BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1991

By: Guillen

Intergovernmental Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that the limited public visibility of the specific charges municipalities apply to their utility services has raised concerns about accountability, billing transparency, and potential confusion for customers regarding rate setting and adjustment. C.S.H.B. 1991 seeks to ensure that utility customers and the general public are informed of charges imposed for municipal utility services by requiring municipalities to publish the terms and conditions of utility charges on both the utility system's and the municipality's websites.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1991 amends the Government Code to require a municipality that imposes operating, maintenance, replacement, or improvement charges for services provided by a municipally owned utility system to publish the terms and conditions of the charges on the utility system's and the municipality's websites and, not later than the 30th day after the date the municipality adopts a change to the terms and conditions of the charges, update the utility system's and the municipality's websites to reflect the change.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1991 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute revises the provision of the introduced requiring a municipality that imposes operating, maintenance, replacement, or improvement charges for services provided by a municipally owned utility system to publish certain information on the utility system's and the municipality's websites as follows:

· requires the terms and conditions of the charges to be published, whereas the introduced required the amounts of the charges to be published;

· includes a requirement absent from the introduced for the municipality to update the utility system's and the municipality's websites to reflect a change to the terms and conditions of the charges not later than the 30th day after the date the municipality adopts the change; and

· omits the requirement present in the introduced for the municipality to submit the amounts of the charges to the secretary of state for publication in the Texas Register.

Accordingly, the substitute also omits the provision of the introduced that required the Texas Register to contain the amounts of any charges submitted to the secretary of state.