Bill Text: MS HB1186 | 2025 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

Mississippi House Bill 1186

Bill Title: Natural gas piping systems; require testing in school facilities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-30 - Title Suff Do Pass Comm Sub [HB1186 Detail]

Download: Mississippi-2025-HB1186-Comm_Sub.html

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2025 Regular Session

To: Public Utilities

By: Representative Powell

House Bill 1186

(COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)

AN ACT TO REQUIRE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO TEST NATURAL GAS PIPING SYSTEMS IN THEIR FACILITIES; TO CREATE THE DUTY TO PRESSURE TEST; TO PRESCRIBE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE TEST; TO REQUIRE WRITTEN NOTICE OF THE TEST TO SUPPLIERS; TO PROVIDE FOR DISCONTINUANCE OF SERVICE IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; TO REQUIRE SCHOOLS TO REPORT GAS LEAKAGE TO SCHOOL BOARDS; TO ALLOW FOR THE PROMULGATION OF RULES; TO PROVIDE FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Applicability. This article applies to a facility of a public elementary or secondary school, including a charter school, or a private elementary or secondary school, but does not apply to a home school.

SECTION 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following term has the meaning ascribed in this section:

"Supplier" means an individual or company that sells and delivers natural gas to a school facility. If more than one (1) individual or company sells and delivers natural gas to a school facility, each individual or company is a supplier for purposes of this article.

SECTION 3. Duty to Pressure Test. (1) A person responsible for a school facility shall perform an annual pressure test on the natural gas piping system in the school facility. The test must be performed and results reported to the facility's natural gas supplier before the beginning of the school year each academic year.

(2) If the person responsible for one or more school facilities operates the facilities on a year-round calendar, the pressure test in each of those facilities must be conducted and reported to the facility's natural gas supplier not later than July 1 of the year in which the pressure test is performed.

(3) A natural gas piping pressure test performed under a municipal code satisfies the pressure testing requirements prescribed by this section.

SECTION 4. Requirements of Test. (1) The person responsible for a school facility shall have a pressure test performed by a qualified plumber to determine whether the natural gas piping downstream of the school facility's meter holds at least normal operating pressure over a specified period determined by the Mississippi Public Service Commission.

(2) During the pressure test, each system supply inlet and outlet in the school facility must be closed.

(3) At the request of a person responsible for a school facility, the Mississippi Public Service Commission shall assist the person in developing a procedure for conducting a test.

SECTION 5. Notice of Test. (1) A person responsible for a school facility shall provide written notice to the school's supplier specifying the date and result of each pressure test or other inspection.

(2) The supplier shall maintain a copy of the notice until at least the first anniversary of the date on which the supplier received the notice.

SECTION 6. Discontinuance of Service. (1) A supplier shall discontinue service to a school facility if:

(a) The supplier receives official notification from the firm or individual conducting the test of a hazardous natural gas leakage in the facility piping system; or

(b) A test or other inspection at the facility is not performed as required by this article.

(2) A supplier is not liable for any damages that result from a failure to discontinue service as required by subsection (1)(b) of this section for a facility other than a school district facility.

SECTION 7. Report of Leakage. (1) The results of the annual pressure test in any facility of a public elementary or secondary school, including a charter school, or any school accredited by the State Board of Education, must be reported to the State Department of Education within thirty (30) days of the testing.

(2) An identified natural gas leakage in a school district facility in the performance of the required testing must be reported by the firm or individual conducting the test to the board of trustees of the district in which the facility is located, as well as the State Department of Education. An identified natural gas leakage in the performance of the required testing in another school facility must be reported by the firm or individual conducting the test to the person responsible for the school facility.

SECTION 8. Rules and Enforcement. (1) The Mississippi Public Service Commission, as the state agency charged with enforcement of natural gas pipeline safety standards, shall promulgate rules to implement the requirements of this subsection on or before December 31, 2025, to be applicable for the 2026-2027 school year.

(2) For those suppliers that are natural gas utilities whose rates are regulated by the Mississippi Public Service Commission, each such natural gas utility may include in its energy efficiency plan and/or energy delivery plan a program that provides financial assistance for schools to offset the costs of implementation of the Mississippi Public Service Commission's rules implementing this article.

SECTION 9. Sections 1 through 8 of this act shall be codified in Title 77, Chapter 11, Mississippi Code of 1972, as a new Article 9 entitled "Testing of Natural Gas Piping Systems in School Facilities."

SECTION 10. Section 8 of this act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2025, and the remainder of this act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.