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7 Document(s) [ Subject: Municipally-owned utilities ]
| Committee: | House Urban Affairs | |
| Title: | Interim Report | |
| Subjects: | Affordable housing | Electronic security | Emergency management | Fair housing | Housing | Housing and Community Affairs, Texas Department of | Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of | Low Income Housing Tax Credit program | Municipalities | Municipally-owned utilities | Natural disasters | Personal care homes | | |
| Library Call Number: | L1836.84 UR1 | |
| Session: | 84th R.S. (2015) | |
| Online version: | View report [121 pages] | |
| Charges: | This report should address the charges below. | |
| 1. | Study the effectiveness and efficiency of current programs in Texas as well as best practices to determine how to decrease the risk and mitigate the impact of wildfires, floods, and other natural hazards in the wildland-urban interface. Examine the duties, performance, and jurisdictions of water districts, municipalities, Emergency Services Districts, other similar districts, and state offices like the Fire Marshal and Extension Services. Evaluate current regulations and identify best practices. Recommend approaches for hazard mitigation and response to natural disasters. (Joint charge with the House Committee on County Affairs) | |
| 2. | Identify and address potential gaps in cities’ cybersecurity policy and ensure that personal information held by cities and other municipal entities is secure. | |
| 3. | Examine whether changes are needed to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs’s (TDHCA) low-income tax credit program to ensure compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs et al. v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., et al. on fair housing in Texas. | |
| 4. | Review existing housing programs and policies in Texas to determine how to best comply with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's new Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rules. | |
| 5. | Monitor and evaluate the availability of low-income housing in the State of Texas. Identify best practices to ensure that the agencies and local providers receiving state or federal funds for low-income housing are maximizing the number of units of housing available to Texans who need this program. | |
| 6. | Investigate the operation and regulation, including a review of standards, monitoring, and enforcement, of boarding homes in municipalities and unincorporated areas of counties. Identify communities that have adopted local standards, and review procedures for investigating and closing unlicensed facilities that are providing services which require state licensure. (Joint charge with the House Committee on Human Services) | |
| 7. | Conduct legislative oversight and monitoring of the agencies, including the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, and programs under the committee's jurisdiction and the implementing of relevant legislation passed by the 84th Legislature. In conducting this oversight, the committee should: a. consider any reforms to state agencies to make them more responsive to Texas taxpayers and citizens; b. identify issues regarding the agency or its governance that may be appropriate to investigate, improve, remedy, or eliminate; c. determine whether an agency is operating in a transparent and efficient manner; and d. identify opportunities to streamline programs and services while maintaining the mission of the agency and its programs. | |
| Supporting documents | ||
| Committee: | House Urban Affairs | |
| Title: | Committee handouts and testimony, January 20, 2016 (Cybersecurity) | |
| Library Call Number: | ||
| Session: | 84th R.S. (2015) | |
| Online version: | View document [17 pages File size: 700 kb] | |
| Committee: | Senate Business and Commerce | |
| Title: | Interim Report | |
| Subjects: | Alternative energy | Broadband infrastructure | Building codes | Consumer credit and debt | Consumer Credit Commissioner, Office of | Credit service organizations | Droughts | Electric meters | Electric power plants | Electric Reliability Council of Texas | Electric utilities | Electric utility deregulation | Electricity supplies | Electricity transmission and distribution | Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. | Homeowners insurance | Insurance, Texas Department of | Job training programs | Lifeline | Municipally-owned utilities | Occupational licenses | Rural areas | Subprime lending | Telecommunications | Telecommunications deregulation | Texas Windstorm Insurance Association | Universal Service Fund | Water and wastewater utility rates and charges | Workforce | | |
| Library Call Number: | L1836.83 B963 | |
| Session: | 82nd R.S. (2011) | |
| Online version: | View report [222 pages] | |
| Charges: | This report should address the charges below. | |
| 1. | Study the impact of drought, regulatory changes proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency, and changing market conditions on Texas' electrical market. Make recommendations, if needed to ensure continued access to reliable and affordable electricity. * | |
| 2. | Assess the impact of extreme drought conditions on electric generation capacity. | |
| 3. | Identify those regions of Texas that will be most affected by a lack of capacity. | |
| 4. | Analyze response plans and make recommendations to improve and expedite those plans. | |
| 5. | Study and make recommendations for workforce training programs in Texas to ensure that such programs meet business and worker needs. Specifically, study whether such programs target economic growth areas and future workforce needs of the health care, skilled trades, construction, manufacturing, aerospace, and information technology industries and help retain workers in those trades and fields. | |
