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House Bill 26

Actions | Amendments
Last Action signed by Governor (Acts ch. 98)
Title AN ACT relating to wastewater.
Bill Documents Bill
Bill Request Number 19
Sponsor L. Belcher
Summary of Original Version Create new sections of KRS Chapter 65 to express the findings of the General Assembly regarding wastewater and to authorize the creation of a regional wastewater commission as a pilot project area within Bullit, Hardin, Jefferson, Meade, Nelson, Oldham, and Spencer Counties; establish definitions for "commission," "member entity," "organizing official," "wastewater," and "sources of collected water," allow 2 or more member entities owning wastewater systems to acquire, construct, operate, and improve those systems; establish a method for member entities to form a regional wastewater commission; require the governing body of any member entity proposing participation in the commission to publish notice of a public hearing in accordance with KRS Chapter 424 at least 30 days' prior to the hearing; establish appointments of 1 commissioner to represent each member entity; require that the commissioner be a customer, resident, or authorized representative of the member entity; require no less than 3 commissioners and set the terms for the commissioners at 4 years; allow the commission to appoint a chair and officers; allow member entities to join existing commissions at any time; allow the commission salaries for other officers and employees; allow the commission's fund to pay expenses of commissioners and employees; require bonding for commissioners and other minor officials and bonds paid by the commission fund; require commission meetings and records be subject to open meetings and open records laws; allow removal of a commissioner for cause; establish a method for a member entity to withdraw from the commission; establish the commission as a public body corporate and politic; allow the commission to execute contracts, make loans, issue and repay revenue bonds, receive proceeds from loans or grants, purchase, acquire, hold, and dispose of real and personal property, and exercise powers granted under KRS Chapters 58 and 224A; allow the commission to have full and complete supervision, management, and control over all of its facilities; require construction or expansion of any wastewater facility proposed be approved by either the Division of Water or the United States Environmental Protection Agency; exempt the commission from taxation; require the commission to procure the services of a certified public accountant to conduct an audit of all funds and fiscal transactions annually; exempt the commission from regulation by the Public Service Commission, except for contracts between the commission and a utility regarding provision of services that would result in an increase in rates paid by customers of that utility subject to approval by the Public Service Commission; allow the commission to set its rates and terms through contracts with member entities, nonmember entities, and neighboring states; establish minimum contract requirements; require a vote by the commission for rate changes and adjustments and notice requirements prior to rate changes; require the commission to procure professional or independent accounting to determine operating, maintenance, and debt service costs and provide reccommendations for specific rates to offset the costs every 5 years; require the commission to determine final rates and charges based on the 5-year study consultation; require the commission to provide at least 60 days' written notice to the governing bodies of the member entities prior to the effective date of any change in rates or charges for service; amend KRS 58.010 to include a regional wastewater commission in the definition of "governmental agency"; amend KRS 224A.011 to include a regional wastewater commission in the definition of "governmental agency," and to include facilities related to the collection, transportation, and treatment of wastewater in the definitions of "infrastructure project" and "water resources project"; amend KRS 278.010 to exclude a regional wastewater commission from the definition of "public utility."
Index Headings of Original Version Cities - Regional wastewater commissions, city membership, requirements for
Counties - Regional wastewater commissions, county membership, requirements for
Environment and Conservation - Regional wastewater commissions, water quality enhancement, purpose of
Local Government - Regional wastewater commission, participation in
Pollution - Regional wastewater commission, abatement of water pollution, use of
Public Utilities - Public water sewer facilities, regional wastewater commissions, inclusion in
Public Works - Water and wastewater infrastructure, regional wastewater commissions, use for
Sewer Systems - Public sewer systems, wastewater treatment, regional wastewater commissions, inclusion in
Water Supply - Water and wastewater infrastructure, regional wastewater commissions, use for
Proposed Amendments House Committee Substitute 1
Senate Committee Substitute 1
Senate Committee Substitute 2
Senate Committee Substitute 3
Senate Floor Amendment 1
Senate Floor Amendment 2
Votes Vote History

