Amends TCA Section 7-34-115; Section 7-82-307; Section 7-82-308; Section 7-82-314; Section 7-82-401; Section 7-82-702; Section 7-82-705; Section 7-82-709; Section 68-221-1010; Section 68-221-1012; Section 68-221-1016; Section 68-221-1206; Section 68-221-1006 and Section 68-221-1009.
This bill adds to and revises certain provisions governing utilities, utility commissioners, and municipal utility board members, as follows: Present law imposes certain education and training requirements on utility district commissioners. Under present law, the Utility District Law requires each utility district commissioner to annually certify training and continuing education courses attended during the prior calendar year by filing an annual written statement with the utility district. Each annual statement must: (1) Identify the date of each course attended, its subject matter, location, sponsor, and the hours attended for each course; and (2) Include a certificate of attendance for each course listed on the annual statement. Each utility district commissioner is responsible for obtaining a certificate of attendance certifying that the utility district commissioner attended the course. The failure to file the annual statement makes a commissioner ineligible to receive any further per diem payment or health or insurance benefit until the annual written statement is filed. Each utility district must keep for six years after the calendar year in which each annual statement is filed a copy of the annual statements of attendance filed by members of the board of commissioners of the utility district. This bill: (1) Clarifies that the certificate referred to above must certify that the commissioner attended the course; (2) Adds that for years in which the utility district commissioner did not attend training or continuing education courses, the commissioner must file an annual written statement certifying that the commissioner attended no training for that year; and (3) Makes the above-described reporting requirements, as amended by this bill, also applicable to each municipal utility board commissioner under the Revenue Bond Law, except for the provision regarding ineligibility to receive payments and benefits. Under present law, a utility district commissioner who fails to meet the training and continuing education requirements of present law before the end of the commissioner's term of office or before the end of any extension approved by the comptroller of the treasury or the comptroller's designee is not eligible for reappointment or reelection to another term of office. For the purposes of this provision, the continuing education period used to determine whether a utility district commissioner has met the training and continuing education requirements is the last full continuing education period before the utility district commissioner's term of office ends. This bill rewrites the above provisions to instead provide that a utility district commissioner who fails to meet the training and continuing education requirements before the end of any continuing education period or before the end of an extension approved by the comptroller of the treasury or the comptroller's designee is not eligible for reappointment or reelection to another term of office. An existing utility district commissioner who is nominated for reappointment must certify to the appointing mayor prior to reappointment that the utility district commissioner has complied with the continuing education requirements. An existing utility district commissioner who is seeking reelection must certify to the district prior to being placed on the ballot that the utility district commissioner has complied with the continuing education requirements. Under the Utility District Law, each utility district under the jurisdiction of the utility management review board must submit to the board by the first day of the utility district's fiscal year an annual report. This bill adds that a utility district that purchases more than 50 percent of its total water for resale must include the contract for the purchase of water for resale simultaneously with this report. Present law requires the commissioners of each utility district to cause an audited annual financial report to be made of the books and records of their district. Present law further requires utility districts operating public water systems to include in their audited annual financial report the utility district's water loss. Failure of the utility district to include the schedule constitutes excessive water loss and the utility district is referred to the utility management review board. Within 60 days from the time that a utility district's audit is filed with the comptroller, the comptroller must file with the utility management review board the audited annual financial report of any utility district operating a water system whose water loss is excessive as established by rules promulgated by the utility management review board. By February 1 of each year, the comptroller must provide a written report to the speakers of the house and speaker of the senate listing the average annual water loss contained in the audited annual financial report for those utility districts described in these provisions. This bill rewrites the above provisions to instead provide that utility districts operating public water systems must submit to the comptroller a water loss report to be due simultaneously with the annual report described above. Failure of the utility district to submit the water loss report will constitute excessive water loss and the comptroller of the treasury shall refer the utility district to the utility management review board. Within 60 days from the time that a utility district's water loss report is submitted to the comptroller, the comptroller must file with the utility management review board the water loss report of a utility district operating a water system whose water loss is excessive as established by parameters adopted by the utility management review board. The comptroller of the treasury must annually publish on its website a written report listing the average annual water loss contained in the water loss report for those utility districts described above. Present law authorizes the utility management review board to establish, adopt and promulgate rules to define excessive water losses for utility districts. This bill revises this authority to instead authorize the board to establish, adopt, and endorse by formal action, parameters to define excessive water losses for utility districts and prescribe a water loss report to be submitted to the comptroller of the treasury each year. Present law requires the board to report annually to the governor and the general assembly on the activities of the board for the preceding year. The board must receive and consider from any source whatever, whether private or governmental, suggestions for amendments to the Utility District Law, and, on the basis of the suggestions, must either recommend amendments or report to the suggesting party, in writing, its reasons for not recommending such proposed amendment. This bill revises the above provisions to instead require the board to publish annually on its public website a report describing the activities of the board for the preceding year; to make the recommending of amendments based on suggestions discretionary instead of mandatory; and to remove the requirement to report to the suggesting party reasons for not recommending a proposed amendment. Present law authorizes the department of environment and conservation, in conjunction with the local development authority, to administer a program for low cost loans to local governments for wastewater facilities. One of the provisions regarding such loans provides that, in regard to a local government, the local development authority may direct the local government to the wastewater financing board and to the comptroller of the treasury for compliance with certain present law requirements. This bill revises this provision so that the Tennessee public utility commission, instead of the board and the comptroller, will be the entity responsible for compliance oversight. This bill makes a similar change in the Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund Act whereby the local development authority may direct a privately owned for-profit community public water system to the Tennessee public utility commission for compliance.