| 6. | Study the state's approach to licensing and regulation of occupations to ensure protection of public welfare, trust, health, and safety and eliminate unnecessary, overly restrictive, or anti-competitive regulation. Review guidelines and other states' approaches for determining when regulation is necessary and make recommendations for improving Texas' regulatory system. | |
| 7. | Conduct a broad review of the Texas homeowners insurance market and make recommendations to improve transparency and consumer education, ensure fair practices, and lower rates. Specifically, consider the following:
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| 8. | Study the relationship between city governments and municipally-owned utilities, including any duplicative or redundant functions, the amounts and justifications required for transfer payments between the entities, and the benefits and disadvantages of alternative governance structures. | |
| 9. | Analyze the state of the telecommunications market in Texas, including the costs and benefits of full deregulation of the market; the impact and viability of the Texas Universal Service Fund and Provider of Last Resort requirements; the impact of SB 980, Regular Session, 82nd Legislature, relating to telecommunications regulation and rulemaking; the availability of broadband; telecommunications service discounts; and rights-of-way charges. Make recommendations to enhance services, support the industry, and ensure adequate and affordable access for consumers. | |
| 10. | Review current and pending ERCOT protocols as they apply to all generation technology, and identify those protocols that may provide operational, administrative, or competitive advantages to any specific generation by fuel type. Consider the impact any revisions to the protocols may have on grid reliability and electricity rates. Make recommendations for revisions or statutory changes to limit distortions in the Texas electrical market. | |
| 11. | Monitor the implementation of legislation addressed by the Senate Committee on Business & Commerce, 82nd Legislature, Regular and Called Sessions, and make recommendations for any legislation needed to improve, enhance, and/or complete implementation. Specifically, review the implementation of HB 2592 and HB 2594 relating to payday lending, and make recommendations relating to consistency and coordination with local ordinances and federal law. | |
| 12. | Study whether advanced meters, or smart meters, that have been, and will be, installed in Texas have harmful effects on health. Report findings on whether an independent testing company perform an analysis on the safety of advanced meters should be commissioned and the appropriate organization to conduct such a study. | |
| Committee: | Senate Business and Commerce | |
| Title: | Interim Report | |
| Library Catalog Title: | Report to the 82nd Legislature | |
| Subjects: | Alternative energy | Career preparedness | Electric Reliability Council of Texas | Electric utilities | Electric utility rates and charges | Electricity transmission and distribution | Energy conservation | Homeowners insurance | Job training programs | Liens | Mortgages | Municipally-owned utilities | Natural disasters | Texas Windstorm Insurance Association | Unemployment benefits | Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund | Wind energy | Workforce | | |
| Library Call Number: | L1836.81 B963 | |
| Session: | 81st R.S. (2009) | |
| Online version: | View report [84 pages File size: 2,897 kb] | |
| Charges: | This report should address the charges below. | |
| 1. | Study the implementation of H.B. 4409 enacted by the 81st Legislature pertaining to the financing of insured losses in excess of premium and other revenue of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA). Assess the coverage and affordability of TWIA policies. Review the claims and payments processes and make recommendations to improve the stability of TWIA while enhancing services to clients. | |
| 2. | Study options for reducing demand for electricity, including innovative pricing options relating to the use of smart meters, programmable thermostats, and other demand side management and behavioral response strategies. Review current consumer education programs to reduce demand, decrease energy prices, and improve air quality. Consider benefits and costs of alternative energy sources such as geothermal and solar, and current incentives for electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The study should include recommendations on improving consumer knowledge and usage of these strategies in lowering overall electric usage, promoting energy efficiency, and improving the reliability of the ERCOT grid. | |
| 3. | Study and make recommendations relating to the development and implementation of wind energy. Assess the total impact of wind energy, including additional costs to consumers, if any, buy-back provisions and pricing, the need for alternative energy sources at times when wind does not generate electricity, impact on the ERCOT grid, development of battery storage and other storage methods, and economic development impacts. | |
| 4. | Study the generation costs of municipally owned electric utilities' planned generation portfolios. Consider the impact of planned generation costs on electric rates for residential and commercial customers. Solicit input on the impact of future electric rates on charitable and non-profit organizations, and the impact on such organizations' cash assistance programs to indigent customers. Consider the merits of a justifiable planned generation cost standard, and whether a deviation above the standard should be subject to approval by a vote of all customers of a municipally owned utility's service area. | |
