Overall Vote Recommendation

Vote No; Amend

Principle Criteria

Free Enterprise

Property Rights

Personal Responsibility

Limited Government

Individual Liberty

In Layman's Terms

SB 790 allows the Public Utility Commission to create a simplified process for resolving certain water and wastewater billing disputes between tenants and property owners. The bill is intended to resolve these complaints more quickly by allowing them to bypass the state's formal administrative hearing process.

Digest

SB 790 authorizes the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) to adopt, by rule, a simplified procedure for resolving certain customer complaints involving water and wastewater utility billing disputes between tenants and property owners. The simplified process would apply to complaints brought under specified provisions of the Water Code governing tenant billing disputes for water or wastewater service. Rather than requiring the commission to use this process, the bill grants discretionary authority to establish such a procedure through rulemaking.

The bill further provides that complaints resolved through the simplified procedure are not subject to Chapter 2001, Government Code, which contains the contested case hearing requirements of the Texas Administrative Procedure Act. As a result, complaints handled under the simplified process could be resolved outside the formal administrative hearing procedures that would otherwise apply, allowing the commission to use a more streamlined process for qualifying disputes.

Author (1)

Carol Alvarado

Co-Author (2)

Paul Bettencourt Judith Zaffirini

Sponsor (1)

Ryan Guillen

Contact the Author

Sen. Carol Alvarado

Capitol Phone:

(512) 463-0106

Capitol Office:

CAP 1E.9

E-Mail:

[email protected]

Visit Official Website

Fiscal Notes

According to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB), SB 790 is not expected to have a significant fiscal impact on the state. The bill authorizes the Public Utility Commission of Texas to adopt a simplified process for resolving certain tenant complaints regarding water and wastewater utility billing, but the LBB assumes that any administrative costs associated with developing or implementing the optional procedure can be absorbed using existing agency resources. As a result, no additional appropriations or significant operational expenditures are anticipated.

The fiscal note indicates that the bill's procedural changes are not expected to require additional staffing or create meaningful changes in state revenues or expenditures. Because the simplified complaint process is discretionary and can be administered within current agency resources, the LBB concludes that implementation will not have a material effect on the state's budget.

The LBB also reports that no significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated, indicating that local governments are not expected to incur meaningful costs or realize significant savings as a result of the bill's enactment.

Vote Recommendation Notes

SB 790 seeks to improve efficiency by authorizing the Public Utility Commission to establish a simplified process for resolving certain tenant water and wastewater billing disputes. While reducing the cost and duration of resolving minor disputes is a worthwhile objective, the bill does so by exempting those proceedings from the Administrative Procedure Act and granting the commission broad discretion to establish an alternative adjudicative process through rulemaking.

The bill does not significantly affect state or local finances, but it reduces established procedural safeguards and expands agency discretion without providing clear statutory standards governing the simplified process. Texas Policy Research recommends that lawmakers vote NO unless amended as described. These amendments would preserve the bill's efficiency goals while better protecting property rights and limiting administrative discretion.

Free Enterprise

The bill authorizes additional regulatory procedures governing disputes between private property owners and tenants while expanding the Public Utility Commission's role in resolving those disputes. It does not reduce regulatory burdens on businesses and instead increases the agency's involvement in private contractual relationships.

Property Rights

Property owners may be subject to an alternative administrative process that is exempt from the procedural protections of the Administrative Procedure Act. While intended to streamline dispute resolution, the bill provides fewer statutory safeguards for owners defending against billing complaints.

Personal Responsibility

The bill does not materially alter the responsibilities of tenants or property owners. It changes how disputes are resolved rather than changing the underlying obligations of either party regarding water or wastewater billing.

Limited Government

The bill grants the Public Utility Commission new rulemaking authority to establish and administer a simplified complaint process while exempting those proceedings from Chapter 2001, Government Code. This expands administrative discretion and allows the agency to develop an alternative adjudicative framework without detailed statutory standards. Although the LBB reports no significant fiscal impact, the governance impact is an expansion of agency authority.

Individual Liberty

By authorizing the Public Utility Commission to resolve certain complaints outside the Administrative Procedure Act, the bill reduces procedural protections available to parties in administrative disputes. Although limited to specific tenant billing complaints, it diminishes established due process safeguards in favor of an agency-created process.

Amendment Recommendations

Preserve due process protections
Require meaningful participation by both parties
Establish minimum procedural standards in statute
Narrowly define the circumstances under which the simplified process may be used

Committee Vote Information

Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture & Rural Affairs: 9Y/0N
House Committee on Natural Resources: 8Y/0N (5 Absent)

View Bill Text and Status