Bill Text: TX HB3078 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to a program to provide assistance for certain retail electric customers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-04-26 - Left pending in committee [HB3078 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB3078-Introduced.html
| 88R9831 JXC-F | ||
| By: Hernandez | H.B. No. 3078 | |
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| relating to a program to provide assistance for certain retail | ||
| electric customers. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 17.007, Utilities Code, is amended by | ||
| amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) to read as | ||
| follows: | ||
| (a) The Health and Human Services Commission, on request of | ||
| the commission, shall assist in: | ||
| (1) developing an automatic process for identifying | ||
| low-income customers to retail electric providers and certificated | ||
| telecommunications utilities to enable those providers and | ||
| utilities to offer customer service, discounts, bill payment | ||
| assistance, or other methods of assistance; and | ||
| (2) implementing Section 39.9035(i). | ||
| (e) Subsection (d) does not apply in a fiscal biennium in | ||
| which money is available under Section 39.9035 for the process | ||
| established by this section. | ||
| SECTION 2. Section 39.002, Utilities Code, as amended by | ||
| Chapters 908 (H.B. 4492) and 950 (S.B. 1580), Acts of the 87th | ||
| Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, is reenacted and amended to | ||
| read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 39.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter, other than | ||
| Sections 39.151, 39.1516, 39.155, 39.157(e), 39.159, 39.160, | ||
| 39.203, 39.9035, 39.904, 39.9051, 39.9052, and 39.914(e), and | ||
| Subchapters M and N, does not apply to a municipally owned utility | ||
| or an electric cooperative. Sections 39.157(e), 39.203, and | ||
| 39.904, however, apply only to a municipally owned utility or an | ||
| electric cooperative that is offering customer choice. If there is | ||
| a conflict between the specific provisions of this chapter and any | ||
| other provisions of this title, except for Chapters 40 and 41, the | ||
| provisions of this chapter control. | ||
| SECTION 3. Subchapter Z, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Section 39.9035 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 39.9035. INCOME-BASED ASSISTANCE FUND. (a) In this | ||
| section, "fund" means the income-based assistance fund. | ||
| (b) The income-based assistance fund is an account in the | ||
| general revenue fund. Money in the account may be appropriated only | ||
| for the purposes provided by this section or other law. | ||
| (c) The fund consists of: | ||
| (1) money appropriated, credited, or transferred to | ||
| the fund by the legislature; | ||
| (2) gifts or grants contributed to the fund; and | ||
| (3) interest earned on deposits and investments of the | ||
| fund. | ||
| (d) The commission shall administer the fund. | ||
| (e) Money in the fund may be appropriated to provide funding | ||
| only for the following purposes, in the following order of | ||
| priority: | ||
| (1) programs to: | ||
| (A) assist low-income electric customers by | ||
| making available the reduced rates described by Subsection (g); and | ||
| (B) provide one-time bill payment assistance as | ||
| described by Subsection (j) to electric customers who are or who | ||
| have in their households one or more seriously ill or disabled | ||
| low-income persons and who have been threatened with disconnection | ||
| for nonpayment; | ||
| (2) customer education that provides information on | ||
| other assistance programs, administrative expenses incurred by the | ||
| commission in implementing and administering this chapter, and | ||
| expenses incurred by the office under this chapter; | ||
| (3) support for low-income electric customers to | ||
| access the targeted energy efficiency programs described by | ||
| Subsection (f)(2); and | ||
| (4) reimbursement to the commission and the Health and | ||
| Human Services Commission for expenses incurred in the | ||
| implementation and administration of an integrated eligibility | ||
| process created under Section 17.007 for customer service discounts | ||
| relating to retail electric service, including outreach expenses | ||
| the commission determines are reasonable and necessary. | ||
| (f) Notwithstanding Section 39.106(b), the commission shall | ||
| adopt rules regarding programs to assist low-income electric | ||
| customers in areas where customer choice is available. The | ||
| programs may not be targeted to areas served by municipally owned | ||
| utilities or electric cooperatives that have not adopted customer | ||
| choice. The programs must include: | ||
| (1) reduced electric rates and bill payment assistance | ||
| described by Subsection (e)(1)(B); and | ||
| (2) targeted energy efficiency programs to be | ||
| administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community | ||
| Affairs in coordination with existing weatherization programs. | ||
| (g) The commission by rule shall require electric | ||
| cooperatives that have adopted customer choice, municipally owned | ||
| utilities that have adopted customer choice, and retail electric | ||
| providers to provide a reduced rate for retail electric service for | ||
| low-income electric customers that limits monthly payments to not | ||
| more than the greater of 10 percent of the customer's income or $50 | ||
| per month. The reduced rate for municipally owned utilities and | ||
| electric cooperatives under this section is in addition to any rate | ||
| reduction that may result from local programs for low-income | ||
| electric customers of the municipally owned utility or electric | ||
| cooperative. The commission by rule shall establish eligibility | ||
| criteria for the reduced electric rates. The criteria must provide | ||
| that a customer is eligible for a reduced rate if: | ||
| (1) the customer's annual household income is not more | ||
| than 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the | ||
| corresponding household size; or | ||
| (2) the customer's household income during the 30 days | ||
| before the date of enrollment, if annualized, is not more than 150 | ||
| percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the corresponding | ||
| household size. | ||
| (h) An electric cooperative, municipally owned utility, or | ||
| retail electric provider may request from the commission | ||
| reimbursement from the fund for providing a reduced rate under | ||
| Subsection (g). An electric cooperative, municipally owned | ||
| utility, or retail electric provider shall be reimbursed from the | ||
| fund for the difference between the reduced rate and the rate | ||
| established under Section 39.106 or, as appropriate, the rate | ||
| established under Section 40.053 or 41.053. The commission shall | ||
| adopt rules providing for the reimbursement. | ||
| (i) The commission by rule shall provide methods of | ||
| enrolling customers eligible to receive reduced rates under | ||
| Subsection (g). The rules must provide for automatic enrollment as | ||
| one enrollment option. | ||
| (j) The commission by rule shall establish the bill payment | ||
| assistance program authorized under Subsection (e)(1)(B). The | ||
| rules must provide that a customer is eligible to receive the | ||
| assistance only if the assistance is necessary to prevent the | ||
| disconnection of service for nonpayment of bills and the electric | ||
| customer is a seriously ill or disabled low-income person or has in | ||
| the customer's household one or more seriously ill or disabled | ||
| low-income persons whose health or safety may be injured by the | ||
| disconnection. The commission may prescribe the documentation | ||
| necessary to demonstrate eligibility for the assistance and may | ||
| establish additional eligibility criteria. The Health and Human | ||
| Services Commission, on request of the commission, shall assist in | ||
| the adoption and implementation of these rules. | ||
| (k) A retail electric provider is prohibited from charging | ||
| the customer a fee for participation in the reduced rate program. | ||
| (l) The commission may not impose a fee for the purpose of | ||
| depositing revenue in the fund. | ||
| SECTION 4. Section 40.001(a), Utilities Code, is amended to | ||
| read as follows: | ||
| (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except | ||
| Sections 39.155, 39.157(e), 39.203, 39.9035, and 39.904, this | ||
| chapter governs the transition to and the establishment of a fully | ||
| competitive electric power industry for municipally owned | ||
| utilities. With respect to the regulation of municipally owned | ||
| utilities, this chapter controls over any other provision of this | ||
| title, except for sections in which the term "municipally owned | ||
| utility" is specifically used. | ||
| SECTION 5. Section 41.001, Utilities Code, is amended to | ||
| read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 41.001. APPLICABLE LAW. Notwithstanding any other | ||
| provision of law, except Sections 39.155, 39.157(e), 39.203, | ||
| 39.9035, and 39.904, this chapter governs the transition to and the | ||
| establishment of a fully competitive electric power industry for | ||
| electric cooperatives. Regarding the regulation of electric | ||
| cooperatives, this chapter shall control over any other provision | ||
| of this title, except for sections in which the term "electric | ||
| cooperative" is specifically used. | ||
| SECTION 6. It is the intent of the 88th Legislature, Regular | ||
| Session, 2023, that the amendments made by this Act be harmonized | ||
| with another Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, | ||
| relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted | ||
| codes. | ||
| SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. | ||
