ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS GREG ABBOTT

The Honorable C. 

### R. (Kit) Bramblett Hudspeth County Attorney Post Office Box 221528 EI Paso, Texas 79913-1528

Dear Mr. Bramblett: April 20, 2010
Opinion No. GA-0770 Re: Whether a utility company that contracts with a county to collect the fees for the county's solid waste disposal service may suspend its own utility service for nonpayment ofthe solid waste disposal fee (RQ-0837-GA)

You askusto opine onthe meaning ofsubsection 364.034( d), Health and SafetyCode. I You tell us that Hudspeth County (the "County"), which collects and disposes ofsolid waste in the area, would like to contract with the Esperanza Water Service Company, Inc. (the "Company") to have the Company collect the County's fees for the solid waste disposal services. 

### See Request Letter at 1. You inform us that there is a question about whether, under subsection 364.034(d), the Companycould suspendthe Company'swater serviceto a customerfor nonpaymentof the County's solid waste disposal fee. 

### See id Under chapter 364, the County Solid Waste Control Act, a county may offer solid waste disposal service initsterritory. 

### TEx. HEALTH& SAFETY CODEANN. 

### § 364.034(a)(I) (Vernon SUpp. 

### 2009); see id § 364.001 (Vernon 2001) (providing short title). A county is authorized to "require the use ofthe [solid waste disposal] service" by persons in its territory and to "charge fees for the service." 

### Id § 364.034(a)(2)-(3) (Vernon Supp. 2009). Chapter 364 authorizes a countyto provide the solid waste disposal service itselforto enterinto an operating agreement to have anotherperson provide the service. 

### See id 

### § 364.013 (Vernon 2001). Additionally, chapter 364 provides three alternatives by which a county can collect the solid waste disposal fee: 

### (1) collect the solid waste disposal fee itself, (2) contract with an entity that is providing the solid waste disposal service for the county to collect the fee, or (3) contract with another private orpublic entity for the collection ofthe solid waste disposal fee. 

### Id § 364.034(b)-(c) (Vernon Supp. 2009). Under the scheme establishedbychapter 364, the entitycollectingthe solidwaste disposal fee does nothaveto provide the solid waste disposal service. 

### Compare id 

### § 364.013 (Vernon 2001) (authorizing a county

IRequestLetterat 1(available athttp://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov); see alsoTEX. HEALTH& SAFETYCODE ANN. § 364.034(d) (Vernon Supp. 2009).The Honorable C. R. (Kit) Bramblett

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to contract with another entity for the provision of solid waste disposal service), 

### with id 

### § 364.034(b)(3), (c) 

## 01ernon Supp. 2009) (authorizing a countyto contractwith another entity solely for the collection of the solid waste disposal fee). The subject of your request, subsection 364.034( d), provides: To aid enforcement of fee collection for the solid waste disposal service:



### Id § 364.034( d). (1) a county or the public or private entity that has contractedwiththecountytoprovidethe servicemaysuspend service to a person who is delinquent in payment of solid waste disposal service fees until the delinquent claim is fully paid; and (2) a public or private utility that bills and collects solid waste disposal service fees under this section may suspend service ofthat utility, in addition to the suspension ofsolid waste disposal service, to a person who is delinquent in the payment of the solid waste disposal service fee until the delinquent claim is fully paid.

The issue raised by your request requires us to construe subsection 364.034( d)(2). When construing a statute, the primary objective is to "ascertain and give effectto the Legislature'S intent as expressedbythe language of the statute." 

### CityofRockwallv. Hughes, 246 S.W.3d621, 625 (Tex. 2008). To determine that intent, we look to the plain and common meaning ofthe words ofthe statute. 

### See id When the statutory language is clear and unambiguous, we construe the statute as written. 

### See City of Houston v. 

### Jackson, 192 S.W.3d 764, 770 (Tex. 2006). Inaddition, "words and phrases shall be read in context and construed according to the rules of grammar and common usage." 

### TEx. GOV'T CODE ANN. 

### § 311.011(a) (Vernon 2005). On its face, the language ofsubsection 364.034( d)(2) authorizes a "public orprivate utility that bills and collects solid waste disposal service fees" to suspend "service of that utility" for nonpayment ofthe solid waste disposal fee. TEx. HEALTH 

### & SAFETY CODE ANN. 

### § 364.034(d)(2) 

## 01ernon Supp. 2009). By its ordinary usage, the term "that" refers back to a specific thing previously mentioned. 

### See NEW OXFORD AMERICAN DICTIONARY 1756 (2001) (defining the term ''that''to mean "referringto a specificthingpreviouslymentioned, known, orunderstood"); 

### see also TEx. GOV'T CODE ANN. 

### § 311.011(a) (Vernon 2005) (providing "words and phrases shall be read in context and construed according to the rules ofgrammar and common usage"). In subsection 364.034( d)(2), the thing previously mentioned is the public or private utility that is collecting the solidwaste disposal fees onbehalfofa county. Thus, the "service ofthatutility," which service may be suspended, is the utility service ofthe public or private entity collecting the fees on behalfofa county. The language ofsubsection 364.034( d)(2) patentlydistinguishesthe "service ofthatutility"The Honorable C. R. (Kit) Bramblett

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### 3 (GA-0770)

from the solidwaste disposal service byprovidingthatthe suspension ofservice ofthatutility is "in addition to the suspension ofsolid waste disposal service." 

