HBA-LJP, JLV H.B. 701 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 701 By: Najera Land & Resource Management 2/15/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, certain water districts may adopt a charge or fee on undeveloped property with approval of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. There are several cases in the Lower Valley Water District (district) in which households have septic systems that were installed before the district's wastewater system was available. Some of these households have opted not to connect to the district's sewer service because they do not have the financial resources to pay for a connection to the wastewater system. The district is authorized to assess a necessary fee to its service area property owners who are able to connect to the district's sewer system but have opted not to. House Bill 701 prohibits the district from assessing a minimum rate fee and authorizes the district to impose a standby fee on owners of undeveloped property. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 701 amends law to prohibit the Lower Valley Water District (district) from imposing a minimum rate fee on property where a service is not provided or where service is underutilized. The bill authorizes the district to impose a monthly fee only for services provided by the district and impose an annual approved standby fee on an owner of undeveloped property. The bill provides that the notice of application for authority to adopt and impose a standby fee must be in both English and Spanish and include a clear explanation of the amount and purpose of the fee, as well as a comparison of the costs of connecting to district services and the amount of the fee. The bill also provides that the district must annually, not later than the 60th day before the date the district charges a property owner a standby fee, give the owner of the property notice in both English and Spanish that the fee will be imposed if the property owner does not connect to the service for which the fee is imposed. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.