| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to low income individuals who cannot afford to make |
|
|
repairs and upgrades to appliances. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 3, Utilities Code, is amended |
|
|
by adding Chapter 106 to read as follows: |
| |
|
|
CHAPTER 106. GAS CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE |
|
|
Sec. 106.0001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "commission" |
|
|
means the railroad commission. |
|
|
Sec. 106.0002. GAS CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE ACCOUNT; FEE. (a) |
|
|
The gas customer assistance account is an account in the general |
|
|
revenue fund. |
|
|
(b) Money in the account may be appropriated only to the |
|
|
commission to provide funding for gas utility programs authorized |
|
|
by Section 106.0003. |
|
|
(c) Interest earned on the gas customer assistance account |
|
|
shall be credited to the fund. |
|
|
(d) The gas customer assistance account is financed by a fee |
|
|
imposed by the commission on customers of gas distribution |
|
|
utilities and deposited into the gas customer assistance account. |
|
|
The fee may be a set amount or may be based on the volume of gas |
|
|
purchased by customers. |
|
|
(e) The commission shall set the amount of the fee by rule. |
|
|
Sec. 106.0003. GAS CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. (a) A gas |
|
|
utility may establish a customer assistance program to provide |
|
|
grants to low-income customers of the utility for repairing or |
|
|
upgrading gas appliances or gas pipes. |
|
|
(b) The commission by rule shall adopt: |
|
|
(1) criteria for a gas utility program to be eligible |
|
|
to receive money from the gas customer assistance account; and |
|
|
(2) procedures for providing money from the gas |
|
|
customer assistance account to a participating gas utility. |
|
|
(c) For the purposes of this section, "low-income customer" |
|
|
means an individual in whose name gas utility service is billed who: |
|
|
(1) is a member of a household with a total annual |
|
|
income that is below 125 percent of the applicable income level |
|
|
established by the federal poverty guidelines; or |
|
|
(2) receives assistance from: |
|
|
(A) the financial assistance program established |
|
|
under Chapter 31, Human Resources Code; |
|
|
(B) the medical assistance program under Chapter |
|
|
32, Human Resources Code; |
|
|
(C) the supplemental nutrition assistance |
|
|
program established under Chapter 33, Human Resources Code; |
|
|
(D) the federal special supplemental nutrition |
|
|
program for women, infants, and children authorized by 42 U.S.C. |
|
|
Section 1786; or |
|
|
(E) the child health plan program under Chapter |
|
|
62, Health and Safety Code. |