79R5058 CBH-D

By:  Staples                                                      S.B. No. 1064



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to rate changes by a water and sewer utility.                        
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 13.182, Water Code, is amended by adding 
Subsection (e) to read as follows:
	(e)  Except as provided by Section 13.4133, a utility may not 
implement a rate change concerning which a hearing is set under 
Section 13.187 until the date on which the regulatory authority 
issues a final decision on the change.
	SECTION 2.  Sections 13.187(a), (d), (e), (f), and (k), 
Water Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(a)  A utility may not make changes in its rates except by 
delivering a statement of intent to each ratepayer and with the 
regulatory authority having original jurisdiction at least 120 [60] 
days before the proposed effective date of the proposed change.  The 
proposed effective date of the new rates must be the first day of a 
billing period, and the new rates may not apply to service received 
before the proposed effective date of the new rates.  The statement 
of intent must include:
		(1)  the information required by the regulatory 
authority's rules;          
		(2)  a billing comparison regarding the existing water 
rate and the new water rate computed for the use of:
			(A)  10,000 gallons of water; and                                            
			(B)  30,000 gallons of water; and                                            
		(3)  a billing comparison regarding the existing sewer 
rate and the new sewer rate computed for the use of 10,000 gallons, 
unless the utility proposes a flat rate for sewer services.
	(d)  If the application or the statement of intent is not 
substantially complete or does not comply with the regulatory 
authority's rules, it may be rejected and the proposed effective 
date of the rate change may be suspended until a properly completed 
application is accepted by the regulatory authority and a proper 
statement of intent is provided.  The commission may also suspend 
the proposed effective date of any rate change if the utility does 
not have a certificate of public convenience and necessity or a 
completed application for a certificate or to transfer a 
certificate pending before the commission or if the utility is 
delinquent in paying the assessment and any applicable penalties or 
interest required by Section 5.701(n) of this code.
	(e)  The regulatory authority shall hold a hearing on the 
proposed rate increase if, [If,] before the 91st day after the 
[effective] date the statement of intent was provided to the 
authority under Subsection (a) [of the rate change], the regulatory 
authority receives a complaint from any affected municipality, or 
from the lesser of 1,000 or 10 percent of the ratepayers of the 
utility over whose rates the regulatory authority has original 
jurisdiction[, the regulatory authority shall set the matter for 
hearing].
	(f)  The regulatory authority may set the matter for hearing 
on its own motion at any time within 120 days after the [effective] 
date the statement of intent was provided to the authority under 
Subsection (a) [of the rate change].  If more than half of the 
ratepayers of the utility receive service in a county with a 
population of more than 2.5 million, the hearing must be held at a 
location in that county.
	(k)  If the regulatory authority sets the matter for
[receives at least the number of complaints from ratepayers 
required for the regulatory authority to set] a hearing under 
Subsection (e), the regulatory authority shall [may], pending the 
hearing and a decision, suspend the date the rate change would 
otherwise be effective until the date the regulatory authority 
issues a final decision on the matter.  [The proposed rate may not 
be suspended for longer than:
		[(1)  90 days by a local regulatory authority; or            
		[(2)  150 days by the commission.]                           
	SECTION 3.  Sections 13.187(i), (j), (l), (m), (n), and (o), 
Water Code, are repealed.
	SECTION 4.  This Act applies only to a statement of intent 
filed on or after the effective date of this Act.  A rate change to 
which a statement of intent filed before the effective date of this 
Act applies is governed by the law in effect on the date the 
statement was filed, and that law is continued in effect for that 
purpose.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.