SRC-MWN H.B. 412 77(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   H.B. 412
77R1408 MTB-DBy: Zbranek (Bernsen)
Business & Commerce
5/9/2001
Engrossed


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Current law prohibits a retail electric utility from furnishing or making
available retail electric utility service to an area in which that service
is being lawfully furnished by another retail electric utility, unless the
utility first obtains from the Public Utility Commission (PUC) a
certificate of convenience and necessity that includes the area in which
the consuming facility is located. In addition, certificated municipally
owned utilities are exempt from the provision relating to dividing multiply
certificated service areas if the utility serving the area filed a request
with the PUC by February 1, 2000, requesting that areas within the
certificated service area of the municipally owned utility remain as
presently certificated. Following the enactment of the current law, some
municipally owned utilities failed to meet the February 1, 2000, deadline
to file the request. H.B. 412 moves the deadline to October 1, 2001.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a
state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 37.060(b), Utilities Code, to provide that this
section does not apply in any area in which a municipally owned utility is
certificated to provide retail electric utility service if the municipally
owned utility serving the area files with the Public Utility Commission of
Texas (commission) by October 1, 2001, rather than February 1, 2000, a
request that areas within the certified service area of the municipally
owned utility remain as presently certificated. 

SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2001.