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Senate committee hears support for bill requiring notice when small water systems change ownership; bill later advanced
Summary
At a public hearing on Second Substitute House Bill 1906, utility representatives and a PUD urged clearer notice to customers and forward-looking cost projections when small or failing water systems are sold; the committee later passed the bill as amended and sent it to Ways and Means.
A Senate Energy, Environment and Technology Committee public hearing on Second Substitute House Bill 1906 drew four in-person testifiers who told lawmakers the measure would help customers understand future costs when small or aging water systems change hands.
Alicia Kinney Clawson, staff to the committee, opened the briefing on HB 1906 and described a striking amendment offered by Chair (Senator) Shoemake that would require public water systems to provide notification before a change in ownership, require Group A systems to submit planning and engineering documents to the Department of Health, and direct the Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) to adopt rules on rate determination that account for capital cost of service, external funding, and rate‑smoothing. Clawson said a fiscal note exists for a prior version but that…
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