CCS SCS HB 1402 -- UTILITY PROJECTS; ACCESS TO INTERNET
PORNOGRAPHY

This bill contains various provisions relating to utility
projects.

TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES

Currently, political subdivisions are prohibited from providing
or selling telecommunication services that require a certificate
of service authority from the Public Service Commission until
August 28, 2002.  The bill extends the expiration date to August
28, 2007.  Municipal utilities are allowed to offer wholesale
telecommunication services within their service boundaries on a
nondiscriminatory, competitively neutral basis at a price that
covers costs.  If approved by voters, municipalities are also
allowed to own and operate cable television facilities on a
nondiscriminatory, competitively neutral basis.  The commission
will study the economic impacts of these operations and report
annually to the General Assembly.  These provisions also expire
on August 28, 2007.

NATURAL GAS PURCHASES BY SCHOOLS

The bill allows schools to aggregate purchases of natural gas and
pipeline transportation services through contracts negotiated by
a not-for-profit school association.  The program is limited to
public schools for the first year, open to all schools for
subsequent years, and expires on June 30, 2005.  Gas corporations
must file experimental tariffs with the Public Service Commission
by August 1, 2002.  Tariffs will be approved if there is no
negative financial impact on the gas corporation, its customers,
and local taxing authorities.  Gas corporations cannot require
special metering for schools that use 100,000 or fewer therms
annually, and aggregation and balancing charges set by the
commission cannot exceed 0.4 cents per therm during the first
year of the program.  The commission may suspend any tariff
before November 1, 2002.  This portion of the bill contains an
emergency clause.

JOINT MUNICIPAL UTILITY COMMISSIONS

The bill repeals the authority of the Public Service Commission
to regulate gas and electric services provided by joint municipal
utility commissions.  Revenue bonds issued by joint utility
commissions may be sold at private sale; and the property of
commissions, except that acquired exclusively for water supply
districts, is subject to the same taxation as property owned by
the participating municipalities.

ELECTRICITY GENERATION BY UTILITY CUSTOMERS

The bill requires retail electric suppliers to adopt, by August
28, 2003, rates and terms for interconnection with customers that
operate electric generating systems that are powered by renewable
energy sources and capable of producing no more than 100
kilowatts.  The Public Service Commission, in consultation with
the Department of Natural Resources and retail electric
suppliers, will develop a standard interconnection contract to
allow customer-generators to feed any excess electricity they
produce into the local electric distribution system to offset
consumption costs.  Local utilities or their wholesale suppliers
will purchase the excess electricity at their avoided cost and
receive credit for renewable energy generation and emission
avoidance.  Contracts will be provided on a first-come, first-
served basis until statewide capacity equals the lesser of 10,000
kilowatts or 0.1% of the peak demand for each supplier of
electricity during the previous year.

Sales of interconnection equipment are regulated through
merchandising practices laws for home solicitation sales.
Equipment must be certified by a qualified professional and meet
all safety and reliability standards established by the
commission, the local utility, and applicable local and national
codes.  Customer-generators must pay for all equipment and
testing and obtain liability insurance in an amount set by the
commission.  Utilities must respond to customer connection
requests within 90 days and complete the connection within an
additional 15 days or a mutually agreeable later date.

TIRE-DERIVED FUEL

The bill requires power plants with coal-fired cyclone boilers
that also burn tire-derived fuel to limit nitrogen oxide
emissions to 80% of the emissions limit required by federal law.
This provision expires on April 30, 2004, or upon revision of the
pertinent state regulation, whichever occurs later.

INTERNET PORNOGRAPHY

The bill requires public elementary and secondary schools and
libraries to use filtering software or other means to restrict
access by minors to pornographic materials on the Internet.
Employees, officers, trustees, or Internet service providers that
comply are not liable if a minor gains access to pornographic
materials.  Violators are guilty of a misdemeanor.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated October 11, 2002 at 9:01 am