| TO: | Honorable Byron Cook, Chair, House Committee on State Affairs |
| FROM: | John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB519 by Turner (Relating to financing programs for low-income electric customers and certain other electric customers.), As Introduced |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
|---|---|
| 2012 | $0 |
| 2013 | $0 |
| 2014 | $0 |
| 2015 | $0 |
| 2016 | $0 |
| Fiscal Year | Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss) from System Benefit Account 5100 |
Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss) from Low-Income Electric Customers Program Fund - Outside Treasury |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | $0 | $0 |
| 2013 | $0 | $0 |
| 2014 | ($130,587,000) | $134,732,000 |
| 2015 | ($143,793,000) | $148,358,000 |
| 2016 | ($145,141,000) | $149,749,000 |
The bill would amend the Utilities Code to reduce the amount of the nonbypassable fee that finances the System Benefit Fund from a maximum of 65 cents per megawatt hour to two cents per megawatt hour. The bill would also require the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to adopt rules providing for reimbursements from appropriated system benefit fund money for activities authorized for funding. The bill would amend the list of items for which system benefit fund money may be appropriated.
The bill would establish a Low-Income Electric Customers Program Fund as a trust fund outside the treasury. The bill would require the PUC to adopt rules to require transmission and distribution utilities to establish a low-income electric customers program fund under PUC oversight. The PUC would prescribe the maximum percentage of money available in the fund that may be used for the expenses of administering the fund and for annual independent auditing and other expenditures. The bill would require the commission to impose a nonbypassible Low-Income Electric Customers Program Fund fee to be set by the commission in an amount not to exceed 65 cents per megawatt hour.
The bill would require the money in the Low-Income Electric Customers Program Fund to be spent on reduced electric rates for low income customers, bill payment assistance for customers on life support, and low income electric customer weatherization programs under specific guidelines.
The bill would require the PUC to adopt rules to provide that an electric customer eligible for reduced rates is also eligible for reduced rates for telecommunications services and those customers eligible for reduced rates for telecommunications services are also eligible for reduced rates for electricity.
This legislation would do one or more of the following: create or recreate a dedicated account in the General Revenue Fund, create or recreate a special or trust fund either with or outside of the Treasury, or create a dedicated revenue source. Legislative policy, implemented as Government Code 403.094, consolidated special funds (except those affected by constitutional, federal, or other restrictions) into the General Revenue Fund as of August 31, 1993 and eliminated all applicable statutory revenue dedications as of August 31, 1995. Each subsequent Legislature has reviewed bills that affect funds consolidation. The fund, account, or revenue dedication included in this bill would be subject to funds consolidation review by the current Legislature.
The bill would take affect September 1, 2013.
This analysis is based on information and an analysis provided by the Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA). For the purpose of this analysis, it is assumed that the new fee would be assessed at the maximum 65 cents per megawatt hour and in the same manner as the fee assessed under current law. According to the CPA, this analysis assumes that collections of that fee would begin in fiscal year 2014 and the revenue would be deposited to the Low-income Electric Customers Program Trust Fund. This analysis also assumes that the System Benefit collections would be set at the statutory maximum of 2 cents per megawatt hour and would begin to affect the System Benefit Fund beginning October 2013; September remittances would be assessments based on the 65 cent rate. This analysis assumes that the new trust fund would begin seeing collections in October 2013.
This bill does not specifically address the balance in GR Account 5100. This analysis assumes that the balance would remain in that General Revenue account, and therefore the costs only assume changes in fee revenue and do not take into account a reduction in the balance of the System Benefit Fund.
Based on the analysis of the PUC duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be accomplished utilizing existing resources. This analysis assumes that the costs associated with implementing the provisions of the bill related to the administration of the new Low-Income Electric Customers Program and Fund would be funded from that fund.
| Source Agencies: | 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 473 Public Utility Commission of Texas, 529 Health and Human Services Commission
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, KJG, MW, RAN
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