Amend CSSB 661 (senate committee report) as follows:

(1) In ARTICLE 1 of the bill, insert the following appropriately numbered SECTION to the bill and renumber subsequent SECTIONS of the ARTICLE accordingly:

SECTION ___. (a) Section 39.101, Utilities Code, is amended by adding Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:

(e-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (e), to provide a customer with electric service in an area that has implemented customer choice, on request of a retail electric provider, a transmission and distribution utility shall remove a hold or any other restriction that:

(1) is based on an amount due to another retail electric provider;

(2) is preventing the customer from receiving electric service; and

(3) is not related to meter tampering.

(b) This section takes effect immediately if this Act receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this section takes effect September 1, 2011.

(2) In ARTICLE 4 of the bill, in SECTION 4.01 (page 42, line 62), strike "This" and substitute "Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this".