This bill adds to and revises certain provisions governing utilities, utility commissioners, and municipal utility board members, as follows: Present law imposes certain education and training requirements on utility district commissioners. Under present law, the Utility District Law requires each utility district commissioner to annually certify training and continuing education courses attended during the prior calendar year by filing an annual written statement with the utility district. Each annual statement must: (1) Identify the date of each course attended, its subject matter, location, sponsor, and the hours attended for each course; and (2) Include a certificate of attendance for each course listed on the annual statement. Each utility district commissioner is responsible for obtaining a certificate of attendance certifying that the utility district commissioner attended the course. The failure to file the annual statement makes a commissioner ineligible to receive any further per diem payment or health or insurance benefit until the annual written statement is filed. Each utility district must keep for six years after the calendar year in which each annual statement is filed a copy of the annual statements of attendance filed by members of the board of commissioners of the utility district. This bill: (1) Clarifies that the certificate referred to above must certify that the commissioner attended the course; (2) Adds that for years in which the utility district commissioner did not attend training or continuing education courses, the commissioner must file an annual written statement certifying that the commissioner attended no training for that year; and (3) Makes the above-described reporting requirements, as amended by this bill, also applicable to each municipal utility board commissioner under the Revenue Bond Law, except for the provision regarding ineligibility to receive payments and benefits. Under present law, a utility district commissioner who fails to meet the training and continuing education requirements of present law before the end of the commissioner's term of office or before the end of any extension approved by the comptroller of the treasury or the comptroller's designee is not eligible for reappointment or reelection to another term of office. For the purposes of this provision, the continuing education period used to determine whether a utility district commissioner has met the training and continuing education requirements is the last full continuing education period before the utility district commissioner's term of office ends. This bill rewrites the above provisions to instead provide that a utility district commissioner who fails to meet the training and continuing education requirements before the end of any continuing education period or before the end of an extension approved by the comptroller of the treasury or the comptroller's designee is not eligible for reappointment or reelection to another term of office. An existing utility district commissioner who is nominated for reappointment must certify to the appointing mayor prior to reappointment that the utility district commissioner has complied with the continuing education requirements. An existing utility district commissioner who is seeking reelection must certify to the district prior to being placed on the ballot that the utility district commissioner has complied with the continuing education requirements. Under the Utility District Law, each utility district under the jurisdiction of the utility management review board must submit to the board by the first day of the utility district's fiscal year an annual report. This bill adds that a utility district that purchases more than 50 percent of its total water for resale must include the contract for the purchase of water for resale simultaneously with this report. Present law requires the commissioners of each utility district to cause an audited annual financial report to be made of the books and records of their district. Present law further requires utility districts operating public water systems to include in their audited annual financial report the utility district's water loss. Failure of the utility district to include the schedule constitutes excessive water loss and the utility district is referred to the utility management review board. Within 60 days from the time that a utility district's audit is filed with the comptroller, the comptroller must file with the utility management review board the audited annual financial report of any utility district operating a water system whose water loss is excessive as established by rules promulgated by the utility management review board. By February 1 of each year, the comptroller must provide a written report to the speakers of the house and speaker of the senate listing the average annual water loss contained in the audited annual financial report for those utility districts described in these provisions. This bill rewrites the above provisions to instead provide that utility districts operating public water systems must submit to the comptroller a water loss report to be due simultaneously with the annual report described above. Failure of the utility district to submit the water loss report will constitute excessive water loss and the comptroller of the treasury shall refer the utility district to the utility management review board. Within 60 days from the time that a utility district's water loss report is submitted to the comptroller, the comptroller must file with the utility management review board the water loss report of a utility district operating a water system whose water loss is excessive as established by parameters adopted by the utility management review board. The comptroller of the treasury must annually publish on its website a written report listing the average annual water loss contained in the water loss report for those utility districts described above. Present law authorizes the utility management review board to establish, adopt and promulgate rules to define excessive water losses for utility districts. This bill revises this authority to instead authorize the board to establish, adopt, and endorse by formal action, parameters to define excessive water losses for utility districts and prescribe a water loss report to be submitted to the comptroller of the treasury each year. Present law requires the board to report annually to the governor and the general assembly on the activities of the board for the preceding year. The board must receive and consider from any source whatever, whether private or governmental, suggestions for amendments to the Utility District Law, and, on the basis of the suggestions, must either recommend amendments or report to the suggesting party, in writing, its reasons for not recommending such proposed amendment. This bill revises the above provisions to instead require the board to publish annually on its public website a report describing the activities of the board for the preceding year; to make the recommending of amendments based on suggestions discretionary instead of mandatory; and to remove the requirement to report to the suggesting party reasons for not recommending a proposed amendment. Present law authorizes the department of environment and conservation, in conjunction with the local development authority, to administer a program for low cost loans to local governments for wastewater facilities. One of the provisions regarding such loans provides that, in regard to a local government, the local development authority may direct the local government to the wastewater financing board and to the comptroller of the treasury for compliance with certain present law requirements. This bill revises this provision so that the Tennessee public utility commission, instead of the board and the comptroller, will be the entity responsible for compliance oversight. This bill makes a similar change in the Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund Act whereby the local development authority may direct a privately owned for-profit community public water system to the Tennessee public utility commission for compliance.
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