Bill Text: IA HF2398 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to public utilities and sanitary sewage or storm water drainage disposal system providers. (Formerly HSB 554)

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-02 - Withdrawn. H.J. 397. [HF2398 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-HF2398-Introduced.html

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House File 2398 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE

                                 (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 554)

                                 (COMPANION TO SF 2221
                                     BY COMMITTEE ON
                                     COMMERCE)

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to public utilities and sanitary sewage or
  2    storm water drainage disposal system providers.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 476.1, subsection 3, Code 2016, is
  1  2 amended by adding the following new paragraph:
  1  3    NEW PARAGRAPH.  d.  Furnishing sanitary sewage or storm water
  1  4 drainage disposal by piped collection system to the public for
  1  5 compensation.
  1  6    Sec. 2.  Section 476.1, subsection 5, Code 2016, is amended
  1  7 to read as follows:
  1  8    5.  This chapter does not apply to waterworks having less
  1  9 than two thousand customers, municipally owned waterworks,
  1 10 waterworks having less than two thousand customers, joint water
  1 11 utilities established pursuant to chapter 389, rural water
  1 12 districts incorporated and organized pursuant to chapters
  1 13 357A and 504, cooperative water associations incorporated and
  1 14 organized pursuant to chapter 499, municipally owned sanitary
  1 15 sewage or storm water drainage systems, sanitary districts
  1 16 incorporated and organized pursuant to chapter 358, districts
  1 17 organized pursuant to chapter 468, or to a person furnishing
  1 18 electricity to five or fewer customers either by secondary line
  1 19 or from an alternate energy production facility or small hydro
  1 20 facility, from electricity that is produced primarily for the
  1 21 person's own use.
  1 22    Sec. 3.  Section 476.8, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2016,
  1 23 is amended to read as follows:
  1 24    Every public utility is required to furnish reasonably
  1 25 adequate service and facilities. "Reasonably adequate service
  1 26 and facilities" for public utilities furnishing gas or
  1 27 electricity includes programs for customers to encourage the
  1 28 use of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. The
  1 29 charge made by any public utility for any heat, light, gas,
  1 30 energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, water or
  1 31 power produced, transmitted, delivered or furnished, sanitary
  1 32 sewage or storm water collected and treated, or communications
  1 33 services, or for any service rendered or to be rendered in
  1 34 connection therewith shall be reasonable and just, and every
  1 35 unjust or unreasonable charge for such service is prohibited
  2  1 and declared unlawful. In determining reasonable and just
  2  2 rates, the board shall consider all factors relating to value
  2  3 and shall not be bound by rate base decisions or rulings made
  2  4 prior to the adoption of this chapter.
  2  5    Sec. 4.  Section 476.9, subsection 2, Code 2016, is amended
  2  6 to read as follows:
  2  7    2.  Every public utility engaged directly or indirectly in
  2  8 any other business than that of the production, transmission,
  2  9  or furnishing of heat, light, water, or power, the collection
  2 10 and treatment of sanitary sewage or storm water, or the
  2 11  furnishing of communications services to the public shall,
  2 12 if required by the board, keep and render separately to the
  2 13 board in like manner and form the accounts of all such other
  2 14 business, in which case all the provisions of this chapter
  2 15 shall apply to the books, accounts, papers and records of such
  2 16 other business and all profits and losses may be taken into
  2 17 consideration by the board if deemed relevant to the general
  2 18 fiscal condition of the public utility.
  2 19                           EXPLANATION
  2 20 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  2 21 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  2 22    This bill modifies the definition of a public utility for
  2 23 purposes of the regulatory authority of the Iowa utilities
  2 24 board.
  2 25    Currently, a "public utility" is defined in Code chapter 476
  2 26 to include any person, partnership, business association, or
  2 27 domestic or foreign corporation owning or operating facilities
  2 28 for the furnishing of specified services to the public for
  2 29 compensation. The services include furnishing gas by piped
  2 30 distribution system, electricity, communications services,
  2 31 and water by piped distribution system. The bill adds to
  2 32 this list the furnishing of sanitary sewage or storm water
  2 33 drainage disposal by piped collection system. The bill
  2 34 provides, however, that in addition to current exclusions
  2 35 from applicability, Code chapter 476 shall not apply to a
  3  1 municipally owned sanitary sewage or storm water drainage
  3  2 system, a sanitary district incorporated and organized pursuant
  3  3 to Code chapter 358, or a levee and drainage district organized
  3  4 pursuant to Code chapter 468.
  3  5    The bill makes conforming changes to include sanitary sewage
  3  6 or storm water collection and treatment in provisions requiring
  3  7 public utilities to furnish reasonably adequate service and
  3  8 facilities and in provisions requiring unrelated business
  3  9 accounting by utilities to the Iowa utilities board.
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