2003 House Bill 4206 ↩

Senate Roll Call 26: Passed

To subject the water and sewer customer rate-setting decisions of the Detroit water and sewer system to a five-member oversight body similar to the state Public Service Commission (which oversees price controls on utility rates). The new commission would have members appointed by the City of Detroit, and by Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Genesee Counties. It would approve or reject proposed rates, and provide other oversight functions. Local governments which add surcharges to the Detroit water and sewer fees would be required to annually itemize those surcharges on the bills sent to individual customers. This bill creates the new commission, and Senate Bill 195 prescribes its precise authority. In a subsequent vote, the bill did not garner the two-thirds majority required to give it "immediate effect," meaning the earliest it could go into effect is March of 2004.