House committee advances bill to bring some private water systems under PSC oversight

The House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee voted Monday morning to advance HB 449, a bill that would place limited regulation of some private water companies under the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC).

The bill’s sponsor, Representative Rhodes, told the committee the measure targets privately owned water systems that use surface water and have at least 2,000 customers and that the bill is the product of a multi‑meeting study committee. "We are 1 of 5 states that do not regulate private water companies," Rhodes said, and he described the measure as a start toward PSC oversight. He also warned of a budget impact for the PSC, saying, "we're talking about $750 to $1,200,000 would be the budget need that we would need, for this…