Bill Text: TX SB2202 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to an assessment of the condition of certain water utilities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-22 - Referred to Water, Agriculture, & Rural Affairs [SB2202 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-SB2202-Introduced.html

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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.