Tennessee § 7-82-102 - Review of rates and services.

§ 7-82-102. Review of rates and services.

In all counties and districts, the following apply: In addition to any other procedure provided by law for the review of the actions of the board of commissioners, there is granted to the utility management review board the authority to review rates charged and services provided by public utility districts. The review provided for in this subdivision (1) may only be initiated by a petition containing the genuine signatures of at least ten percent (10%) of the customers within the authorized area of the public utility district; To be considered by the board, the customer or customers initiating the petition must file a letter of intent to compile and file the petition with the board before the petition is signed. All signatures of customers on the petition must have been obtained within ninety (90) days of the date the notice of intent to compile and file petition is filed with the board. Each customer signing the petition shall include the address at which the customer receives utility service and the date the customer signed the petition. The petition must be addressed to the utility management review board and a copy of the petition must be served upon the board of commissioners of the affected utility district. The petition must contain the genuine signatures of the customers of the utility district. All information submitted in the petition must be legible; Upon receipt of the petition, the board shall verify the names and addresses of the signers of the petition to ensure that they are bona fide customers of the utility district and to ensure that all signatures have been obtained within ninety (90) days of the date the notice of intent to compile and file petition is filed with the board. As used in this part, “customer” means a person who receives a bill for utility services and pays money for such services. Each utility account shall be entitled to one (1) signature, but no person shall sign the petition more than once. Only one (1) petition to review the rates and services provided under this section can be filed in any twelve-month period. The review by the utility management review board shall be held only upon public hearings, after notice; For purposes of this section, “genuine signatures” means written, original signatures and excludes facsimile and electronic signatures of any kind; The utility management review board shall review those petitions pertaining to rates on the basis of all provisions of this chapter governing the establishment of rates, the provisions of any bond resolutions or other debt contract instruments binding upon such utility districts, and the uniform audit manual prepared by the comptroller of the treasury pursuant to § 7-82-401; It is the express intent of the general assembly that the review granted in this section shall be a substantive and meaningful review. In order to accomplish this intention, the utility district shall take no action that will result in contractually binding the district or obligating the district to issue bonds that would require a rate increase, until the district has first given notice to the customers of the district of the anticipated action. For purposes of this subdivision (6), the notice shall be deemed to have been given by the district with respect to an issuance of bonds or notes upon the publication of the report of the comptroller of the treasury, or the comptroller's designee, as contemplated by § 7-82-501(c), and “bonds” does not include any bond or bonds or other evidence of indebtedness of the utility district to be purchased by the United States department of agriculture or any other direct lending department of the government of the United States; and The Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, applies to all procedures and proceedings coming before the utility management review board pursuant to this section, to the extent not inconsistent with this chapter. Acts 1973, ch. 249, § 6; T.C.A., § 6-2637; Acts 1984, ch. 796, § 1; 1987, ch. 422, § 1; 1989, ch. 221, § 1; 1995, ch. 305, § 81; 2013, ch. 141, §§ 9, 10; 2015, ch. 140, § 1; 2017, ch. 94, § 18; 2017, ch. 129, § 6; 2018, ch. 495, § 3. Compiler's Notes. For table of U.S. decennial populations of Tennessee counties, see Volume 13 and its supplement. Acts 2017, ch. 94, § 18 amended this section, effective April 4, 2017; however, Acts 2017, ch. 129, § 6 rewrote the section, effective April 17, 2017. Amendments. The 2015 amendment added (a)(1)(D). The 2017 amendment by ch. 94, in (b), substituted “Tennessee public utility commission” for “Tennessee regulatory authority” in the first sentence of (1); substituted “the commission” for “the authority” in the last two sentences of (1) and in (4), and substituted “The commission” for “The authority” at the beginning of (2). The 2017 amendment by ch. 129 rewrote the section which read: “(a) In all counties and districts, except those excluded in subsection (b), the following shall apply:“(1)(A) Except as to those districts coming within § 7-82-103 (b)(2), in addition to any other procedure provided by law for the review of the actions of the board of commissioners, there is hereby granted to the utility management review board the authority to review rates charged and services provided by public utility districts. The review provided for in this subsection (a) can only be initiated by a petition containing the genuine signatures of at least ten percent (10%) of the customers within the authorized area of the public utility district; “(B) To be considered by the board, the customer or customers initiating the petition must file a letter of intent to compile