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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the recovery of certain rate case expenses by an |
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investor-owned water and sewer utility. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subsection (h), Section 13.185, Water Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(h) The regulatory authority may not include for ratemaking |
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purposes: |
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(1) legislative advocacy expenses, whether made |
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directly or indirectly, including legislative advocacy expenses |
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included in trade association dues; |
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(2) costs of processing a refund or credit under |
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Section 13.187 [of this chapter]; [or] |
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(3) legal expenses, including attorney's fees and |
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court costs, incurred by an investor-owned water and sewer utility |
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in a contested proceeding under Section 13.187 or an appeal of that |
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proceeding unless the proceeding or appeal results in the approval |
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of the utility's proposed rate, other than legal expenses described |
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by Section 13.084; or |
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(4) any expenditure found by the regulatory authority |
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to be unreasonable, unnecessary, or not in the public interest, |
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including executive salaries, advertising expenses, legal expenses |
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not described by Subdivision (3), and civil penalties or fines. |
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SECTION 2. This Act applies only to a statement of intent |
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for which a regulatory authority has not issued a final decision |
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before the effective date of this Act. A statement of intent for |
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which a regulatory authority has issued a final decision before the |
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effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the |
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date that final decision was issued, and that law is continued in |
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effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |