Bill Text: IN SB0385 | 2013 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Municipal utilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-05-13 - Public Law 251 [SB0385 Detail]
Download: Indiana-2013-SB0385-Enrolled.html
Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana Constitution) is
being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type, additions
will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that
adds a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles
conflicts between statutes enacted by the 2012 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning local government.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
(1) is owned or operated by a political subdivision (as defined in IC 36-1-2-13); and
(2) is not under the jurisdiction of the commission for the approval of rates and charges.
(b) As used in this section, "wholesale sewage service" means the collection, treatment, purification, and disposal in a sanitary manner of liquid and solid waste, sewage, night soil, and industrial waste provided by a utility to another utility.
(c) A utility that:
(1) either provides or receives wholesale sewage service; and
(2) negotiates to renew or enter into a new contract for wholesale sewage service on expiration of a contract for the same wholesale sewage service;
may file a petition for review of rates and charges for wholesale sewage service with the commission or the circuit or superior court with jurisdiction in the county where the utility has its principal
office.
(d) If a utility files a petition under subsection (c), the following
apply:
(1) The utility that provides the wholesale sewage service has
the burden of proving that the rates and charges are just and
reasonable.
(2) A petition concerning the same rates and charges may not
be filed with both the commission and a court.
(3) If multiple petitions concerning the same rates and charges
are filed, all petitions filed after the first petition filed must
be:
(A) consolidated with the first petition filed; and
(B) heard in the forum in which the first petition was filed.
(4) The petition is not subject to IC 36-9-23 or IC 36-9-25.
(5) If the petition is heard by a court, the court shall hear the
petition de novo.
(e) After notice and hearing, the commission may issue an order
determining whether the rates and charges that are the subject of
a petition filed with the commission under subsection (c) are just
and reasonable. The order of the commission is a final order for
purposes of IC 8-1-3.
(f) This section does not:
(1) authorize the commission to revise rates and charges of a
utility for any other purpose other than as stated in this
section; or
(2) otherwise return or subject a utility to the jurisdiction of
the commission.
(g) The commission may adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to
implement this section.
SECTION 2. IC 8-1-2-70 IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS
[EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2013]: Sec. 70. In its order upon any
investigation made under the provisions of this chapter or IC 8-1.5-3,
either upon complaint against any municipal utility, or upon the
petition of any such municipal utility, or upon the initiation of the
commission, the commission shall ascertain and declare the expenses
incurred by it upon such investigation, and the municipal utility
affected thereby shall pay into the treasury of the state commission
public utility fund account described in IC 8-1-6-2 the amount of the
expenses, so ascertained and declared, within a time to be fixed in the
order, not exceeding twenty (20) days from the date thereof. The
commission shall cause a certified copy of all such orders to be
delivered to an officer or agent of the municipal utility affected thereby,
and all such orders shall, of their own force, take effect and become
operative twenty (20) days after service thereof unless a different time
be provided in said order. Any order of the commission as may increase
any rate of such municipal utility shall not take effect until such
expenses are paid into the state treasury. commission public utility
fund account described in IC 8-1-6-2.
SECTION 3. IC 8-1-6-2, AS AMENDED BY P.L.1-2010,
SECTION 42, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2013]: Sec. 2. (a) All fees herein prescribed shall be paid into
the treasury of the state of Indiana through the secretary of the
commission, a quietus shall be issued, and the fees shall be deposited
into an account to be known as the commission public utility fund
account. This account shall be used for enforcing the provisions of
IC 8-1-1 and IC 8-1-2 and shall be utilized only for the purpose of
funding the expenses of the commission and the consumer counselor
in amounts not in excess of their respective appropriations by the
general assembly, plus the contingency fund. All appropriations under
this chapter paid out of the commission public utility fund account
shall be subject to the prior approval of the general assembly, the
governor, and the state budget agency.
(b) Fees collected from municipalities under IC 8-1-2-85 and
amounts paid by municipal utilities under IC 8-1-2-70 shall also be
deposited in the commission public utility fund account, as if they were
fees collected from public utilities under this chapter.
SECTION 4. IC 36-9-22-2 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2013 (RETROACTIVE)]:
Sec. 2. (a) The power of the municipal works board to fix the terms of
a contract under this section applies to contracts for the installation of
sewage works that have not been finally approved or accepted for full
maintenance and operation by the municipality on July 1, 1979.
(b) The works board of a municipality may contract with owners of
real property for the construction of sewage works within the
municipality or within four (4) miles outside its corporate boundaries
in order to provide service for the area in which the real property of the
owners is located. The contract must provide, for a period of not to
exceed fifteen (15) years, for the payment to the owners and their
assigns by any owner of real property who:
(1) did not contribute to the original cost of the sewage works;
and
(2) subsequently taps into, uses, or deposits sewage or storm
waters in the sewage works or any lateral sewers connected to
them;
of a fair pro rata share of the cost of the construction of the sewage
works, subject to the rules of the board and notwithstanding any other
law relating to the functions of local governmental entities. However,
the contract does not apply to any owner of real property who is not a
party to it unless it has been recorded in the office of the recorder of the
county in which the real property of the owner is located before the
owner taps into or connects to the sewers and facilities. The board may
provide that the fair pro rata share of the cost of construction includes
interest at a rate not exceeding the amount of interest allowed on
judgments, and the interest shall be computed from the date the sewage
works are approved until the date payment is made to the municipality.
(c) The contract must include, as part of the consideration running
to the municipality, the release of the right of the parties to the contract
and their successors in title to remonstrate against pending or future
annexations by the municipality of the area served by the sewage
works. Any person tapping into or connecting to the sewage works
contracted for is considered to waive his the person's rights to
remonstrate against the annexation of the area served by the sewage
works.
(d) Subsection (c) does not apply to a landowner if all of the
following conditions apply:
(1) The landowner is required to connect to the sewage works
because a person other than the landowner has polluted or
contaminated the area.
(2) The costs of extension of or connection to the sewage works
are paid by a person other than the landowner or the municipality.
(e) Subsection (c) does not apply to a landowner who taps into,
connects to, or is required to tap into or connect to the sewage
works of a municipality only because the municipality provides
wholesale sewage service (as defined in IC 8-1-2-61.7) to another
municipality that provides sewage service to the landowner.
SECTION 5. [EFFECTIVE UPON PASSAGE] (a) For purposes of
this section, "EQSC" refers to the environmental quality service
council established by IC 13-13-7-1.
(b) For purposes of this section, "legislative council" refers to
the legislative council established by IC 2-5-1.1-1.
(c) The general assembly urges the legislative council to assign
to the EQSC for study during the 2013 legislative interim the topic
of rates and charges imposed by water, wastewater, and combined
water and wastewater utilities for service to users located outside
the corporate boundaries or service territory of the utilities,
including:
(1) percentage differences between rates imposed on users of
the same class located inside versus outside the corporate
boundaries or service territory of a utility; and
(2) the use of compact fees, wholesale service and other
contracts, payments in lieu of taxes, and other arrangements
to collect payment for utility service.
(d) If the EQSC is assigned the topic described in subsection (c),
the EQSC shall issue to the legislative council a final report
containing the EQSC's findings and recommendations, if any, in an
electronic format under IC 5-14-6, not later than November 1,
2013.
(e) This SECTION expires December 31, 2013.
SECTION 6. An emergency is declared for this act.
President of the Senate
President Pro Tempore
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Governor of the State of Indiana
Date:
Time:
SEA 385
Graphic file number 0 named seal1001.pcx with height 58 p and width 72 p Left aligned
