Bill Text: MI SB0271 | 2019-2020 | 100th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Local government: water and sewer; municipality billing requirements for water or sewerage service; provide for, require municipalities to adopt a written dispute resolution process for disputed water or sewerage service bills, and require municipalities to monitor for customer water leaks. Amends title & sec. 6 of 1939 PA 178 (MCL 123.166) & adds secs. 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d & 1e.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-04-17 - Referred To Committee On Local Government [SB0271 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2019-SB0271-Introduced.html

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SENATE BILL No. 271

 

 

April 17, 2019, Introduced by Senators HOLLIER, ALEXANDER, BULLOCK, WOJNO, SANTANA, MOSS, IRWIN, POLEHANKI, MCMORROW and CHANG and referred to the Committee on    Local Government.

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 1939 PA 178, entitled

 

"An act to provide for the collection of water or sewage system

rates, assessments, charges, or rentals; and to provide a lien for

water or sewage system services furnished by municipalities as

defined by this act,"

 

by amending the title and section 6 (MCL 123.166), as amended by

 

1981 PA 132, and by adding sections 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, and 1e.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

TITLE

 

     An act to provide for the collection of water or sewage system

 

rates, assessments, charges, or rentals; and to provide for the

 

powers and duties of certain municipal officers and entities; to

 

provide a lien for water or sewage system services furnished by

 

municipalities as defined by this act; and to prescribe civil

 

remedies for violation of this act.

 

     Sec. 1a. (1) A municipality that owns or operates a water

distribution system or a sewage system and that provides water or

 

sewerage service in this state shall not require a customer to

 

provide his or her Social Security number in order to open a

 

customer account.

 

     (2) Regardless of whether a customer's account for water or

 

sewerage service is current or delinquent, a municipality that owns

 

or operates a water distribution system or a sewage system and that

 

provides water or sewerage service in this state shall bill each

 

customer of the system on a regular monthly basis.

 

     (3) A municipality shall not send an estimated bill for water

 

or sewerage service to a customer more than twice a year. As used

 

in this subsection, "estimated bill" means a bill for water or

 

sewerage service at the premises that is not based on a meter

 

reading of a customer's actual water or sewerage usage for the

 

period being billed.

 

     (4) A municipality that owns or operates a water distribution

 

system or a sewage system and that provides water or sewerage

 

service in this state shall include, at a minimum, on each

 

customer's water or sewerage bill all of the following:

 

     (a) The units of consumption in which the bill is calculated.

 

If the units of consumption are not expressed in gallons, a

 

conversion factor to gallons must be provided on the bill.

 

     (b) The water or sewerage rates and charges for each component

 

of the bill.

 

     (c) The actual amount owed to the municipality for water or

 

sewerage service under any existing payment plan.

 

     (5) A municipality that owns or operates a water distribution

system or a sewage system and that provides water or sewerage

 

service in this state shall advertise to customers, by posting on

 

the municipality's website, and provide written notice to each

 

customer at least once each year that all customers have the option

 

to do, at a minimum, 1 or more of the following at no additional

 

cost to the customer:

 

     (a) Pay the water or sewerage bill online.

 

     (b) Pick a billing due date.

 

     (c) Select levelized billing. If a customer selects levelized

 

billing, the customer's monthly bill must still indicate water or

 

sewerage usage for each month and how that usage compares to prior

 

monthly usage. As used in this subdivision, "levelized billing"

 

means each monthly bill is the rolling average of a customer's

 

water or sewerage usage for the most recent 12 months.

 

     (6) A customer of a municipality that provides water or

 

sewerage service is not responsible for any water or sewerage usage

 

for a billing period if that water or sewerage usage is not billed

 

to that customer by the municipality within 10 days after the end

 

of the billing period.

 

     (7) A municipality that owns or operates a water distribution

 

system or a sewage system and that provides water or sewerage

 

service in this state shall not do any of the following:

 

     (a) Charge any additional fee to a customer based on the

 

customer's method of payment.

 

     (b) Assess any fee or charge upon a residential customer as a

 

penalty.

 

     (c) Charge interest to a customer for past-due amounts at a

rate greater than 4.0% per year.

 

     (8) If the customer of a municipality that provides water or

 

sewerage service is an eligible customer, that customer must

 

receive from the municipality a complete waiver of any fees

 

associated with any late payments or restoration of service, and

 

that customer is not required to make any deposit to receive water

 

or sewerage service from the municipality. As used in this

 

subsection, "eligible customer" means a customer whose household

 

income does not exceed 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, as

 

published by the United States Department of Health and Human

 

Services, or who meets any of the following requirements:

 

     (a) Has received assistance from a state emergency relief

 

program within the past year.

 

     (b) Receives food assistance under the federal supplemental

 

nutrition assistance program administered by this state.

 

     (c) Receives medical assistance administered by this state

 

under the social welfare act, 1939 PA 280, MCL 400.1 to 400.119b.

 

     (d) Receives any other form of federal or state public

 

assistance.

