Maintaining Access to Essential Services Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1783 To provide emergency loans to maintain access to essential services during the COVID–19 pandemic, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 20, 2021 Mr. MERKLEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To provide emergency loans to maintain access to essential services during the COVID–19 pandemic, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Maintaining Access 4 to Essential Services Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. EMERGENCY LOANS TO PUBLICLY OWNED AND 6 NONPROFIT WATER AND WASTEWATER UTILI- 7 TIES. 8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1783.IS S1783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1783 IS (1) EMERGENCY PERIOD.—The term ‘‘emer- 1 gency period’’ means the period that— 2 (A) begins on March 13, 2020; and 3 (B) ends on the date on which the national 4 emergency terminates under section 202 of the 5 National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622). 6 (2) LOAN PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘loan pro- 7 gram’’ means the loan program established by the 8 Secretary under subsection (b). 9 (3) LOAN REPAYMENT DATE.—The term ‘‘loan 10 repayment date’’ means the date that is 2 years 11 after the date described in paragraph (1)(B). 12 (4) NATIONAL EMERGENCY.—The term ‘‘na- 13 tional emergency’’ means the national emergency de- 14 clared by the President under the National Emer- 15 gencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) with respect to 16 the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19). 17 (5) PAYMENT SHORTFALL.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘payment 19 shortfall’’, with respect to a qualified utility, 20 means a good faith estimate of the total 21 amount of rates and charges for water service 22 provided during the emergency period that the 23 qualified utility has not collected from residen- 24 tial water consumers of the qualified utility, as 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1783.IS S1783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1783 IS certified by the qualified utility to the Secretary 1 under subsection (g)(1). 2 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘payment 3 shortfall’’ does not include any portion of the 4 uncollected amounts described in subparagraph 5 (A) that the qualified utility has sold to a third 6 party. 7 (6) QUALIFIED UTILITY.—The term ‘‘qualified 8 utility’’ means— 9 (A) a publicly owned or nonprofit commu- 10 nity water system (as defined in section 1401 of 11 the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 12 300f)); and 13 (B) a publicly owned treatment works (as 14 defined in section 212 of the Federal Water 15 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1292)). 16 (7) RESIDENTIAL WATER CONSUMER.—The 17 term ‘‘residential water consumer’’ means a house- 18 hold that serves as a principal residence to which 19 water services are provided for any purpose other 20 than resale. 21 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 22 Secretary of the Treasury. 23 (9) WATER SERVICE.—The term ‘‘water serv- 24 ice’’ means the treatment and provision of drinking 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1783.IS S1783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1783 IS water, the collection and treatment of wastewater, or 1 stormwater management provided by a qualified util- 2 ity to a residential water consumer, including any 3 activities necessary to provide those services. 4 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 6 a loan program to ensure that qualified utilities are 7 able to continue providing water service to residen- 8 tial water consumers during the emergency period. 9 (2) REQUIREMENT.—In carrying out the loan 10 program, the Secretary shall take all necessary 11 steps, including outreach and the provision of tech- 12 nical assistance to qualified utilities, to ensure that 13 all qualified utilities, without reference to the size of 14 the customer base of the qualified utility, have a fair 15 opportunity to apply for and obtain loans under the 16 loan program. 17 (c) LOAN AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary may 18 make 1 or more loans to a qualified utility under the loan 19 program, such that the total amount of loans provided to 20 the qualified utility is not greater than the payment short- 21 fall of the qualified utility. 22 (d) LOAN REPAYMENT.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 24 graph (2) and subsection (e), a qualified utility re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1783.IS S1783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1783 IS ceiving a loan under the loan program shall repay 1 the loan in full, with accrued interest, not later than 2 the loan repayment date. 3 (2) RIGHT TO CALL.—Notwithstanding para- 4 graph (1) and subsection (e), if the qualified utility 5 carries out or fails to carry out, as applicable, any 6 of the following actions, a loan received by the quali- 7 fied utility under the loan program shall be due and 8 payable in full, with accrued interest, 90 days after 9 the date on which the utility carries out or fails to 10 carry out, as applicable, that action: 11 (A) During the emergency period and after 12 the date on which the qualified utility receives 13 the loan— 14 (i) the qualified utility charges any 15 residential water consumer interest, late 16 fees, or other charges or penalties associ- 17 ated with the late payment or nonpayment 18 of rates or charges for the provision of 19 water service; 20 (ii) the qualified utility discontinues 21 water service or refuses to establish new 22 water service to any residential water con- 23 sumer of the qualified utility due to the 24 nonpayment of rates or charges or the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1783.IS S1783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1783 IS nonpayment of a deposit for the provision 1 of water service; 2 (iii) the qualified utility sells any un- 3 collected residential water consumer debt; 4 (iv) the qualified utility places, sells, 5 or initiates the collection of a lien on the 6 residence of a residential water consumer 7 to collect outstanding rates or charges for 8 water service; 9 (v) the qualified utility files an ad- 10 verse report on a residential water con- 11 sumer to a credit reporting agency due to 12 the nonpayment of rates or charges for the 13 provision of water service; or 14 (vi) the qualified utility charges a 15 service restoration fee for the restoration 16 of service described in subparagraph (B). 17 (B) Not later than 30 days after the date 18 on which the qualified utility receives the loan, 19 the qualified utility fails to restore (except for 20 reasons of safety) water service to all residential 21 water consumers of the qualified utility who 22 had been disconnected due to nonpayment of 23 rates or charges for the provision of water serv- 24 ice. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1783.IS S1783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1783 IS (e) LOAN FORGIVENESS.