11 LC 18
9669
House
Bill 174
By:
Representative Mills of the
25th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To
amend Code Section 36-70-24 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to criteria for service delivery strategy, so as to change certain provisions
regarding water or sewer fees; to provide an effective date; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Code
Section 36-70-24 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to criteria
for service delivery strategy, is amended by revising paragraph (2) as
follows:
"(2)(A)
The strategy shall provide that water or sewer fees
and
rates charged to customers located outside
the geographic boundaries of a service provider shall not be arbitrarily higher
than the fees
and
rates charged to customers receiving such
service which are located within the geographic boundaries of the service
provider.
(B)
If a governing authority disputes the reasonableness of water and sewer
fee
and rate differentials imposed within its
jurisdiction by another governing authority, that disputing governing authority
may hold a public hearing for the purpose of reviewing the
fee
and rate differential.
Following
the preparation of a rate study by a qualified engineer,
the
The
governing authority may challenge the arbitrary
fee
and rate differentials on behalf of its
residents
in a court
of competent jurisdiction. Prior to such
challenge,
by
submitting the dispute
shall be
submitted to some form of alternative
dispute
resolution.
If the dispute fails to be resolved by such alternative dispute resolution, then
the governing authority may continue such challenge in a court of competent
jurisdiction.
(C)
For purposes of this paragraph, fees shall include, but not be limited to, any
account fees or other customer fees charged to customers by the service
provider;"
SECTION
2.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.