 

     (9) If the customer of a municipality that provides water or

 

sewerage service is in a household that has a household income of

 

between 200% and 300% of the federal poverty guidelines, as

 

published by the United States Department of Health and Human

 

Services, that customer is eligible for a partial waiver of any fee

 

associated with any late payments or restoration of service, or a

 

partial waiver of any deposit, as determined by the municipality.

 

     (10) This section takes effect January 1, 2021.

     Sec. 1b. (1) A municipality that owns or operates a water

 

distribution system or a sewage system and that provides water or

 

sewerage service in this state shall adopt a dispute resolution

 

process for a customer to dispute a water or sewerage service bill

 

and that municipality shall post the dispute resolution process on

 

its website.

 

     (2) At least once each year, a municipality that owns or

 

operates a water distribution system or a sewage system and that

 

provides water or sewerage service in this state shall provide in

 

writing to each of its customers the dispute resolution process

 

adopted under subsection (1) for disputing a water or sewerage

 

service bill.

 

     Sec. 1c. (1) If the customer of a municipality that owns or

 

operates a water distribution system or a sewage system and that

 

provides water or sewerage service in this state disputes a water

 

or sewerage service bill using the dispute resolution process

 

adopted by that municipality under section 1b, all of the following

 

apply:

 

     (a) The customer is not required to pay the municipality the

 

disputed amount during the dispute resolution process.

 

     (b) Interest does not accrue on that customer's water or

 

sewerage service balance during the dispute resolution process.

 

     (c) The municipality shall not discontinue water service or

 

sewage system service to the customer's premises during the dispute

 

resolution process.

 

     (2) Any costs associated with a dispute resolution process for

 

the first dispute between a customer and the municipality in a

calendar year are to be borne by the municipality. Except as

 

otherwise provided in this subsection, for a second or subsequent

 

dispute between a customer and the municipality in a calendar year,

 

the municipality may charge the customer for up to 50% of the costs

 

associated with the dispute resolution process. If a dispute

 

resolution process determines that the municipality's process or

 

equipment was in error, any costs associated with the dispute

 

resolution process are to be borne by the municipality.

 

     Sec. 1d. (1) Each municipality that owns or operates a water

 

distribution system or a sewage system and that provides water or

 

sewerage service in this state shall give notice to a retail

 

customer of that municipality if the municipality obtains

 

information indicating that a leak may exist on the customer's side

 

of the water service meter.

 

     (2) Each municipality that owns or operates a water

 

distribution system or a sewage system and that provides water or

 

sewerage service in this state shall monitor its systems at least

 

annually to detect customer-side leaks by conducting 1 or more of

 

the following:

 

     (a) Acoustic monitoring of customer water meters, and if leak

 

sounds are detected, the municipality must check connection points

 

on both the municipality side and the customer side of the meter.

 

     (b) Onsite meter reading comparisons of current and prior

 

meter readings to identify atypical water usage.

 

     (c) Customer bill analysis to detect anomalies in bills or

 

consumption levels that may be indicative of leakage.

 

     (d) Any other method of review that is submitted to and

approved by the department of environmental quality.

 

     (3) If information obtained by the municipality under

 

subsection (2) indicates that a water leak may exist, the

 

municipality shall alert the customer to the possible leak by

 

placing a door hanger at the customer's premises, or by any other

 

contact method including, but not limited to, written notice,

 

telephone, or electronic mail.

 

     (4) If, after notice of a possible leak under subsection (3)

 

is provided, water consumption by the customer is not reduced

 

during the next routine meter read, the municipality shall alert

 

the customer again in any manner provided in subsection (3).

 

     (5) Any notice provided by a municipality under subsection (3)

 

or (4) must advise the customer that it is the customer's

 

responsibility to fix any water leak, but the municipality may

 

provide to the customer any guidance or assistance needed for

 

repairing the water leak.

 

     Sec. 1e. (1) The attorney general, the department of

 

environmental quality, or any customer or lawful occupant of a

 

customer's premises subject to this act may enforce sections 1a,

 

1b, 1c, or 1d by filing a civil action in a court of appropriate

 

jurisdiction for injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or actual

 

damages, or any combination of injunctive relief, declaratory

 

relief, or actual damages.

 

     (2) A court rendering a judgment in an action brought under

 

subsection (1) may award all or a portion of the costs of

 

litigation, including reasonable attorney fees, to the complainant

 

if the court determines that the award is appropriate.

     Sec. 6. A Subject to section 1c(1), a municipality may

 

discontinue water service or sewage system service from the

 

premises against which the lien created by this act has accrued if

 

a person fails to pay the rates, assessments, charges, or rentals

 

for the respective service, or may institute an action for the

 

collection of the same rates, assessments, charges, or rentals for

 

the respective service in any court of competent jurisdiction.

 

However, a municipality's attempt to collect these sewage system or

 

water rates, assessments, charges, or rentals by any process shall

 

does not invalidate or waive the lien upon the premises.