Bill > HB741

This bill modifies the Kentucky Water and Wastewater Assistance for Troubled or Economically Restrained Systems (WWATERS) Program by increasing the eligibility requirements for public water and wastewater systems. Specifically, the bill changes the eligibility criteria from requiring applicants to meet one criterion to requiring them to meet three or more criteria. The bill also introduces several new provisions, including mandating that capital construction project funding applications include cost and timeline estimates prepared and signed by a licensed professional engineer. Additionally, the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority board is now allowed to evaluate and score funding applications in phases. The bill removes certain evaluation criteria, such as accounts payable turnover ratio and days' sales in accounts receivable, and eliminates the requirement that a notice of violation occur within the past year. A new evaluation criterion is added that gives preference to applicants who have previously received funding for a prior phase of a proposed project. The bill also requires funding recipients to adopt best management practices in areas like accounting, financial planning, rate setting, water loss reduction, and stormwater management. Given the critical nature of these changes for the program, the bill includes an emergency clause, making it effective immediately upon passage.