By: Lucio S.B. No. 1842
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to an application for the amendment of a certificate of
  public convenience and necessity in an area inside the boundaries
  of a political subdivision.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 13.002, Water Code, is amended by adding
  Subdivision (13-a) to read as follows:
               (13-a)  "Municipal utility district" means a political
  subdivision of this state operating under Chapter 54.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter G, Chapter 13, Water Code, is amended
  by adding Section 13.258 to read as follows:
         Sec. 13.258.  UTILITY'S APPLICATION FOR SERVICE INSIDE
  MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT UNDER CONTRACT.  (a)  Notwithstanding
  any other provision of this chapter, a Class A utility may apply to
  the commission to provide services inside the boundaries of a
  municipal utility district.
         (b)  An application under this section must be accompanied
  by:
               (1)  information identifying the applicant;
               (2)  the name of the municipal utility district;
               (3)  the written consent of the municipal utility
  district that holds the certificate of convenience and necessity;
               (4)  a written statement by the municipal utility
  district that the application is supported by a contract between
  the municipal utility district and the utility for the utility to
  provide services inside the boundaries of the municipal utility
  district; and
               (5)  a description of the proposed service area by:
                     (A)  a metes and bounds survey certified by a
  licensed state land surveyor or a registered professional land
  surveyor;
                     (B)  the Texas State Plane Coordinate System;
                     (C)  verifiable landmarks, including roads,
  creeks, or railroad lines; or
                     (D)  if a recorded plat of the area exists, lot and
  block number.
         (c)  For an application under this section, the utility
  commission may not require any information other than the
  information required by this section.
         (d)  Not later than the 60th day after the date an applicant
  files an application under this section, the utility commission
  shall review whether the application is complete.  If the utility
  commission finds that the application is complete, the utility
  commission shall:
               (1)  find that the application is necessary for the
  service, accommodation, convenience, or safety of the public; and
               (2)  grant the application.
         (e)  The utility commission's decision under this section
  becomes final after reconsideration, if any, authorized by utility
  commission rule, and may not be appealed.
         (f)  The consent of a municipality is not required for the
  utility commission to grant an application as provided by
  Subsection (a) for an area that is in the municipality's
  extraterritorial jurisdiction.
         (g)  Sections 13.241(d) and 13.245 do not apply to an
  application under this section.
         (h)  Chapter 2001, Government Code, does not apply to an
  application for an amendment of a certificate of public convenience
  and necessity under this section.
         SECTION 3.  Section 341.035(d), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (d)  A person is not required to file a business plan under
  Subsection (a)(1) or (b) if the person:
               (1)  is a county;
               (2)  is a retail public utility as defined by Section
  13.002, Water Code, unless that person is a utility as defined by
  that section;
               (3)  has executed an agreement with a political
  subdivision to transfer the ownership and operation of the water
  supply system to the political subdivision; [or]
               (4)  is a Class A utility, as defined by Section 13.002,
  Water Code, that has applied for or been granted an application to
  provide service under Section 13.258, Water Code, for the area in
  which the construction of the public drinking water supply system
  will operate; or
               (5)  is a noncommunity nontransient water system and
  the person has demonstrated financial assurance under Chapter 361
  or 382 of this code or Chapter 26, Water Code.
         SECTION 4.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to an application for an amendment of a certificate of public
  convenience and necessity filed on or after the effective date of
  this Act.  An application filed before the effective date of this
  Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the application is
  filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.