Bill Text: OR SB669 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the occupancy of public property by districts.

Sponsorship: Committee Bill

Status: (Failed) 2013-07-08 - In committee upon adjournment. [SB669 Detail]

Download: Oregon-2013-SB669-Introduced.html

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     77th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2013 Regular Session

NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .

LC 3453

                         Senate Bill 669

Sponsored by COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND REVENUE

                             SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.

  Prohibits cities from imposing franchise fees, privilege taxes
or other fees on certain districts for occupancy of streets,
alleys, highways or other public property.

                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to the occupancy of public property by districts;
  creating new provisions; and amending ORS 221.420, 221.450 and
  221.655.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1.  { + (1) As used in this section, 'district' means
any type of district listed in ORS 198.010.
  (2) Notwithstanding ORS 221.420, 221.450 or 221.655, a city may
not impose a franchise fee, privilege tax or other fee for the
occupancy of streets, alleys, highways or other public property
on any district that provides services or has facilities within
the boundaries of the city. + }
  SECTION 2. ORS 221.420 is amended to read:
  221.420. (1) As used in this section:
  (a) 'Public utility' has the meaning for that term provided in
ORS 757.005.
    { - (b) 'Commission' means the Public Utility Commission of
Oregon. - }
    { - (c) 'Council' means the common council, city council,
commission or any other governing body of any municipality
wherein the property of the public utility is located. - }
    { - (d) 'Municipality' means any town, city or other
municipal government wherein property of the public utility is
located. - }
    { - (e) - }   { + (b) + } 'Service' is used in its broadest
and most inclusive sense and includes equipment and facilities.
    { - (f) - }   { + (c) + } 'Heating company' means any person
furnishing heat but not electricity or natural gas to its
customers.
  (2) Subject to ORS 758.025, a city may:
  (a) Determine by contract or prescribe by ordinance or
otherwise, the terms and conditions, including payment of charges
and fees, upon which any public utility, electric cooperative
 { - , people's utility district - }  or heating company, or
Oregon Community Power, may be permitted to occupy the streets,
highways or other public property within such city and exclude or
eject any public utility or heating company therefrom.
  (b) Require any public utility, by ordinance or otherwise, to
make such modifications, additions and extensions to its physical
equipment, facilities or plant or service within such city as
shall be reasonable or necessary in the interest of the public,
and designate the location and nature of all additions and
extensions, the time within which they must be completed, and all
conditions under which they must be constructed.
  (c) Fix by contract, prescribe by ordinance, or in any other
lawful manner, the rates, charges or tolls to be paid to, or that
may be collected by, any public utility or the quality and
character of each kind of product or service to be furnished or
rendered by any public utility furnishing any product or service
within such city. No schedule of rates, charges or tolls, fixed
in the manner provided in this paragraph, shall be so fixed for a
longer period than five years. Whenever it is proposed by any
city to enter into any contract, or to enact any ordinance, or
other municipal law or regulation concerning the matters
specified in this paragraph, a copy of such proposed contract,
ordinance or other municipal law or resolution shall be filed
with the Public Utility Commission of Oregon before the same may
be lawfully signed or enacted, as the case may be, and the
commission shall thereafter have 90 days within which to examine
into the terms thereof. If the commission is of the opinion that
in any respect the provisions of the proposed contract, ordinance
or other municipal law or resolution are not in the public
interest, the commission shall file, in writing, with the clerk
or other officer who has the custody of the files and records of
the city, the commission's reasons therefor. If the objections
are filed within said period of 90 days, no proposed contract,
ordinance or other municipal law or regulation shall be valid or
go into effect until it has been submitted to or ratified by the
vote of the electors of the city. Unless and until a city
exercises its powers as provided in this paragraph, the
commission is vested with all powers with respect to the matters
specified in this paragraph. If the schedule of rates, charges
and tolls or the quality and character of each kind of product or
service is fixed by contract, ordinance or other municipal law or
regulation and in the manner provided in this paragraph, the
commission has no power or jurisdiction to interfere with, modify
or change it during the period fixed thereby. Upon the expiration
of said period such powers shall again be vested in the
commission, to be exercised by the commission unless and until a
new schedule of rates or the quality and character for such
service or product is fixed or prescribed by contract, ordinance
or other municipal law or regulation in the manner provided in
this paragraph.
  (d) Provide for a penalty for noncompliance with the provisions
of any charter provision, ordinance or resolution adopted by the
city in furtherance of the powers specified in this subsection.
  SECTION 3. ORS 221.450 is amended to read:
  221.450. Except as provided in ORS 221.655, the city council or
other governing body of every incorporated city may levy and
collect a privilege tax from Oregon Community Power and from
every electric cooperative,   { - people's utility district, - }
privately owned public utility, telecommunications carrier as
defined in ORS 133.721 or heating company. The privilege tax may
be collected only if the entity is operating for a period of 30
days within the city without a franchise from the city and
actually using the streets, alleys or highways, or all of them,
in such city for other than travel on such streets or highways.
The privilege tax shall be for the use of those public streets,
alleys or highways, or all of them, in such city in an amount not
exceeding five percent of the gross revenues of the cooperative,
utility  { - , district - }  or company currently earned within
the boundary of the city. However, the gross revenues earned in
interstate commerce or on the business of the United States
Government shall be exempt from the provisions of this section.
The privilege tax authorized in this section shall be for each
year, or part of each year, such utility, cooperative  { - ,
district - }  or company, or Oregon Community Power, operates
without a franchise.
  SECTION 4. ORS 221.655 is amended to read:
  221.655. (1) The city council or governing body of an
incorporated city may levy and collect from a distribution
utility providing direct access to electricity services under ORS
757.601 (1) or 757.676, except a municipal electric utility { +
or a people's utility district + }, operating for a period of 30
days within the city without a franchise from the city and
actually using the streets, alleys or highways in such city for
other than travel, a privilege tax for the use of those public
streets, alleys or highways. The privilege tax shall be based on
a volumetric rate times the volume of electric energy in kilowatt
hours delivered, transmitted or distributed to retail electricity
consumers within the city by the distribution utility, provided
that the privilege tax shall not be applied to electric energy
generated by a retail electricity consumer's own generating
facilities or to electric energy delivered by the federal
government. The volumetric rate of the privilege tax for the
distribution utility may vary by customer class.
  (2) The privilege tax described in subsection (1) of this
section shall be subject to the following:
  (a) The volumetric rate, in cents per kilowatt hour, for any
customer class shall not exceed five percent of the 1999 gross
revenue of an electric utility within the city for the customer
class divided by the amount of electric energy in kilowatt hours
delivered to the customer class in 1999.
  (b) A city with a franchise fee or privilege tax in effect on
July 1, 1999, that was less than five percent shall not establish
a volumetric rate for any customer class of the distribution
utility in an amount in excess of the city's 1999 franchise fee
or privilege tax rate times the 1999 gross revenue of any
electric utility within the city from the customer class divided
by the amount of electric energy in kilowatt hours delivered to
the customer class in 1999, except following a hearing with
notice and opportunity for public comment.
  (3) Subject to the limitations established in subsection (2) of
this section, once a city has established volumetric rates for
the purpose of calculating the privilege tax under this section,
any subsequent change in the volumetric rates shall be applied on
an equal percentage basis to all customer classes.
  (4)(a) The Public Utility Commission shall determine the manner
in which a privilege tax under this section is collected from the
customers of an electric company. The privilege tax shall be
allocated across an electric company's customer classes in the
same proportional amounts as levied by the city against the
electric company.
  (b) The governing body of an electric cooperative   { - or
people's utility district - }  shall determine the manner in
which a privilege tax under this section is collected from the
customers of the electric cooperative   { - or people's utility
district - } . The governing body shall allocate the privilege
tax across customer classes in the same proportional amounts as
levied by the city against the electric cooperative   { - or
people's utility district - } .
  SECTION 5.  { + Section 1 of this 2013 Act and the amendments
to ORS 221.420, 221.450 and 221.655 by sections 2 to 4 of this
2013 Act do not apply to any contract entered into by a city and
a district, as defined in section 1 of this 2013 Act, on or
before the effective date of this 2013 Act. + }
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