Bill Text: TX SB2154 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to the membership of the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 11-4)

Status: (Passed) 2021-06-18 - Effective immediately [SB2154 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-SB2154-Comm_Sub.html

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By: Schwertner S.B. No. 2154
(In the Senate - Filed March 22, 2021; March 22, 2021, read
first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence;
March 23, 2021, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 5,
Nays 0; March 23, 2021, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the membership of the Public Utility Commission of
Texas.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 12.051(a), Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The commission is composed of five [three]
commissioners appointed by the governor with the advice and consent
of the senate.
SECTION 2. Section 12.053, Utilities Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) To be eligible for appointment, a commissioner must:
(1) be a qualified voter;
(2) be a citizen of the United States;
(3) be a resident of this state;
(4) be a competent and experienced administrator;
[(4) be well informed and qualified in the field of
public utilities and utility regulation;] and
(5) have at least five years of experience:
(A) in the administration of business or
government or
(B) as a practicing attorney, [or] certified
public accountant, or professional engineer.
(a-1) At least three commissioners, including the presiding
officer, must be well informed and qualified in the field of public
utilities and utility regulation.
(b) A person is not eligible for appointment as a
commissioner if the person:
(1) at any time during the one year [two years]
preceding appointment:
(A) personally served as an officer, director,
owner, employee, partner, or legal representative of a public
utility regulated by the commission or of an affiliate or direct
competitor of a public utility regulated by the commission; [or]
(B) owned or controlled, directly or indirectly,
more than a 10 percent interest in a public utility regulated by the
commission or in an affiliate or direct competitor of a public
utility regulated by the commission; or
(C) served as an executive officer listed under
Section 1, Article IV, Texas Constitution, other than the secretary
of state, or a member of the legislature; or
(2) is not qualified to serve under Section 12.151,
12.152, or 12.153.
SECTION 3. (a) Not later than the 30th day after the
effective date of this Act, the governor shall appoint a person to
the Public Utility Commission of Texas to serve as the presiding
officer of the commission in accordance with Section 12.053,
Utilities Code, as amended by this Act.
(b) In making appointments of commissioners to the Public
Utility Commission of Texas under Section 12.051, Utilities Code,
as amended by this Act, the governor shall assign staggered terms to
the commissioners appointed to fill vacancies and to the
commissioners appointed to new positions to ensure that the
requirements of Section 30a, Article XVI, Texas Constitution, are
met.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
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