Amend the bill by inserting after the title and before the enacting clause the following:
‘Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, to protect the public peace, health and safety and to address the financial needs of combined water and sewer districts, procedures governing the disconnection of water service for nonpayment of sewer service must be established as soon as possible; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §6111-C is enacted to read:
Except as provided in subsection 4, this section applies to any consumer-owned water utility that is authorized to provide sewer services, notwithstanding any provision in its charter. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the event a user of the consumer-owned water utility's sewer system fails within a reasonable time to pay the utility's rates, fees or charges for sewer service, the utility may disconnect water service to the user, as long as the disconnection is accomplished in accordance with procedures established in applicable law or rules governing disconnection of utility services and terms and conditions approved by the commission. In order to exercise this authority, the utility must apply to the commission and the commission must approve terms and conditions consistent with the requirements of this section.
Sec. 2. Report. The Public Utilities Commission shall provide a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities and energy matters by January 15, 2012 that includes the information submitted by consumer-owned water utilities authorized to provide sewer services, pursuant to the terms and conditions required under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35A, section 6111C as well as information on customer complaints to the commission regarding actions taken by utilities pursuant to Title 35A, section 6111C and any recommendations by the commission with regard to changes to Title 35A, section 6111C or other actions to address any issues identified by the commission.’
Amend the bill by adding before the summary the following:
‘Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.’
SUMMARY
This amendment imposes specific terms and conditions on any consumer-owned water utility authorized to provide sewer services that chooses to exercise the authority granted in the bill to disconnect water service for nonpayment of sewer service. The terms and conditions include requiring annual reports to the Public Utilities Commission regarding disconnections, requiring that the utility provide to the customer certain information about available assistance programs, prohibiting disconnection based on bills for estimated sewer usage and prohibiting disconnection of multiunit rental facilities greater than 2 units unless the owner occupies one of the units. A utility that has the disconnection authority under a charter provision enacted prior to August 1, 2010 is exempted from the prohibition relating to disconnection of multiunit rental facilities. The amendment requires the Public Utilities Commission to report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities and energy matters by January 15, 2012 on disconnection actions taken by utilities as well as any commission recommendations for changes to the law. The amendment clarifies that its provisions apply to all combined water and sewer entities, including those that may already have similar authority in their charters. The amendment also adds an emergency preamble and emergency clause to the bill.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)