BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 758
85R8596 DMS-D	By: Men�ndez
	Intergovernmental Relations
	3/21/2017
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

S.B. 758 provides that customers with an income at or below 125 percent of Federal Poverty Guidelines and receiving a disconnection notice for nonpayment qualify for CPS Energy's affordability discount program. This is a local initiative that affects only the municipally owned energy and water utilities serving San Antonio.

S.B. 758 amends existing language, with agreement and support by San Antonio Water System (SAWS) and CPS Energy, to remove from statute the disconnection criteria by striking: "have been threatened with disconnection from service for nonpayment of bills and who." With this amendment, CPS Energy and SAWS are clarifying that the triggering statutory criterion be that a customer is deemed low-income by the utility, not that they be threatened with disconnection for non-payment. This amendment is only applicable to the statutory provisions that authorize CPS Energy's and SAWS' affordability discount programs.

These programs have been in existence for over 10 years, and both the Bexar County delegation and the San Antonio City Council have supported such customer assistance programs.

As proposed, S.B. 758 amends current law relating to bill payment assistance programs offered by certain municipalities.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 1502.056(a), Government Code, to delete existing text providing that for a municipality with a certain population, a certain lien also applies to funding, as a necessary operations expense, for a bill payment assistance program for a utility system customers who have been threatened with disconnection from service for nonpayment of bills, and to make a nonsubstantive change.

SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2017.