Honorable Allan Ritter, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1461 by Aycock (Relating to customer notification of significant water loss by a retail public utility.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend Chapter 13 of the Water Code to require a retail public utility that experiences a total water loss of more than 10 percent to notify each customer on the next bill and disclose the percentage of water lost and the primary reasons for the loss. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) would be required to amend existing rules to implement the provisions of the bill.
TCEQ indicated no significant fiscal impact on the agency is anticipated.
Local Government Impact
According to the analysis by TCEQ, retail public utilities that are owned or managed by municipalities, district water supply corporations, or other types of local government would experience a fiscal impact to modify billing systems to include the required statement on monthly bills. The bill may encourage public water systems to reduce water losses (such as those that might occur as a result of line leaks, line flushes, and inaccurate meters) in order to stay below a loss of 10 percent. The level of fiscal impact would vary depending on the current operating environment and management decisions of each governmental retail public utility.