BILL ANALYSIS
By: Phillips
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Chapter 7 of the Water Code gives the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) the authority to levee administrative penalties against municipally owned utilities for deficiencies in the municipality's utility facilities. §7.067 allows TCEQ to waive up to 100% of the administrative penalty if the municipality agrees to spend the fine amount on a supplemental environmental project within the municipality in lieu of paying the fine. These projects are unrelated to the deficient systems.
Many small municipalities in Texas have aging utility systems. Given the very limited budgets of these municipalities, these fine amounts could often be more effectively used to ameliorate the violation for which the penalty was imposed. HB 2133 would give TCEQ the authority to allow a municipally owned utility to use any portion of an administrative penalty under Subchapter C, Chapter 7, Water Code to ameliorate the violation or to improve the system.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Adds Section 7.034 to the Water Code to give the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) the authority to allow a municipally owned utility to use any portion of an administrative penalty under Subchapter C, Chapter 7, Water Code to ameliorate the violation or to improve the facilities.
SECTION 2. Provides that Section 7.034 applies only to a violation that occurs on or after the effective date of the bill.
EFFECTIVE DATE
HB 2133 takes effect on September 1, 2005.