-1 equipment is subject to the rules and standards established by the
3-2 commission for accuracy, testing, and record keeping of meters
3-3 installed by utilities and to the meter-testing requirements of
3-4 Section 13.140 of this code.
3-5 Sec. 13.5031. NONSUBMETERING RULES. Notwithstanding any
3-6 other law, the commission shall adopt rules and standards governing
3-7 billing systems or methods used by manufactured home rental
3-8 community owners, apartment house owners, condominium managers, or
3-9 owners of other multiple use facilities for prorating or allocating
3-10 among tenants nonsubmetered master metered utility service costs.
3-11 In addition to other appropriate safeguards for the tenant, those
3-12 rules shall require that:
3-13 (1) the rental agreement contain a clear written
3-14 description of the method of calculation of the allocation of
3-15 nonsubmetered master metered utilities for the manufactured home
3-16 rental community, apartment house, or multiple use facility;
3-17 (2) the rental agreement contain a statement of the
3-18 average manufactured home, apartment, or multiple use facility unit
3-19 monthly bill for all units for any allocation of those utilities
3-20 for the previous calendar year;
3-21 (3) an owner or condominium manager may not impose
3-22 additional charges on a tenant in excess of the actual charges
3-23 imposed on the owner or condominium manager for utility consumption
3-24 by the manufactured home rental community, apartment house, or
3-25 multiple use facility;
3-26 (4) the owner or condominium manager shall maintain
3-27 adequate records regarding the utility consumption of the
3-28 manufactured home rental community, apartment house, or multiple
3-29 use facility, the charges assessed by the retail public utility,
3-30 and the allocation of the utility costs to the tenants; and
3-31 (5) the owner or condominium manager shall maintain
3-32 all necessary records concerning utility allocations, including the
3-33 retail public utility's bills, and shall make the records available
3-34 for inspection by the tenants during normal business hours.
3-35 Sec. 13.504. IMPROPER RENTAL RATE INCREASE. If, during the
3-36 90-day period preceding the installation of individual meters or
3-37 submeters, an owner, operator, or manager of an apartment house,
3-38 manufactured home rental community, [mobile home park] or other
3-39 multiple use facility has increased rental rates and the increase
3-40 is attributable to increased costs of utilities, the owner,
3-41 operator, or manager shall immediately reduce the rental rate by
3-42 the amount of the increase and refund all of the increase that has
3-43 previously been collected within the 90-day period.
3-44 Sec. 13.505. ENFORCEMENT. In addition to the enforcement
3-45 provisions contained in Subchapter K of this chapter, if an
3-46 apartment house owner, condominium manager, manufactured home
3-47 rental community [mobile home park] owner, or other multiple use
3-48 facility owner violates a rule of the commission regarding
3-49 submetering of utility service consumed exclusively within the
3-50 tenant's dwelling unit or multiple use facility unit or
3-51 nonsubmetered master metered utility costs, the tenant may recover
3-52 three times the amount of any overcharge, a civil penalty equal to
3-53 one month's rent, reasonable attorney's fees, and court costs from
3-54 the owner or condominium manager. However, an owner of an
3-55 apartment house, manufactured home rental community [mobile home
3-56 park], or other multiple use facility or condominium manager is not
3-57 liable for a civil penalty if the owner or condominium manager
3-58 proves the violation was a good faith, unintentional mistake.
3-59 SECTION 2. The Texas Natural Resource Conservation
3-60 Commission shall adopt rules to implement the changes made to
3-61 Subchapter M, Chapter 13, Water Code, by this Act as soon after the
3-62 effective date of this Act as possible.
3-63 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
3-64 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-65 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-66 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-67 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-68 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
3-69 passage, and it is so enacted.
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