### TEx. HEALTH 

### & SAFETY CODE ANN. 

### § 364.034(d)(2) 

## 0' emon Supp. 2009). The language of subsection 364.034( d)(2) indicates that a utility collecting a county's solid waste disposal fee may suspend its own utility service for nonpayment ofa county's solid waste disposal fee. 2 Our determination is bolstered by the legislative history of subsection 364.034( d)(2). 

### See 

### TEx. GOV'T CODE ANN. 

### § 311.023(3) 

## 0' emon2005) (including legislative history in list offactors that may be considered in construing statutes); 

### see also Osterberg v. 

### Peca, 12 S.W.3d 31, 38 (Tex. 2000) (citing section 311.023 and considering legislative history, among other things, to construe a statute); Tex. Att'y Gen. Op. No. GA-0728 (2009) at 2-3 (considering legislative history in construction ofstatute). Subsection 364.034( d)(2) was addedto chapter 364 in2001 by Senate Bill 352. Act ofMay 24, 2001, 77thLeg.,R.S.,ch.1238,2001 Tex. Gen. Laws 2915, 2915-16. Thebill summary accompanying Senate Bill 352 describes the bill as authorizing "a utility that bills and collectsthe fees to suspendthe utility service 

### itprovides, inadditionto the suspension ofsolidwaste disposal service by the entity providing that service to a person who is delinquent in paying the disposal fee." Enrolled Bill Summary, Tex. S.B. 352, 77th Leg., R.S. (2001) (emphasis added).3 Senator Truan, who sponsored Senate Bill 352, described the bill as adding an "effective enforcementmechanismto compel payment" ofsolidwaste disposal service fees. Hearings on S.B. 352 before the Sen. Natural Resources Comm., 77th Leg., R.S. (Feb. 27, 2001) (statement ofSen. Truan).4 Senator Truan stated: A contract with a utility may require the billing ofthe solid waste disposal fee withinthe bill for the other utility service. Itmaypermit the contractingutilityto suspend service ofthe utility to a personwho is delinquent inpayment ofthe solid waste disposal service fee. That means that if someone does not pay his trash bill, the lights go out. And that's the essence ofproviding some teeth in order to have the collection oftrash and the payment offees.

2The Company at issue here tells us that it is a**privat~ly** held water utility regulated bythe Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) "subject to the TCEQ's Utility Regulations found in Chapter 291." Briefattached to Request Letter from Ralph Wm. Richards, Attorney at Law, at 2. Suspension ofthe utility service ofthe Company is expressly authorized by the TCEQ's rules. See 30 TEX. ADMIN. CODE § 291.88(a)(2)(F) (2009) (authorizing discontinuance ofutility service for "failure to pay solid waste disposal fees collected under contract with a county"); 

### cf. City of Breckenridgev. Cozart, 478 S.W.2d 162, 164-65 (Tex. Civ. App.-Eastland 1972, writrerd n.r.e.)(flnding no constitutional impediment to a home rule city's ordinance authorizing the discontinuation ofa person's city water service for the person's failure to pay the city's garbage collection fee).

3 Available at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/BillSummary.aspx?LegSess=77R&Bill=SB352 (last visited Apr. 12,2010). 4Available athttp://www.senate.state.tx.us/avarchive/?yr=2001&mo=02 (archived recording ofthe February 27,2001 public hearing) (last visited Apr. 12,2010).The Honorable C. R. (Kit) Bramblett

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### Id. The foregoing legislative material reveals a legislative intent to authorize the suspension of utility service other than the solid waste disposal service as an added enforcement mechanism to compel payment ofa county's solid waste disposal fee. We conclude that subsection 364.034(d)(2), Health and Safety Code, authorizes a utility company contracting with a county to collect the·fees for the county's solid waste disposal service to suspend its own utility service for nonpayment ofthe county's solid waste disposal fee.The Honorable C. 

### R. (Kit) Bramblett .:. Page 5 (GA-0770)



### SUMMARY Subsection 364.034(d)(2), Health and Safety Code, authorizes a utility company contracting with a county to collect the fees for the county's solid waste disposal service to suspend its own utility service for nonpayment ofthe county's solid waste disposal fee.

ANDREW WEBER First Assistant Attorney General JONATHAN K. FRELS Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel NANCY S. FULLER Chair, Opinion Committee Charlotte M. Harper Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee