HBA-CBW H.B. 1300 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1300 By: Gray State Affairs 3/28/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In Texas, the customer service provided by utility companies is not regulated. Even though utilities such as electric, water, gas, and cable companies serve customers over a broad geographic area, often encompassing several telephone area codes, no requirement exists for that utility to provide customers with a toll-free telephone number to report service outages or to register complaints. Many utility companies have installed automatic answering systems with a series of touch-tone activated menu trees, leading consumers to many different automated messages, but never giving them the option of talking to a customer service representative. While these automated systems may be a convenience for some, they can be a confusing roadblock for others. House Bill 1300 requires a utility or cable television service provider to provide a toll-free local exchange accessible telephone number and requires that the number be answered by a customer service representative or allow the customer to leave a message. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission in SECTION 2 of this bill. ANALYSIS House Bill 1300 amends the Utilities Code to require a utility or cable television service provider (provider) to provide to each of its customers a telephone number customers may call to report a service or delivery problem, request a repair or other remedy, or register a complaint. The bill requires the provider to provide to a customer a toll-free or local exchange accessible telephone number, if the provider serves one or more customers for whom a call to a telephone number would incur a long-distance toll charge. The bill requires a provider to ensure that a customer who calls one of the aforementioned telephone numbers can speak to a customer service representative within three minutes after dialing the number or leave a recorded voice message for a customer service representative who must return the customer's call not later than the 24th hour after the customer records a message. The bill sets forth that the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) has jurisdiction to enforce the Act over a provider other than a water utility and may take any appropriate action necessary, including imposing a civil or administrative penalty. The bill sets forth that the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) has jurisdiction to enforce the Act over a water utility and may take any appropriate action necessary, including imposing a civil or administrative penalty. The bill requires PUC and TNRCC to prescribe rules necessary to implement and enforce the Act as soon as is practicable. The rules must require each provider subject to the Act to mail to its customers, on the effective date of the rules, notice of the telephone numbers required by the Act not later than January 1, 2002. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.