Actions

Top | Amendments
08/24/10
  • Prefiled by the sponsor(s).
10/06/10
  • To: Interim Joint Committee on Natural Resources and Environment
01/04/11
  • introduced in House
  • to Local Government (H)
02/01/11
  • posting waived
02/09/11
  • reported favorably, 1st reading, to Consent Calendar with Committee Substitute
02/10/11
  • 2nd reading, to Rules
  • posted for passage in the Consent Orders of the Day for Friday, February 11, 2011
02/11/11
  • taken from the Consent Orders of the Day, placed in the Regular Orders of the Day
02/15/11
  • 3rd reading, passed 65-30 with Committee Substitute
02/16/11
  • received in Senate
02/17/11
  • floor amendment (1) filed
02/18/11
  • to State & Local Government (S)
02/25/11
  • taken from State & Local Government (S)
  • 1st reading
  • returned to State & Local Government (S)
02/28/11
  • taken from State & Local Government (S)
  • 2nd reading
  • returned to State & Local Government (S)
03/02/11
  • reported favorably, to Rules with Committee Substitute
  • floor amendment (2) filed to Committee Substitute
03/03/11
  • recommitted to State & Local Government (S)
  • reported favorably, to Rules with Committee Substitute (2) as a Consent Bill
  • posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 3, 2011
  • passed over and retained in the Orders of the Day
03/04/11
  • taken from the Regular Orders of the Day
  • returned to State & Local Government (S)
  • reported favorably, to Rules with Committee Substitute (3)
  • posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Friday, March 4, 2011
  • 3rd reading
  • Committee Substitutes (1), (2) withdrawn
  • floor amendments (1) and (2) withdrawn
  • passed 28-8 with Committee Substitute (3)
  • received in House
  • to Rules (H)
03/07/11
  • posted for passage for concurrence in Senate Committee Substitute (3)
  • House concurred in Senate Committee Substitute (3)
  • passed 68-22
  • enrolled, signed by each presiding officer
  • delivered to Governor
03/17/11
  • signed by Governor (Acts ch. 98)

Proposed Amendments

Top | Actions
Amendment House Committee Substitute 1
Summary Retain original provisions of the bill, but in Section 1, remove Spencer County from list of counties that the pilot project can include; amend subsection 3 of Section 10 of the bill regarding costs that are attributable to the agreement between two service providers from being "other costs directly attributable", to be rather "any costs attributable" to be retired in whole or in part from revenue generated from providing the service without releasing the entity from the service agreement; amend subsection 1 of Section 11 regarding the levying of special rates under certain circumstances to allow the levying of special rates but to ensure that such rates do not affect the benefits to nonmembers.
Index Headings Cities - Regional wastewater commissions, city membership, requirements for
Counties - Regional wastewater commissions, county membership, requirements for
Environment and Conservation - Regional wastewater commissions, water quality enhancement, purpose of
Local Government - Regional wastewater commission, participation in
Pollution - Regional wastewater commission, abatement of water pollution, use of
Public Utilities - Public water sewer facilities, regional wastewater commissions, inclusion in
Public Works - Water and wastewater infrastructure, regional wastewater commissions, use for
Sewer Systems - Public sewer systems, wastewater treatment, regional wastewater commissions, inclusion in
Water Supply - Water and wastewater infrastructure, regional wastewater commissions, use for

Amendment Senate Committee Substitute 1
Summary Retain original provisions of HB 26/GA; remove Nelson county from counties eligible to participate in wastewater commission; amend the definition of organizing official to include a member entity elected by the majority of member entities; create new sections of KRS Chapter 220 to require financial information of sanitation districts be available on the Internet; require that rates of a wastewater commission be fair, just, and reasonable; require rates of a wastewater commission to be provisional until approved by a majority of the legislative bodies that contain the member entity; require approval by the fiscal court if the member entity of the waste water commission is a special district or an agency of state or federal government; create a new section of KRS Chapter 220 to require sanitation district user fees, charges, and rates to be approved by the majority of the fiscal courts that participate in the district; amend KRS 220.035 to require service charges, rates, and user fees of districts not governed by KRS 220.135 to be approved by county fiscal courts.
Index Headings Cities - Regional wastewater commissions, city membership, requirements for
Counties - Regional wastewater commissions, county membership, requirements for
Environment and Conservation - Regional wastewater commissions, water quality enhancement, purpose of
Local Government - Regional wastewater commission, participation in
Pollution - Regional wastewater commission, abatement of water pollution, use of
Public Utilities - Public water sewer facilities, regional wastewater commissions, inclusion in
Public Works - Water and wastewater infrastructure, regional wastewater commissions, use for
Sewer Systems - Public sewer systems, wastewater treatment, regional wastewater commissions, inclusion in
Water Supply - Water and wastewater infrastructure, regional wastewater commissions, use for

