| |
| |
| |
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to information maintained by certain municipally owned |
|
|
utilities that provide electricity services and cable, Internet, or |
|
|
broadband services. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Sections 552.133(a), (a-1), and (b-1), |
|
|
Government Code, are amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) In this section: |
|
|
(1) "Broadband service" has the meaning assigned by |
|
|
Section 181.048, Utilities Code. |
|
|
(2) "Public[, "public] power utility" means an entity |
|
|
providing electric or gas utility services that is subject to the |
|
|
provisions of this chapter. |
|
|
(a-1) For purposes of this section, "competitive matter" |
|
|
means a utility-related matter, including for an entity described |
|
|
by Subdivision (2) a cable, Internet, or broadband service matter, |
|
|
that is related to the public power utility's competitive activity, |
|
|
including commercial information, and would, if disclosed, give |
|
|
advantage to competitors or prospective competitors. The term: |
|
|
(1) means a matter that is reasonably related to the |
|
|
following categories of information: |
|
|
(A) generation unit specific and portfolio fixed |
|
|
and variable costs, including forecasts of those costs, capital |
|
|
improvement plans for generation units, and generation unit |
|
|
operating characteristics and outage scheduling; |
|
|
(B) bidding and pricing information for |
|
|
purchased power, generation and fuel, and Electric Reliability |
|
|
Council of Texas bids, prices, offers, and related services and |
|
|
strategies; |
|
|
(C) effective fuel and purchased power |
|
|
agreements and fuel transportation arrangements and contracts; |
|
|
(D) risk management information, contracts, and |
|
|
strategies, including fuel hedging and storage; |
|
|
(E) plans, studies, proposals, and analyses for |
|
|
system improvements, additions, or sales, other than transmission |
|
|
and distribution system improvements inside the service area for |
|
|
which the public power utility is the sole certificated retail |
|
|
provider; and |
|
|
(F) customer billing, contract, and usage |
|
|
information, electric power pricing information, system load |
|
|
characteristics, and electric power marketing analyses and |
|
|
strategies; [and] |
|
|
(2) means a matter reasonably related to information |
|
|
involving the provision of cable, Internet, or broadband services |
|
|
by a municipally owned utility that provided electricity services |
|
|
and cable, Internet, or broadband services on or before January 1, |
|
|
2003, including: |
|
|
(A) a capital improvement plan; |
|
|
(B) an expense related to the installation of a |
|
|
facility to provide those services; |
|
|
(C) bidding and pricing information for |
|
|
installation of the facility; |
|
|
(D) risk management information, contracts, and |
|
|
strategies; |
|
|
(E) plans, studies, proposals, and analyses for: |
|
|
(i) system improvements, additions, or |
|
|
sales; or |
|
|
(ii) establishing pricing for providing |
|
|
those services; and |
|
|
(F) customer billing, contract, and usage |
|
|
information; and |
|
|
(3) does not include the following categories of |
|
|
information: |
|
|
(A) information relating to the provision of |
|
|
distribution access service, including the terms and conditions of |
|
|
the service and the rates charged for the service but not including |
|
|
information concerning utility-related services or products that |
|
|
are competitive; |
|
|
(B) information relating to the provision of |
|
|
transmission service that is required to be filed with the Public |
|
|
Utility Commission of Texas, subject to any confidentiality |
|
|
provided for under the rules of the commission; |
|
|
(C) information for the distribution system |
|
|
pertaining to reliability and continuity of service, to the extent |
|
|
not security-sensitive, that relates to emergency management, |
|
|
identification of critical loads such as hospitals and police, |
|
|
records of interruption, and distribution feeder standards; |
|
|
(D) any substantive rule or tariff of general |
|
|
applicability regarding rates, service offerings, service |
|
|
regulation, customer protections, or customer service adopted by |
|
|
the public power utility as authorized by law; |
|
|
(E) aggregate information reflecting receipts or |
|
|
expenditures of funds of the public power utility, of the type that |
|
|
would be included in audited financial statements; |
|
|
(F) information relating to equal employment |
|
|
opportunities for minority groups, as filed with local, state, or |
|
|
federal agencies; |
|
|
(G) information relating to the public power |
|
|
utility's performance in contracting with minority business |
|
|
entities; |
|
|
(H) information relating to nuclear |
|
|
decommissioning trust agreements, of the type required to be |
|
|
included in audited financial statements; |
|
|
(I) information relating to the amount and timing |
|
|
of any transfer to an owning city's general fund; |
|
|
(J) information relating to environmental |
|
|
compliance as required to be filed with any local, state, or |
|
|
national environmental authority, subject to any confidentiality |
|
|
provided under the rules of those authorities; |
|
|
(K) names of public officers of the public power |
|
|
utility and the voting records of those officers for all matters |
|
|
other than those within the scope of a competitive resolution |
|
|
provided for by this section; |
|
|
(L) a description of the public power utility's |
|
|
central and field organization, including the established places at |
|
|
which the public may obtain information, submit information and |
|
|
requests, or obtain decisions and the identification of employees |
|
|
from whom the public may obtain information, submit information or |
|
|
requests, or obtain decisions; |
|
|
(M) information identifying the general course |
|
|
and method by which the public power utility's functions are |
|
|
channeled and determined, including the nature and requirements of |
|
|
all formal and informal policies and procedures; |
|
|
(N) salaries and total compensation of all |
|
|
employees of a public power utility; |
|
|
(O) information publicly released by the |
|
|
Electric Reliability Council of Texas in accordance with a law, |
|
|
rule, or protocol generally applicable to similarly situated market |
|
|
participants; [or] |
|
|
(P) information related to a chilled water |
|
|
program, as defined by Section 11.003, Utilities Code; or |
|
|
(Q) information included in the separate books |
|
|
and records required to be kept by an entity described by |
|
|
Subdivision (2) as required by Section 552.915, Local Government |
|
|
Code. |
|
|
(b-1) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of Subsection |
|
|
(b), information or records of a municipally owned utility or |
|
|
municipality that operates a chilled water program are subject to |
|
|
disclosure under this chapter if the information or records are |
|
|
reasonably related to: |
|
|
(1) a municipally owned utility's rate review process; |
|
|
(2) the method a municipality or municipally owned |
|
|
utility uses to set rates for retail electric service; or |
|
|
(3) the method a municipality or municipally owned |
|
|
utility uses to set rates for a chilled water program described by |
|
|
Subsection (a-1)(3)(P) [(a-1)(2)(P)]. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Subchapter Z, Chapter 552, Local Government |
|
|
Code, is amended by adding Section 552.915 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 552.915. RECORDS OF MUNICIPALLY OWNED ELECTRIC UTILITY |
|
|
PROVIDING BROADBAND SERVICES. (a) In this section, "broadband |
|
|
service" has the meaning assigned by Section 181.048, Utilities |
|
|
Code. |
|
|
(b) This section applies only to a municipally owned utility |
|
|
that: |
|
|
(1) provides electricity and broadband services; and |
|
|
(2) provided electricity services and cable, |
|
|
Internet, or broadband services on or before January 1, 2003. |
|
|
(c) A municipally owned utility shall maintain separate |
|
|
books and records of broadband service operations and shall ensure |
|
|
that the rates charged for provision of electric service do not |
|
|
include any broadband service costs or any other costs not related |
|
|
to the provision of electric service. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Section 552.133, Government Code, as amended by |
|
|
this Act, applies only to a request for public information received |
|
|
by a governmental body or an officer for public information on or |
|
|
after the effective date of this Act. |
|
|
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
______________________________ |
______________________________ |
| |
President of the Senate |
Speaker of the House |
| |
|
|
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 983 passed the Senate on |
|
|
April 27, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1. |
|
|
|
| |
| |
______________________________ |
| |
Secretary of the Senate |
| |
|
|
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 983 passed the House on |
|
|
May 19, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 118, Nays 25, two |
|
|
present not voting. |
|
|
|
| |
| |
______________________________ |
| |
Chief Clerk of the House |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Approved: |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Date |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Governor |