Senate Bill No. 501
(By Senators Brackenrich and Sharpe)
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[Introduced March 22, 1993; referred to the Committee
on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-five, article
thirteen-a, chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating
to public service districts for water, sewerage and gas
services; accepting grants and borrowing money; and the time
period for deciding certificate cases.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-five, article thirteen-a, chapter
sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 13A. PUBLIC SERVICE DISTRICTS FOR WATER, SEWERAGE AND
GAS SERVICES.
§16-13A-25. Borrowing and bond issuance; procedure.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article to the
contrary, a public service district shall not borrow money, enter
into contracts for the provision of engineering, design orfeasibility studies, issue or contract to issue revenue bonds or
exercise any of the powers conferred by the provisions of
sections thirteen, twenty or twenty-four of this article, without
the prior consent and approval of the public service commission:
Provided, That nothing contained herein shall require public
service districts to obtain the consent and approval of the
public service commission for the acceptance of grants in any
amount or the borrowing of an amount of twenty-five thousand
dollars or less. Unless the properties to be constructed or
acquired represent ordinary extensions or repairs of existing
systems in the usual course of business, a public service
district must first obtain a certificate of public convenience
and necessity from the public service commission in accordance
with the provisions of chapter twenty-four of this code, when a
public service district is seeking to acquire or construct public
service property.
Sixty Thirty days prior to making formal application for
said certificate, the public service district shall prefile with
the public service commission its plans and supporting
information for said project and shall publish a Class II legal
advertisement in a newspaper or newspapers of general circulation
in each city, incorporated town or municipal corporation if
available in the district, which legal advertisement shall state:
(a) The amount of money to be borrowed, or the amount of
revenue bonds to be issued: Provided, That if the amount is an
estimate, the notice may be stated in terms of an amount "not toexceed" a specific amount;
(b) The interest rate and terms of the loan or bonds:
Provided, That if the interest rate is an estimate, the notice
may be stated in terms of a rate "not to exceed" a specific rate;
(c) The public service properties to be acquired or
constructed, and the cost of same;
(d) The anticipated rates which will be charged by the
district: Provided, That if the rates are an estimate, the
notice may be stated in terms of rates "not to exceed" a specific
rate; and
(e) The date that the formal application for a certificate
of public convenience and necessity is to be filed with the
public service commission. The public service commission may,
not later than one hundred and fifty days after filing said
application, grant its consent and approval for the certificate,
or any other request for approval under this section, subject to
such terms and conditions as may be necessary for the protection
of the public interest, pursuant to the provisions of chapter
twenty-four of this code, or may withhold such consent and
approval for the protection of the public interest: Provided,
That where the rates proposed by the district are found to be
inadequate the public service commission is authorized to approve
rates sufficient to cover the cost of service for the district,
and no further publication or notice of the higher rates shall be
required.
In the event of disapproval, the reasons therefor shall beassigned in writing by the commission.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit public service
districts to accept grants and borrow up to twenty-five thousand
dollars without public service commission approval and to reduce
the time period for deciding certificate cases.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.