Bill Text: TX HB4155 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to low income individuals who cannot afford to make repairs and upgrades to appliances.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-25 - Referred to Energy Resources [HB4155 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HB4155-Introduced.html
By: Anchia | H.B. No. 4155 |
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relating to low income individuals who cannot afford to make | ||
repairs and upgrades to appliances. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 3, Utilities Code, is amended | ||
by adding Chapter 106 to read as follows: | ||
CHAPTER 106. GAS CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE | ||
Sec. 106.0001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "commission" | ||
means the railroad commission. | ||
Sec. 106.0002. GAS CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE ACCOUNT; FEE. (a) | ||
The gas customer assistance account is an account in the general | ||
revenue fund. | ||
(b) Money in the account may be appropriated only to the | ||
commission to provide funding for gas utility programs authorized | ||
by Section 106.0003. | ||
(c) Interest earned on the gas customer assistance account | ||
shall be credited to the fund. | ||
(d) The gas customer assistance account is financed by a fee | ||
imposed by the commission on customers of gas distribution | ||
utilities and deposited into the gas customer assistance account. | ||
The fee may be a set amount or may be based on the volume of gas | ||
purchased by customers. | ||
(e) The commission shall set the amount of the fee by rule. | ||
Sec. 106.0003. GAS CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. (a) A gas | ||
utility may establish a customer assistance program to provide | ||
grants to low-income customers of the utility for repairing or | ||
upgrading gas appliances or gas pipes. | ||
(b) The commission by rule shall adopt: | ||
(1) criteria for a gas utility program to be eligible | ||
to receive money from the gas customer assistance account; and | ||
(2) procedures for providing money from the gas | ||
customer assistance account to a participating gas utility. | ||
(c) For the purposes of this section, "low-income customer" | ||
means an individual in whose name gas utility service is billed who: | ||
(1) is a member of a household with a total annual | ||
income that is below 125 percent of the applicable income level | ||
established by the federal poverty guidelines; or | ||
(2) receives assistance from: | ||
(A) the financial assistance program established | ||
under Chapter 31, Human Resources Code; | ||
(B) the medical assistance program under Chapter | ||
32, Human Resources Code; | ||
(C) the supplemental nutrition assistance | ||
program established under Chapter 33, Human Resources Code; | ||
(D) the federal special supplemental nutrition | ||
program for women, infants, and children authorized by 42 U.S.C. | ||
Section 1786; or | ||
(E) the child health plan program under Chapter | ||
62, Health and Safety Code. |