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub- 2 section (d)(2), after receipt of a certification under 3 subsection (g)(2), the Secretary shall forgive any 4 loans provided to a qualified utility under the loan 5 program in an amount equal to the total amount of 6 the payment shortfall from the residential water con- 7 sumers of the qualified utility for water service pro- 8 vided by the qualified utility to those residential 9 water consumers during the emergency period. 10 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—On forgiveness of a loan 11 or a portion of a loan under paragraph (1), the 12 qualified utility shall— 13 (A) forgive all outstanding debt owed to 14 the qualified utility, including any interest 15 charges, late fees, or other charges or penalties 16 associated with late payment or the non- 17 payment of rates or charges for the provision of 18 water service, that results from the provision of 19 water services to residential water consumers 20 during the emergency period; 21 (B) not later than 30 days after the date 22 on which the debt described in subparagraph 23 (A) is forgiven for a residential water consumer, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1783.IS S1783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1783 IS notify the residential water consumer of the 1 amount of that forgiveness; and 2 (C) file with the applicable State regu- 3 latory commission documents demonstrating 4 that rates and charges for the provision of 5 water service have been appropriately adjusted. 6 (f) INTEREST RATE.—A loan made under the loan 7 program shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed 1 per- 8 cent per year. 9 (g) BORROWER REQUIREMENTS.— 10 (1) APPLICATION.—A qualified utility seeking a 11 loan under the loan program shall submit to the 12 Secretary an application at such time, in such man- 13 ner, and containing such information as the Sec- 14 retary may require, including— 15 (A) the amount of the loan sought by the 16 qualified utility, which shall be in an amount 17 not greater than the payment shortfall of the 18 qualified utility; and 19 (B) a good faith certification that— 20 (i) a significant number of the resi- 21 dential water consumers of the qualified 22 utility have not paid for the water service 23 received by those residential water con- 24 sumers during the emergency period; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1783.IS S1783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1783 IS (ii) the amount of the loan sought by 1 the qualified utility is a good faith estimate 2 of the payment shortfall of the qualified 3 utility; and 4 (iii) a loan in the amount described in 5 subparagraph (A) is needed to support the 6 qualified utility in continuing to provide 7 water service to the residential water con- 8 sumers of the qualified utility during the 9 emergency period. 10 (2) FINAL CERTIFICATION.—Not earlier than 11 18 months after the date described in subsection 12 (a)(1)(B) and not later than the loan repayment 13 date, a qualified utility that receives a loan under 14 the loan program shall make a good faith certifi- 15 cation to the Secretary of the total amount of rates 16 that the qualified utility has not collected from the 17 residential water consumers of the qualified utility 18 for the water service provided to those residential 19 water consumers during the emergency period, ex- 20 cluding any such amount of uncollected payments 21 that the qualified utility has sold to a third party. 22 (3) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—A qualified 23 utility that receives a loan under the loan program 24 shall, for each month until the month after the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1783.IS S1783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1783 IS month of the loan repayment date or the month in 1 which the loan is forgiven under subsection (e), as 2 applicable, submit to the Secretary a report that in- 3 cludes— 4 (A) by ZIP Code— 5 (i) the number of residential water 6 consumers disconnected from water service 7 by the qualified utility due to nonpayment 8 of rates and charges for the provision of 9 water service; 10 (ii) the number of restorations of 11 water service by the qualified utility of res- 12 idential water consumers that had been 13 disconnected for nonpayment of rates and 14 charges for the provision of water service; 15 (iii) for each applicable residential 16 water consumer, the time between— 17 (I) the disconnection of water 18 service by the qualified utility for non- 19 payment of rates and charges for the 20 provision of water service; and 21 (II) the restoration of that water 22 service; 23 (iv) the average time between the dis- 24 connection and restoration described in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1783.IS S1783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1783 IS clause (iii) for all residential water con- 1 sumers disconnected during the applicable 2 month; 3 (v) the number of residential water 4 consumers for which the time between the 5 disconnection and restoration described in 6 clause (iii) exceeded 2 days; 7 (vi) the number of residential water 8 consumers of the qualified utility that be- 9 came eligible for disconnection of water 10 service due to nonpayment of rates and 11 charges for the provision of water service 12 but, because of a loan received under the 13 loan program, avoided disconnection; 14 (vii)(I) the number of residential 15 water consumers of the qualified utility 16 that are in arrears of payment of rates and 17 charges for the provision of water service 18 by the qualified utility; and 19 (II) the total amount and the range of 20 arrearages for which all residential water 21 consumers described in subclause (I) are in 22 arrears; 23 (viii) the total amount for which the 24 residential water consumers described in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1783.IS S1783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1783 IS clause (vii)(I) have had the amounts de- 1 scribed in that clause forgiven; 2 (ix) the number of residential water 3 consumers that have had an arrearage de- 4 scribed in clause (vii)(I) forgiven in full; 5 (x) a good faith estimate of the aver- 6 age amount per residential water consumer 7 of the forgiveness described in clause (ix); 8 (xi) the number, if any, of residential 9 water consumers that have had an arrear- 10 age described in clause (vii)(I) forgiven 11 only in part; 12 (xii)(I) the number, if any, of residen- 13 tial water consumers for whom an arrear- 14 age described in clause (vii)(I) has been 15 sold to a third-party debt buyer; and 16 (II) the total amount of arrearages 17 described in clause (vii)(I) that have been 18 sold to a third-party debt buyer, if any; 19 and 20 (xiii) data similar to the data de- 21 scribed in clauses (i) through (xii) for the 22 arrearages that had accrued at the begin- 23 ning of the emergency period, including 24 how much of those arrearages have been 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1783.IS S1783 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD [Text truncated for display. 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