Rep. Shanda Yates, I-Jackson, presents legislation in House Chamber at the Mississippi Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Jackson. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis - Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
The measure’s author, Rep. Shanda Yates, said the legislation is “specifically designed to make sure that billing is equitable.”
On Tuesday, by a vote of 83-28, the Mississippi House passed H.B. 698 which would “ensure just, reasonable and transparent billing for municipal water, wastewater and sewer services.”
A similar measure, S.B. 2338, passed the Mississippi Senate and has been referred to the House Public Works Committee.
State Representative Shanda Yates, now an Independent who represents Hinds and Madison counties, authored the House bill. The District 64 Representative said the bill “simply requires” that a municipality issue water and sewer bills based on the amount of water or sewer used by a customer.
“The rates at which water, wastewater, and sewer services shall be supplied shall be just and reasonable, and rates may not be unreasonably preferential, prejudicial or discriminatory but shall be sufficient, equitable and consistent in application to each class of inhabitants,” the bill states. “Rates shall be calculated in equitable proportion to the services and benefits rendered. Except as provided in Section 21-27-77, the calculation of an inhabitant’s bill shall be limited to the actual amount of usage, plus those fees reasonable and necessary for the cost of capital expenses, system operation and maintenance, and debt service.”
The legislation sets forth that nothing in the statute shall be construed as prohibiting an inhabitant or governing authority of any municipality from applying for and receiving any federally or privately subsidized payment assistance.
Though House Bill 698 passed the chamber, some lawmakers expressed their concerns with the legislation.
When asked whether a municipality would be able to estimate a water bill following the passage of this bill, Rep. Yates said water bills “will have to be based on the amount of water that a customer is using.”
State Representative De’Keither Stamps (D) said he is displeased with the water situation in Jackson, but cautioned against allowing it to impact other cities and towns in the state.
“We should not hurt every municipality in Mississippi because of the billing situation in the City of Jackson,” said Stamps, a candidate for Central District Public Service Commissioner this year.
Yates said she doesn’t think it is hurting anyone to bill based on what they are using. Stamps argued that lawmakers should hear from every municipality before they effect all municipalities.
State Representative Ronnie Crudup (D) said there are some instances they know of in the City of Jackson where some meters are not correct. He asked whether this legislation is “tying up the hands” of the third-party administrator by coming up with a more equitable formula to use when it comes to getting water bills.
“This bill is specifically designed to make sure that billing is equitable, in fact, and that billing is based on the amount of water that customers are actually using,” Yates said. “I can’t think of a more equitable way to bill a person than to bill them based on what they’re using.”
Last week, Ted Henifin, who was appointed to oversee the Jackson water system, provided a 30-page plan to sustain the city’s water system. The plan suggests billing individuals and businesses for water based on the value of their property, with a cap rate of $150 per month for residential property owners and $600 per month for businesses.
State Representative Zakiya Summers (D) asked whether HB 698 was introduced because of this proposal.
“The third-party administrator, Mr. Henifin, has admitted in his report that there are some issues with his proposal and the expert he hired to look at whether metering versus property billing would be effective or not also raised some questions,” Yates replied, adding that the bills is in the pipeline to address a specific issue that was brought to her attention once lawmakers were already in session.
Rep. Yates said the third-party administrator has stated multiple times, and in his report, that he believes metering can be fixed within a year, two years at the most. She noted that the immediate fix would be for the City of Jackson to issue and collect water bills from residents.
Rep. Summers asked if we trust the third-party administrator to do the water metering, why do we not trust him to do the billing system as well. She asked if Rep. Yates would consider an amendment that would hold this in place until the metering system is fixed, to which she said no. Yates said that moving this bill along the process is not hurting anything.
“It’s keeping the bill alive so we can continue to work on the bill if it needs to be worked on,” Rep. Yates said.
The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
You can watch the full floor debate below:
Anne Summerhays
