Senate Bill No. 369
(By Senator Love)
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[Introduced January 27, 2003; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary; and then 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
contracts for the provision of engineering, design or
feasibility studies by public service districts.
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
in contracts for the provision of engineering, design or feasibility studies, issue or contract to issue revenue bonds or
exercise any of the powers conferred by the provisions of section
thirteen, twenty or twenty-four of this article, without the prior
consent and approval of the public service commission. The public
service commission may waive the provision of prior consent and
approval for entering into contracts for engineering, design or
feasibility studies pursuant to this section for good cause shown
which is evidenced by the public service district filing a request
for waiver of this section stated in a letter directed to the
commission with a brief description of the project, evidence of
compliance with chapter five-g of this code, and further
explanation of ability to evaluate their own engineering contract,
including, but not limited to: (1) Experience with the same
engineering firm in the past two years requiring engineering
services; or (2) completion of a construction within the past two
years requiring engineering services. The district shall also
forward an executed copy of the engineering contact to the
commission after receiving approval of the waiver. Unless the
properties to be constructed or acquired represent ordinary
extensions or repairs of the 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.
Thirty days prior to making formal application for the
certificate, the public service district shall prefile with the
public service commission its plans and supporting information for
the 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
public service 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 to
exceed" 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 the public service properties;
(d) The anticipated rates which will be charged by the public
service 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 grant its consent and approval for the certificate, or any other request for
approval under this section, subject to such terms and condition 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 for the
public interest.
In the event of disapproval, the reasons for the disapproval
shall be assigned in writing by the commission.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to empower public service
districts to enter into agreements for engineering, design or
feasibility studies, without the prior consent and approval of the
public service commission.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.