SENATE BILL NO. 390
June 20, 2019, Introduced by Senator MACGREGOR
and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
(a) "Associated agency partner" means an agency that receives support under the Michigan energy assistance act to provide self-sufficiency services under the Michigan energy assistance program.
(b) "Crisis" means that term as defined in section 2 of the Michigan energy assistance act, MCL 400.1232.
(c) "Department" means the department of health and human services.
(d) "Eligible low-income household" means that term as defined in section 2 of the Michigan energy assistance act, MCL 400.1232.
(e) "Energy assistance" means that term as defined in section 2 of the Michigan energy assistance act, MCL 400.1232.
(f) "Federal poverty guidelines" means that term as defined in section 2 of the Michigan energy assistance act, MCL 400.1232.
(g) "Funds" means that term as defined in section 2 of the Michigan energy assistance act, MCL 400.1232.
(h) "Heating season" means that term as defined in section 9r of 1939 PA 3, MCL 460.9r.
(i) "Long-term program" means a program that provides energy assistance to eligible low-income households for 2 or more consecutive months.
(j) "Michigan energy assistance act" means the Michigan energy assistance act, 2012 PA 615, MCL 400.1231 to 400.1236.
(k) "Program" means that term as defined in section 2 of the Michigan energy assistance act, MCL 400.1232.
(l) "Self-sufficiency" means paying energy bills on time, budgeting for and the ability to provide for energy expenses, and utilizing energy services to optimize on energy efficiency.
Sec. 2. (1) If income eligibility is determined by the department, program funds shall continue to be prioritized toward long-term programs that prevent crisis and yield the highest self-sufficiency, as set forth in the Michigan energy assistance act.
(2) The public service commission shall ensure that any low-income credit approved under section 6a or 6b of 1939 PA 3, MCL 460.6a or 460.6b, including the low-income assistance credit and residential income assistance credit, is distributed and prioritized first toward long-term programs that prevent crisis and yield the highest self-sufficiency.
(3) A participating utility may not permit a customer who has successfully completed the program to re-enroll the year immediately following program completion unless either of the following applies:
(a) The customer is a senior citizen.
(b) The customer is physically or developmentally disabled.
(4) This act does not prevent a customer from participating in another program offered by a utility or a federal or state agency.
(5) As part of the reporting requirements in section 3 of the Michigan energy assistance act, MCL 400.1233, within 90 days after the effective date of this act, the department, in conjunction with participating agency partners shall develop performance metrics to evaluate whether customers are achieving self-sufficiency. The department shall include in its annual report an assessment of the barriers that exist for customers to achieve self-sufficiency, and recommendations to overcome those barriers for the successful implementation of this act.
(6) As part of the report required in section 3 of the Michigan energy assistance act, MCL 400.1233, on a yearly basis, the department shall report on the effectiveness of the participating utilities' affordable payment plans. The report must include the following, at minimum, for each utility:
(a) The number of defaults from the program.
(b) The number of program participants re-enrolling after previous successful completion of the program.
(c) The change in disconnections, timely payments, and payment success rates from the previous calendar year and 3-year rolling average.
(d) An assessment of the status of each utility's program in achieving the outcomes prioritized in this act.
(e) An assessment of the status of each utility's long-term program in achieving the outcomes prioritized in this act including the impact on customers receiving support through the program compared to not having program support in preventing crisis, yielding the highest self-sufficiency, and impacting residential customers.
(f) The department's determination whether each utility program is successful in appropriately achieving the priorities of this act and the performance metrics developed in subsection (5).
(g) Steps, if any, that a utility must take to bring its program into compliance with this act.
(7) The report required under subsection (6) may include recommendations for legislative action to address any identified barriers to the successful implementation of this act.
Sec. 3. (1) The department and associated agency partners shall provide a process for a customer to enroll in a participating utility's long-term program.
(2) A participating utility shall make available to a verified customer as described in subsection (3) an automatic opt-in to the utility's long-term program, within program limits. The participating utility must notify an associated agency partner of each new enrollment. The participating utility, in coordination with a participating agency partner, must notify each verified customer of the program benefits and requirements, including further self-sufficiency support, as well as provide the verified customer an opportunity to opt out of the program.
(3) A customer of a participating utility is a verified customer if either of the following occurs:
(a) The customer has received assistance from the department funded through a federal low-income home energy assistance program block grant for crisis and heating assistance in the current program year.
(b) The department has determined the customer's income eligibility under any assistance program that meets the requirements for income determination under the Michigan energy assistance act.
(4) A participating utility may provide the department with a list of customers potentially eligible for the program. The department shall verify which of the customers, from the list provided, it has previously verified income for under any other assistance program that meets the requirements for income determination under the Michigan energy assistance act, and shall share the information with the participating utility.
(5) When redetermination of eligibility is necessary to maintain participation in a participating utility's long-term program, if the customer is enrolled in an assistance program for which the department must verify income and the customer is meeting all of the requirements of the participating utility's long-term program, the department shall redetermine the customer as eligible.
(6) If the report in section 2(6) determines a utility program is not appropriately achieving the priorities of this act, the department shall not expend funds from the Michigan energy assistance act to the applicable utility program unless the utility can show that it has implemented any required changes under section 2(6)(g). If the department chooses to fund a program that was found to be out of compliance in the report for the immediately preceding year, the department must provide its rationale for funding that program to the house and senate appropriations subcommittees on the department's budget and the house and senate fiscal agencies.
Sec. 4. The requirements in this act must be implemented by the department so that the program may be utilized beginning during the 2019-2020 heating season.