88R11276 ANG-D
 
  By: Zaffirini, Blanco S.B. No. 2202
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to an assessment of the condition of certain water
  utilities.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 6, Water Code, is amended
  by adding Section 6.116 to read as follows:
         Sec. 6.116.  WATER ACCESS ASSESSMENT.  (a) In this section: 
               (1)  "Access assessment" means the water access
  assessment established under this section.
               (2)  "Utility" means a retail public utility, as
  defined by Section 13.002.
         (b)  The board by rule and in consultation with the
  commission, the Public Utilities Commission of Texas, and
  institutions of higher education, as defined by Section 61.003,
  Education Code, shall establish:
               (1)  a water access assessment to determine the extent
  of water access needs among utilities in this state; and 
               (2)  a schedule that ensures that an access assessment
  is conducted not less than once every 10 years for each utility.
         (c)  The access assessment must identify utilities that are
  failing or at risk of failing through a ranking system that
  evaluates and assigns numerical values to factors including: 
               (1)  the overall condition of the utility's
  infrastructure, including:
                     (A)  the utility system's age;
                     (B)  the presence of lead service lines; 
                     (C)  the presence of cast-iron pipes more than 30
  years old; 
                     (D)  the utility's rates of water loss; 
                     (E)  the number of interconnections to other
  systems; and
                     (F)  susceptibility to extreme weather; 
               (2)  availability of water to the utility, including
  the utility's:
                     (A)  number of water sources; 
                     (B)  drought and water shortage risk; 
                     (C)  groundwater production sustainability; and
                     (D)  reliance on bottled or hauled water;
               (3)  the quality of the utility's water, including
  whether the utility has any drinking water quality standard
  violations;
               (4)  affordability of services the utility provides, as
  determined by: 
                     (A)  median income of households the utility
  serves; 
                     (B)  the average monthly amount the utility bills
  to its customers relative to the average monthly billing amounts
  among similarly sized utilities; 
                     (C)  rural areas the utility serves; and
                     (D)  disadvantaged areas the utility serves; and 
               (5)  the financial, managerial, and technical capacity
  of the utility as indicated by factors including:
                     (A)  certification violations of the utility's
  operators;
                     (B)  the utility's monitoring and reporting
  violations; 
                     (C)  the utility's absence of a qualified
  workforce; and
                     (D)  the ratio of the utility's revenues to its
  operating expenses.
         (d)  For each utility that an access assessment identifies as
  failing or at risk of failing, the board shall send notice of the
  identification to:
               (1)  the utility;
               (2)  the commission;
               (3)  the Public Utility Commission of Texas; and
               (4)  each standing committee of the legislature with
  primary jurisdiction over the board.
         (e)  The board shall make available on its Internet website
  the result of an access assessment performed under this section.
         (f)  In implementing this section, the board may:
               (1)  consult with the commission and the Public Utility
  Commission of Texas in the development of category risk factors,
  associated rankings of factors, and the development of scoring
  thresholds for identifying utilities that are failing or at risk of
  failing; 
               (2)  reevaluate the risk factors and the factors'
  associated numerical values every two years; 
               (3)  enter into a memorandum of understanding with the
  commission, the Public Utility Commission of Texas, and the
  Department of State Health Services for the open transfer and
  sharing of utilities' data, including critical infrastructure
  data; and 
               (4)  contract or otherwise partner with an institution
  of higher education for the purposes of conducting a water access
  assessment.
         SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.