By: Hegar S.B. No. 1846
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the powers and duties of the Texas Commission on
  Environmental Quality and related entities.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 5.1175, Water Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 5.1175.  PAYMENT OF PENALTY BY INSTALLMENT.  (a)  The
  commission by rule may [shall] allow a person who [small business
  that] owes a monetary civil or administrative penalty imposed for a
  violation of law within the commission's jurisdiction or for a
  violation of a license, permit, or order issued or rule adopted by
  the commission to pay the penalty in periodic installments. The
  rule must provide a procedure for a person [qualified small
  business] to apply for permission to pay the penalty over time.
         (b)  [The rule must classify small businesses by their net
  annual receipts and number of employees. A business that is a
  wholly owned subsidiary of a corporation may not qualify as a small
  business under this section.
         [(c)]  The rule may vary the period over which the penalty
  may be paid or the amount of the periodic installments according to
  the amount of the penalty owed and the size of the business that
  owes the penalty. The period over which the penalty may be paid may
  not exceed 36 [12] months.
         SECTION 2.  Section 13.043, Water Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (h) and adding Subsection (h-1) to read as
  follows:
         (h)  The commission or executive director may[, on a motion
  by the executive director or by the appellant under Subsection (a),
  (b), or (f) of this section,] establish interim rates to be in
  effect for not more than 250 days [until a final decision is made].
  The interim rates may not be lower than the rates on the utility's
  approved tariff immediately before the filing of the notice of
  intention to change rates.  The commission or executive director
  may base the interim rates on information in the rate change
  application.
         (h-1)  If the commission sets a final rate that is lower than
  the interim rate established under Subsection (h), the utility
  shall refund or credit the difference between the interim rate and
  the final rate plus interest as determined by the commission,
  unless otherwise agreed to by the parties to the proceeding. If the
  commission sets a final rate that is higher than the interim rate,
  the utility may collect the difference between the interim rate and
  the final rate unless otherwise agreed to by the parties to the
  proceeding.
         SECTION 3.  Subsections (f), (i), (j), (k), (l), (n), and
  (o), Section 13.187, Water Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (f)  The regulatory authority may set the matter for hearing
  on its own motion at any time within 120 days after the effective
  date 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.]
         (i)  The regulatory authority or the executive director,
  pending final action in a rate proceeding, may order the utility to
  deposit all or part of the rate increase received or to be received
  into an escrow account with a financial institution approved by the
  regulatory authority. Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties to
  the rate proceeding, the utility shall refund or credit against
  future bills all sums collected during the pendency of the rate
  proceeding in excess of the rate finally ordered plus interest as
  determined by the regulatory authority.
         (j)  For good cause shown, the regulatory authority or the
  executive director may authorize the release of funds to the
  utility from the escrow account during the pendency of the
  proceeding.
         (k)  If the regulatory authority receives at least the number
  of complaints from ratepayers required for the regulatory authority
  to set a hearing under Subsection (e), the regulatory authority or
  the executive director may, pending the hearing and a decision,
  suspend the date the rate change would otherwise be effective.  
  Except as provided by Subsection (d-1), the proposed rate may not be
  suspended for longer than:
               (1)  90 days by a local regulatory authority; or
               (2)  250 [150] days by the commission or executive
  director.
         (l)  At any time during the pendency of the rate proceeding
  the regulatory authority or the executive director may fix interim
  rates to remain in effect until a final determination is made on the
  proposed rate.
         (n)  For good cause shown, the regulatory authority or the
  executive director may at any time during the proceeding require
  the utility to refund money collected under a proposed rate before
  the rate was suspended or an interim rate was established to the
  extent the proposed rate exceeds the existing rate or the interim
  rate.
         (o)  If a regulatory authority other than the commission or
  the executive director establishes interim rates or an escrow
  account, the regulatory authority must make a final determination
  on the rates not later than the first anniversary of the effective
  date of the interim rates or escrowed rates or the rates are
  automatically approved as requested by the utility.
         SECTION 4.  Subsection (c), Section 13.242, Water Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (c)  The commission may by rule allow a municipality or
  utility or water supply corporation to render retail water or sewer
  service without a certificate of public convenience and necessity
  if the municipality has given notice under Section 13.255 [of this
  code] that it intends to provide retail water or sewer service to an
  area or if the utility or water supply corporation has less than 15
  potential connections and is not within the certificated area of
  another retail public utility.
         SECTION 5.  Section 13.248, Water Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 13.248.  CONTRACTS VALID AND ENFORCEABLE.  Contracts
  between retail public utilities designating areas to be served and
  customers to be served by those retail public utilities, when
  approved by the commission or the executive director after public
  notice [and hearing], are valid and enforceable and are
  incorporated into the appropriate areas of public convenience and
  necessity.
         SECTION 6.  Subsection (h), Section 26.0135, Water Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (h)  The commission shall apportion, assess, and recover the
  reasonable costs of administering the water quality management
  programs under this section [from users of water and wastewater
  permit holders in the watershed according to the records of the
  commission generally in proportion to their right, through permit
  or contract, to use water from and discharge wastewater in the
  watershed].  Irrigation water rights, non-priority hydroelectric
  rights of a water right holder that owns or operates privately owned
  facilities that collectively have a capacity of less than two
  megawatts, and water rights held in the Texas Water Trust for terms
  of at least 20 years will not be subject to this assessment.  The
  cost to river authorities and others to conduct water quality
  monitoring and assessment shall be subject to prior review and
  approval by the commission as to methods of allocation and total
  amount to be recovered.  The commission shall adopt rules to
  supervise and implement the water quality monitoring, assessment,
  and associated costs.  The rules shall ensure that water users and
  wastewater dischargers do not pay excessive amounts, [that program
  funds are equitably apportioned among basins,] that a river
  authority may recover no more than the actual costs of
  administering the water quality management programs called for in
  this section, and that no municipality shall be assessed cost for
  any efforts that duplicate water quality management activities
  described in Section 26.177.  [The rules concerning the
  apportionment and assessment of reasonable costs shall provide for
  a recovery of not more than $5,000,000 annually.   Costs recovered by
  the commission are to be deposited to the credit of the water
  resource management account and may be used only to accomplish the
  purposes of this section.   The commission may apply not more than 10
  percent of the costs recovered annually toward the commission's
  overhead costs for the administration of this section and the
  implementation of regional water quality assessments.   The
  commission, with the assistance and input of each river authority,
  shall file a written report accounting for the costs recovered
  under this section with the governor, the lieutenant governor, and
  the speaker of the house of representatives on or before December 1
  of each even-numbered year.]
         SECTION 7.  Section 49.321, Water Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 49.321.  DISSOLUTION AUTHORITY.  After notice [and
  hearing], the commission or executive director may dissolve any
  district that is inactive for a period of five consecutive years and
  has no outstanding bonded indebtedness.
         SECTION 8.  Section 49.324, Water Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 49.324.  ORDER OF DISSOLUTION.  The commission or the
  executive director may enter an order dissolving the district [at
  the conclusion of the hearing] if the commission or executive
  director [it] finds that the district has performed none of the
  functions for which it was created for a period of five consecutive
  years [before the day of the proceeding] and that the district has
  no outstanding bonded indebtedness.
         SECTION 9.  Subsection (a), Section 49.326, Water Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Appeals from an [a commission] order dissolving a
  district shall be filed and heard in the district court of any of
  the counties in which the land is located.
         SECTION 10.  Subsection (b), Section 54.030, Water Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The governing body of a district which desires to
  convert into a district operating under this chapter shall adopt
  and enter in the minutes of the governing body a resolution
  declaring that in its judgment, conversion into a municipal utility
  district operating under this chapter and under Article XVI,
  Section 59, of the Texas Constitution, would serve the best
  interest of the district and would be a benefit to the land and
  property included in the district. The resolution shall also
  request that the commission approve [to hold a hearing on the
  question of] the conversion of the district.
         SECTION 11.  Section 54.032, Water Code, is amended to read
  as follows:
         Sec. 54.032.  CONVERSION OF DISTRICT: NOTICE.  (a)  Notice
  of the conversion [hearing] shall be given by publishing notice in a
  newspaper with general circulation in the county or counties in
  which the district is located.
         (b)  The notice shall be published once a week for two
  consecutive weeks [with the first publication to be made not less
  than 14 full days before the time set for the hearing].
         (c)  The notice shall:
               (1)  [state the time and place of the hearing;
               [(2)]  set out the resolution adopted by the district
  in full; and
               (2) [(3)]  notify all interested persons how they may
  offer comments [to appear and offer testimony] for or against the
  proposal contained in the resolution.
         SECTION 12.  Section 54.033, Water Code, is amended to read
  as follows:
         Sec. 54.033.  CONVERSION OF DISTRICT; FINDINGS.  (a)  If
  [After a hearing, if] the commission or the executive director
  finds that conversion of the district into one operating under this
  chapter would serve the best interest of the district and would be a
  benefit to the land and property included in the district, the
  commission or executive director [it] shall enter an order making
  this finding and the district shall become a district operating
  under this chapter and no confirmation election shall be required.
         (b)  If the commission or the executive director finds that
  the conversion of the district would not serve the best interest of
  the district and would not be a benefit to the land and property
  included in the district, the commission or executive director [it]
  shall enter an order against conversion of the district into one
  operating under this chapter.
         (c)  The findings of the commission or the executive director
  entered under this section shall be subject to appeal or review
  within 30 days after entry of the order [of the commission] granting
  or denying the conversion.
         (d)  A copy of the [commission] order converting a district
  shall be filed in the deed records of the county or counties in
  which the district is located.
         SECTION 13.  Sections 49.322 and 54.031, Water Code, are
  repealed.
         SECTION 14.  The changes in law made by Section 13.187, Water
  Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a rate application or
  appeal filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on
  or after the effective date of this Act. A rate application or
  appeal filed with the commission before the effective date of this
  Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the
  effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
  that purpose.
         SECTION 15.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.