H.B. 1317 Summary

• Allows county governments to enter into public-private partnerships to transfer management and operation of wastewater treatment facilities to private entities or their wholly-owned nonprofit management entities.

• Requires counties to lease real property of transferred facilities to private entities under fixed-term leases with protection against termination without 365 days' notice and retention of county property ownership.

• Establishes that counties remain responsible for pre-transfer liabilities, accounts payable, debt, and post-employment benefits, while private entities assume responsibility for liabilities arising from facility operations after the transfer completion date.

• Authorizes private entities to request county operating cost funding (not exceeding previous appropriations) and capital expenditure funding for the first unspecified number of years of the lease, with full responsibility for capital costs thereafter.

• Permits county and union negotiations to amend collective bargaining agreements to address employee impacts, with transferred employees subject to private sector employment laws rather than public employee statutes.