** Urgent Request for Assistance to Oppose Bill Amendment (SB2834/HB2925) **
Last Thursday, an amendment was filed to this bill which adversely affects many water and sewer utilities across Tennessee. The amendment is attached.
• The amendment as drafted appears to make a substantial change in how water and sewer utilities treat new service requests by developers or customers which require the installation of new water or sewer infrastructure to provide the new service requested. Currently, the developer is required to install the new water or sewer lines and other utility infrastructure needed to provide water and/or sewer service to its new development at the developer’s expense. The developer constructs the water and/or sewer lines and infrastructure in conformity to the utility’s specifications and then turns the infrastructure over to the utility upon completion.
• Occasionally, a utility may contribute to the cost of such infrastructure when larger utility lines will benefit other utility customers by paying for the cost of upsizing of such lines to the extent not needed by the new development.
• If every utility district, city, or county which provides water or sewer service is required to pay the cost of new water and sewer infrastructure for a new development, these utilities will be paying millions of dollars to new developers as “just compensation” for the utility infrastructure a developer must construct just to serve its new development.
• This amendment will shift the cost of new water and sewer infrastructure needed for new developments to a utility’s its existing ratepayers which usually derive little, if any, benefit from the new infrastructure. Utilities must increase water and sewer rates to existing customers to cover the new “just compensation” payments which must be made to developers. These rate increases may be significant.
This bill is on the calendar for the Senate State and Local Government Committee which meets tomorrow, Tuesday, at 10:00 am
The bill is on the calendar for the House Business and Utilities Subcommittee which meets tomorrow, Tuesday, 12:00 pm
If your utility is located within the House District or Senate District of any of the members of these two committees, please contact them asap by phone and/or email and request they vote against this bill amendment as drafted. Here are the names of the members of these two committees Click on the committee names to go to their webpage and that is where you can find their contact information:
Thanking you in advance for your assistance.
Don Scholes
Senate State and Local Government: Richard Biggs, Chair
Page Walley, Vice-Chair
Mark Pody, 2nd Vice-Chair
Ed Jackson
Sara Kyle
Adam Lowe
John Stevens
Ken Yager
Jeff Yarbro
House Business and Utilities Subcommittee:
Clark Boyd, Chair
Rebecca K. Alexander
Jeff Burkhard
John Ray Clemmons
Bob Freeman
Michael Hale
John B. Holsclaw
Curtis Johnson
Pat Marsh
Dwayne Thompson
Kevin Vaughan
Greg Vital
Jason Zachary
