LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
FISCAL NOTE, 79TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
May 21, 2005

TO:
Honorable Kenneth Armbrister, Chair, Senate Committee on Natural Resources
 
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB2876 by Callegari (Relating to certificates of public convenience and necessity for water service and sewer service. ), Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would amend Chapter 13, Water Code, relating to requirements imposed on the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regarding its consideration of applications for certificates of convenience and necessity (CCN) for water service and sewer service. The bill would also amend the list of requirements that an application must include.

The bill includes various administrative requirements for TCEQ, including a provision that the agency would be prohibited from granting a CCN to a retail public utility within the boundaries or extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of a municipality with a population of 500,000 or more without the consent of the municipality unless certain conditions exist.

The bill would require a CCN holder to record a copy of the CCN in the real property records of each county included within the CCN and mandate the counties to accept the recording. The bill includes other administrative requirements of the CCN holders.

The bill would amend Sections 13.245, 13.246, 13.247, and 13.254 of the Water Code to apply those statutes only within a municipality with a popuation of 500,000 or more.

The bill would repeal Section 13.254(h), Water Code, regarding payment of compensation when an area is decertified, to prevent conflict with the proposed revisions in the bill. Section 13.2541, Water Code, would also be repealed. This section applies only to a municipality with a population of more than 1.3 million regarding CCNs and decertification.

The bill would require TCEQ to promulgate rules implementing the changes in law affected by the bill by January 1, 2006, or to report to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the House any failure to comply with the deadline.

The bill would take effect September 1, 2005.

TCEQ anticipates being able to implement provisions of the bill using existing resources.


Local Government Impact

Local governments, who are CCN holders, would experience increased costs associated with mailing notices to landowners, obtaining consent from landowners, and exercising rights of eminent domain. Local governments may also experience increased costs to put survey data in an acceptable data format compatible with TCEQ’s GIS system used to review data pertaining to water supply data. Costs for complying with the provisions of the bill would vary among local governments.



Source Agencies:
582 Commission on Environmental Quality
LBB Staff:
JOB, DLBa, WK