| 5. | Study and make recommendations relating to the Texas Unemployment Compensation Insurance system, including, but not limited to, the following:
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| 6. | Study and make recommendations regarding career-focused education and workforce training programs in Texas to insure that such programs meet business and worker needs. Specifically, study whether such programs: meet the current and future workforce needs of health care, skilled trades, construction, manufacturing, aerospace, information technology and green jobs; help retain workers in such trades and fields; retrain and update the skills and education of workers in such trades and fields; and foster and encourage collaboration between the State, education, labor and business to provide education and training. | |
| 7. | Study the effectiveness of Chapter 557 of the Insurance Code, relating to insured property subject to a security interest, in setting forth the obligations of a lender and a residential real property insured resulting from an insurer's payment of a claim for damage to the residential real property caused by a natural disaster. Consider the legislation's requirements for release of the insurance proceeds, lienholder's approval of payment of the insurance proceeds, accrual and payment of interest on such proceeds and penalties provided by the statute. Make recommendations for any needed refinements of the legislation. | |
| 8. | Monitor the implementation of legislation addressed by the Senate Committee on Business & Commerce, 81st Legislature, Regular and Called Sessions, and make recommendations for any legislation needed to improve, enhance, and/or complete implementation. | |
| Committee: | House Urban Affairs | |
| Title: | Interim report | |
| Library Catalog Title: | To the Speaker and members of the Texas House of Representatives, 69th Legislature ; report of / the Committee on Urban Affairs, Texas House of Representatives, 68th Legislature. | |
| Subjects: | Crime prevention | Criminal justice | Emergency medical services | Extraterritorial jurisdiction | Fines | Firefighters | Flooding | Indigent health care | Municipal annexation | Municipalities | Municipally-owned utilities | Real estate development | | |
| Library Call Number: | L1836.68 ur1 | |
| Session: | 68th R.S. (1983) | |
| Online version: | View report [56 pages File size: 1,640 kb] | |
| Charges: | This report should address the charges below. | |
| 1. | To conduct a study on urban flooding. | |
| 2. | To study payments by municipally-owned utilities in lieu of taxes. | |
| 3. | To examine minimum staffing requirements for fire protection and emergency medical service in cities. | |
| 4. | In cooperation with the Committee on County Affairs and the House-Senate Joint Committee of Indigent Health Care, study the payment of medical care provided to indigents at publicly-funded hospitals. | |
| 5. | To investigate whether Texas cities and those residing within the cities' extraterritorial jurisdiction are being adequately and fairly treated by present annexation laws. | |
| 6. | To study the possibility of empowering judges optionally to direct small percentages of fines to fund programs such as Crime Stoppers and TIPS, currently funded by voluntary contributions. | |
| Committee: | House Energy Resources | |
| Title: | Interim Report | |
| Library Catalog Title: | Interim report of the Committee on Energy Resources, Texas House of Representatives, 68th Legislature. | |
| Subjects: | Abandoned oil wells | Austin, Texas | Electricity supplies | Mining | Municipally-owned utilities | Natural gas industry | Natural gas leases | Oil industry | Oil leases | State land | Surety and fidelity bonds | Texas State Capitol | Theft | | |
| Library Call Number: | L1836.67 en27 | |
| Session: | 67th R.S. (1981) | |
| Online version: | View report [84 pages File size: 2,526 kb] | |
| Charges: | This report should address the charges below. | |
| 1. | Study the rising epidemic of oil field theft in Texas in cooperation with producers, operators, haulers, the Texas Railroad Commission, the Texas Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement agencies to determine better methods for prevention and investigation of thefts as well as apprehension and prosecution of suspected oil field thieves. Make recommendations to the 68th Legislature. | |
| 2. | Examine Proposition Number 7 as adopted by the Austin City Council to determine its impact on the cost of electric service provided to the State Capitol Complex. Particular emphasis should be given to 1)comparing the rates charged by Austin Electric Utility Department to those of other electric utilities supplying large-volume users in the Central Texas area; and 2) investigating all other potential sources of supply. Recommendations are to be made based on an examination of the proposition, the cost comparison data and an evaluation of alternative procedures. | |
| 3. | Study the procedure for leasing of hard rock minerals in terms of monetary value for the principals involved. | |
| 4. | Examine the requirements for the posting of performance bonds on oil and gas wells. | |
| Supporting documents | ||
| Committee: | House Energy Resources | |
| Title: | Interim Report - City of Austin response | |
| Library Catalog Title: | Response to questions concerning proposal #7 electric rates / submitted to the House Energy Resources Committee by City of Austin. | |
| Library Call Number: | L1801.9 EN27 67 | |
| Session: | 67th R.S. (1981) | |
| Online version: | View document [90 pages] | |
* This represents an abstract of the report contents. Charge text is incomplete or unavailable.
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