and file the petition with the board before the petition is signed. All signatures of customers on the petition must have been obtained within ninety (90) days of the date the notice of intent to compile and file petition is filed with the board. Each customer signing the petition shall include the address at which the customer receives utility service and the date the customer signed the petition. The petition shall be addressed to the utility management review board and a copy of the petition shall be served upon the board of commissioners of the affected utility district. The petition must contain the genuine signatures of the customers of the utility district. All information submitted in the petition must be legible; “(C) Upon receipt of the petition, the board shall verify the names and addresses of the signers of the petition to ensure that they are bona fide customers of the utility district and to ensure that all signatures have been obtained within ninety (90) days of the date the notice of intent to compile and file petition is filed with the board. As used in this part, “customer” means a person who receives a bill for utility services and pays money for such services. Each utility account shall be entitled to one (1) signature, but no person shall sign the petition more than once. Only one (1) petition to review the rates and services provided under this section can be filed in any twelve-month period. The review by the utility management review board shall be held only upon public hearings, after notice;“(D) For purposes of this subdivision (a)(1), “genuine signatures” means written, original signatures and excludes facsimile and electronic signatures of any kind;“(2) The utility management review board shall review those petitions pertaining to rates on the basis of all provisions of this chapter governing the establishment of rates, the provisions of any bond resolutions or other debt contract instruments binding upon such utility districts, and the rules and regulations promulgated by the comptroller of the treasury pursuant to § 7-82-401 ; “(3) It is the express intent of the general assembly that the review granted in this subsection (a) shall be a substantive and meaningful review. In order to accomplish this intention, the utility district shall take no action that will result in contractually binding the district or obligating the district to issue bonds that would require a rate increase, until the district shall have first given notice to the customers of the district of such anticipated action; and “(4) The Uniform Administrative Procedures Act shall apply to all procedures and proceedings coming before the utility management review board pursuant to this subsection (a), to the extent not inconsistent with this chapter. “(b) In those counties and districts specified in subdivision (b)(5), the following shall apply:“(1) Except as to those districts coming within § 7-82-103 , in addition to any other procedure provided by law for the review of the actions of the board of commissioners, there is hereby granted to the Tennessee public utility commission the authority to review rates charged and services provided by public utility districts. The review provided for in this subsection (b) can only be initiated by a petition signed by at least ten percent (10%) of the users within the authorized area of the public utility district. The petition shall be addressed to the commission and a copy of the petition shall be served upon the board of commissioners of the affected utility district. The review by the commission shall be held only upon public hearings, after notice, in the county in which the utility district maintains its principal office; “(2) The commission shall review those petitions pertaining to rates as fully as in the case of private utility companies; provided, that the burden shall be upon the petitioners to show that the rates are discriminatory or unjust and unreasonable. In considering rate petitions, the authority shall take no action that adversely impairs the obligation of contracts or payment of existing bonds by such district, and may, within its sound legal discretion, assess costs of such hearings as equity and justice may demand; “(3) It is the express intent of the general assembly that the review granted in this subsection (b) shall be a substantive and meaningful review. In order to accomplish this intention, the utility district shall take no action that will result in contractually binding the district or obligating the district to issue bonds that would require a rate increase, until the district shall have first given notice to the users of the district of such anticipated action;“(4) The Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, shall apply to all procedures and proceedings coming before the commission pursuant to this subsection (b), to the extent not inconsistent with this chapter; and“(5)(A) This subsection (b) applies to any gas utility district for the reasons set out in § 7-82-103; and “(B) This subsection (b) also applies in counties having the following populations, according to the 1980 federal census or any subsequent federal census: not less than nor more than 13,600 13,610 28,500 28,560 28,690 28,750 48,400 48,500 84,000 84,100” The 2018 amendment substituted “uniform audit manual prepared by the comptroller of the treasury” for “rules and regulations promulgated by the comptroller of the treasury” in (5). Effective Dates. Acts 2015, ch. 140, § 13. April 16, 2015. Acts 2017, ch. 94, § 83. April 4, 2017. Acts 2017, ch. 129, § 15. April 17, 2017. Acts 2018, ch. 495, § 11. February 22, 2018. Textbooks. Tennessee Jurisprudence, 13 Tenn. Juris., Gas Companies, § 7.