Legislative Update |
January 27, 2005 |
Senate Bills: 0044 0156 0169 0195 0388 Synopsis: Environmental committees. Makes the environmental quality service council (EQSC) permanent. Repeals the compliance advisory panel and reestablishes the panel as a committee of the EQSC. Senate Bill 0156 Synopsis: Notice of utility rates, bonds, and taxes. Requires a municipally owned utility to mail notice of bond issues, tax levies, and proposed rate changes to residents or owners of property located in the utility’s service area or taxing district but outside the corporate boundaries of the municipality. Requires the utility regulatory commission to mail notice of certain hearings to these residents and property owners. Senate Bill 0169 Synopsis: Environmental studies. Requires the department of environmental management to study the feasibility of using environmental tickets or citations, using electronic permit applications and reports, and expediting the issuance of environmental licenses. Requires the environmental quality service council to study various aspects of environmental funds. Senate Bill 0195 Synopsis: Environmental crimes task force. Establishes the environmental crimes task force to study the appropriate class of criminal violation that should be assigned to each type of environmental crime. Requires the task force to file a final report before November 1, 2007. Senate Bill 0388 Synopsis: Water and sewer sales tax exemptions. Provides a sales tax exemption for sales of any chemicals to a: (1) municipally owned water or sewer utility; (2) water or sewer utility owned by a special district; (3) water or sewer utility owned by a nonprofit corporation; or (4) person that contracts with a municipality to provide water or sewer services to the municipality; if the person acquiring the chemicals will use them to treat water or sewage within the utility system. House Bill 1040 Synopsis: Water authority audits. Requires a water authority to be audited annually by a certified public accounting firm, keep the audit report on file, and provide the report to the state board of accounts. House Bill 1054 Synopsis: Notice of underground storage tank leaks. Requires notification to nearby property owners of a release or potential release of a contaminant from an underground storage tank system. House Bill 1149 Synopsis: IURC merger and fining authority. Provides that a merger, consolidation, reorganization, or stock transaction involving an energy company may not occur without the approval of the utility regulatory commission (IURC) if the transaction will cause more than 51% of the company's voting stock to be held by different interests. Requires the IURC to approve the transaction unless the resulting entity will lack the capability to provide adequate and reliable service. Allows the IURC to impose a civil penalty of up to $5,000 if a public utility providing energy services violates any: (1) utility law; or (2) rate or service requirement imposed by the IURC. Allows the IURC to impose an additional penalty of up to $10,000 if the violation demonstrates a willful disregard by the public utility of its duty to remedy the violation. Specifies that a suit to recover a penalty imposed by the IURC shall be brought by the attorney general. House Bill 1273 Synopsis: Use of county hazardous waste disposal tax fund. Allows the use of the county hazardous waste disposal tax fund to pay for testing for contamination of drinking water wells located near a hazardous waste disposal facility. House Bill 1383 Synopsis: Environmental rulemaking. Prohibits the air pollution control board, water pollution control board, and solid waste management board from adopting a rule or standard that is more stringent than a corresponding federal provision established under federal law unless the: (1) environmental quality service council makes a recommendation to the general assembly that the rule or standard should be more stringent than the corresponding federal provision; and (2) general assembly enacts a statute that authorizes the board to adopt a rule or standard that is more stringent than the corresponding federal provision. House Bill 1431 Synopsis: Funding for clean water program. Reduces the amount that is annually appropriated from the cigarette tax fund to the department of natural resources from one-third to one-sixth of the money in the fund. Annually appropriates one-sixth of the money in the cigarette tax fund to the clean water House Bill 1656 House Bill 1737 Synopsis: Water authority audits. Requires a water authority to: (1) have an audit annually by a certified public accounting firm; (2) keep the audit report on file; and (3) provide the report to the state board of accounts. Provides that a water authority is not subject to rules of the state board of accounts. Other Legislation |
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