Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yes | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Positive | Neutral |
Relating to the authority of certain municipalities to provide sewer service to areas within the municipal boundaries without obtaining a certificate of public convenience and necessity.
SB 789, if passed, would add a new section to the Water Code
(Section 13.2475) titled “Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity to
Provide Sewer Service in Certain Municipalities”. This section of code is added
specifically to deal with the area around Lake Palestine.
This is made clear in the first part of the proposed section
as the municipalities to which the section would apply, must have a population
of more than 95,000, must be located in a county which borders Lake Palestine,
must be located within a county with a population of more than 200,000, must
own and operate a utility which provides sewer service, and has an area within
the boundaries of the municipality that is certified by another retail public
utility to provide sewer service.
SB 789 would allow a municipality which meets these requirements
to provide sewer service to an area entirely within the boundaries of the
municipality without first obtaining a certificate of public convenience and
necessity from the Public Utility Commission. This would apply independent of
whether the area to be served is serviced by another retail public utility.
The municipality would also be required to announce its
intent to provide service to the retail public utility in question at least
thirty days before sewer service is to begin. Once this announcement has been
received the public utility would be permitted to file a petition with the
commission to decertify its certificate for the area to be served by the
municipality. It would also be permitted to discontinue service to the area in
question so long as there is no interruption of service on the part of the
consumer. This would allow the consumers to choose between the two service providers.
SB 789 is beneficial in that it will allow City of Tyler residents who live in an area that was annexed by the city, and who are paying municipal wastewater service fees, to use the municipal services if they so choose. For that reason we support this bill as beneficial for consumer choice which is in alignment with limited government. It is worth noting that this bill would not allow a municipal utility to force an existing provider out of business; it simply allows customers in the affected area to choose between the two.