HBA-NMO H.B. 1289 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1289 By: Cook Energy Resources 2/23/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The 72nd Texas Legislature enacted the Texas Limited Liability Company Act, which provides for the formation of legal entities known as limited liability companies (LLCs). While the Limited Liability Company Act may have been intended to give LLCs the same powers and duties of other forms of corporate organization, it did not change all of the other state laws that provide for the regulation and taxation of various businesses around the state. For example, the Gas Utility Regulatory Act, now part of the Utility Code, contains definitions of "person" and "corporation" which do not include LLCs. As a result, some have questioned whether pipelines organized as LLCs have the same powers and duties as pipelines that are organized as corporations or partnerships. H.B. 1289 amends the Utility Code to include "a limited liability company" in the definitions of "person" and "corporation." RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 101.003(10), Utilities Code, to include "a limited liability company" in the definition of "person." SECTION 2. Amends Section 121.001(b), Utilities Code, to make conforming changes. SECTION 3. Amends Section 181.001(1), Utilities Code, to include "a limited liability company" in the definition of "corporation." Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes. SECTION 4. Provides that the legislature intends that each change in law is required to be considered as a clarification of existing law, and construed as consistent with the law as it existed immediately before the effective date of this Act. SECTION 5. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.