Amendment Senate Committee Substitute 2
Summary Retain original provisions of HB 26/GA; remove Nelson county from counties eligible to participate in wastewater commission; amend the definition of organizing official to be a member entity elected by the majority of member entities; create new sections of KRS Chapter 220 to require financial information of sanitation districts be available on the Internet unless the district has less than 10,000 customers; require that rates of a wastewater commission be fair, just, and reasonable; require rates of a wastewater commission to be provisional until approved by a majority of the legislative bodies that contain the member entity; require approval by the fiscal court if the member entity of the waste water commission is a special district or an agency of state or federal government; create a new section of KRS Chapter 220 to require sanitation district user fees, charges, and rates to be approved by the majority of the fiscal courts that participate in the district if the rate is five percent or greater and by the chief executive of the counties and the mayor of a consolidated local government if less than five percent; amend KRS 220.035 to conform.
Index Headings Cities - Regional wastewater commissions, city membership, requirements for
Counties - Regional wastewater commissions, county membership, requirements for
Environment and Conservation - Regional wastewater commissions, water quality enhancement, purpose of
Local Government - Regional wastewater commission, participation in
Pollution - Regional wastewater commission, abatement of water pollution, use of
Public Utilities - Public water sewer facilities, regional wastewater commissions, inclusion in
Public Works - Water and wastewater infrastructure, regional wastewater commissions, use for
Sewer Systems - Public sewer systems, wastewater treatment, regional wastewater commissions, inclusion in
Water Supply - Water and wastewater infrastructure, regional wastewater commissions, use for

Amendment Senate Committee Substitute 3
Summary Retain original provisions of HB 26/GA; remove Nelson county from counties eligible to participate in wastewater commission; amend the definition of organizing official to be a member entity elected by the majority of member entities; create new sections of KRS Chapter 220 to require financial information of sanitation districts be available on the Internet unless the district has less than 10,000 customers; require that rates of a wastewater commission be fair, just, and reasonable; require rates of a wastewater commission to be provisional until approved by a majority of the legislative bodies that contain the member entity if the rate increase is greater than 5 percent; require that rate increases of 5 percent or more not occur more than once in a 12 month period; require approval by the fiscal court if the member entity of the waste water commission is a special district or an agency of state or federal government; create a new section of KRS Chapter 220 to require sanitation district user fees, charges, and rates to be approved by the majority of the fiscal courts that participate in the district if the rate is 5 percent; delete requirement if the KRS Chapter 220 district has 10,000 or less customer accounts; amend KRS 220.035 to restore permissive authority of fiscal courts to approve rate increases if those increases are less than 5 percent and the district within the county has fewer than 10,000 customer accounts; require that rate increases not occur more than once within a 12 month period.
Index Headings Cities - Regional wastewater commissions, city membership, requirements for
Counties - Regional wastewater commissions, county membership, requirements for
Environment and Conservation - Regional wastewater commissions, water quality enhancement, purpose of
Local Government - Regional wastewater commission, participation in
Pollution - Regional wastewater commission, abatement of water pollution, use of
Public Utilities - Public water sewer facilities, regional wastewater commissions, inclusion in
Public Works - Water and wastewater infrastructure, regional wastewater commissions, use for
Sewer Systems - Public sewer systems, wastewater treatment, regional wastewater commissions, inclusion in
Water Supply - Water and wastewater infrastructure, regional wastewater commissions, use for

Amendment Senate Floor Amendment 1
Sponsor J. Higdon
Summary Amend HB 26/GA to remove Nelson County from regional waste water authority.
Index Headings Cities - Regional wastewater commissions, city membership, requirements for
Counties - Regional wastewater commissions, county membership, requirements for
Environment and Conservation - Regional wastewater commissions, water quality enhancement, purpose of
Local Government - Regional wastewater commission, participation in
Pollution - Regional wastewater commission, abatement of water pollution, use of
Public Utilities - Public water sewer facilities, regional wastewater commissions, inclusion in
Public Works - Water and wastewater infrastructure, regional wastewater commissions, use for
Sewer Systems - Public sewer systems, wastewater treatment, regional wastewater commissions, inclusion in
Water Supply - Water and wastewater infrastructure, regional wastewater commissions, use for

Amendment Senate Floor Amendment 2
Sponsor D. Seum
Summary Amend definition of organizing official to make it elected from the member entities.
Index Headings Cities - Regional wastewater commissions, city membership, requirements for
Counties - Regional wastewater commissions, county membership, requirements for
Environment and Conservation - Regional wastewater commissions, water quality enhancement, purpose of
Local Government - Regional wastewater commission, participation in
Pollution - Regional wastewater commission, abatement of water pollution, use of
Public Utilities - Public water sewer facilities, regional wastewater commissions, inclusion in
Public Works - Water and wastewater infrastructure, regional wastewater commissions, use for
Sewer Systems - Public sewer systems, wastewater treatment, regional wastewater commissions, inclusion in
Water Supply - Water and wastewater infrastructure, regional wastewater commissions, use for

Last updated: 1/16/2019 3:43 PM (EST)