UNAUTHORIZED UTILITY USE S.B. 1310 (S-2): FLOOR SUMMARY
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Senate Bill 1310 (Substitute S-2 as reported)
Sponsor: Senator Tupac A. Hunter
Committee: Judiciary

CONTENT
The bill would amend Public Act 3 of 1939, the Public Service Commission (PSC) law, to do the following:

-- Require a utility (i.e., a PSC-regulated electric or natural gas utility) to implement measures intended to cure an unsafe connection caused by unauthorized use of electric or natural gas service at a customer's location.
-- Allow a utility to take action to deter future unauthorized use.
-- Allow a utility to refuse to provide service at a location where service had been shut off at least twice in the past two years.
-- Allow a utility to reestablish service if the customer could provide property ownership or residence information and paid applicable fees and charges.
-- Require a property owner to notify a utility of abandonment or surrender of property in order to avoid liability for unauthorized utility use at that location.
-- Require a utility with at least 1.0 million customers to notify landlords of service shut-offs due to unauthorized use.

"Unauthorized use of electric or natural gas service" would mean theft, fraud, interference, or diversion of service, including meter tampering, by-passing, and service restoration by anyone other than the utility or its representative.


The bill specifies that it would apply only to the unauthorized use of electric or natural gas service and would not apply to the provision of a telecommunication service or cable service or the use of electric or natural gas utility equipment or infrastructure by a telecommunication or cable service provider.


Proposed MCL 460.9d Legislative Analyst: Julie Cassidy

FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government.


Date Completed: 5-26-10 Fiscal Analyst: Elizabeth Pratt
Maria Tyszkiewicz

Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. sb1310/0910