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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1713
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR MCCREERY .
7228S.02I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 393.190, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to certain
transactions involving public utilities.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 393.190, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 393.190, 2
to read as follows:3
393.190. 1. No gas corporation, electrical 1
corporation, water corporation or sewer corporation shall 2
hereafter sell, assign, lease, transfer, mortgage or 3
otherwise dispose of or encumber the whole or any part of 4
its franchise, works or system, necessary or useful in the 5
performance of its duties to the public, nor by any means, 6
direct or indirect, merge or consolidate such works or 7
system, or franchises, or any part thereof, with any other 8
corporation, person or public utility, without having first 9
secured from the commission an order authorizing it so to 10
do. Every such sale, assignment, lease, transfer, mortgage, 11
disposition, encumbrance, merger or consolidation made other 12
than in accordance with the order of the commission 13
authorizing same shall be void. The permission and approval 14
of the commission to the exercise of a franchise or permit 15
under this chapter, or the sale, assignment, lease, 16
transfer, mortgage or other disposition or encumbrance of a 17
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franchise or permit under this section shall not be 18
construed to revive or validate any lapsed or invalid 19
franchise or permit, or to enlarge or add to the powers or 20
privileges contained in the grant of any franchise or 21
permit, or to waive any forfeiture. Any person seeking any 22
order under this subsection authorizing the sale, 23
assignment, lease, transfer, merger, consolidation or other 24
disposition, direct or indirect, of any gas corporation, 25
electrical corporation, water corporation, or sewer 26
corporation, shall, at the time of application for any such 27
order, file with the commission a statement, in such form, 28
manner and detail as the commission shall require, as to 29
what, if any, impact such sale, assignment, lease, transfer, 30
merger, consolidation, or other disposition will have on the 31
tax revenues of the political subdivisions in which any 32
structures, facilities or equipment of the corporations 33
involved in such disposition are located. The commission 34
shall send a copy of all information obtained by it as to 35
what, if any, impact such sale, assignment, lease, transfer, 36
merger, consolidation or other disposition will have on the 37
tax revenues of various political subdivisions to the county 38
clerk of each county in which any portion of a political 39
subdivision which will be affected by such disposition is 40
located. Nothing in this subsection contained shall be 41
construed to prevent the sale, assignment, lease or other 42
disposition by any corporation, person or public utility of 43
a class designated in this subsection of property which is 44
not necessary or useful in the performance of its duties to 45
the public, and any sale of its property by such 46
corporation, person or public utility shall be conclusively 47
presumed to have been of property which is not useful or 48
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necessary in the performance of its duties to the public, as 49
to any purchaser of such property in good faith for value. 50
2. No such corporation shall directly or indirectly 51
acquire the stock or bonds of any other corporation 52
incorporated for, or engaged in, the same or a similar 53
business, or proposing to operate or operating under a 54
franchise from the same or any other municipality; neither 55
shall any street railroad corporation acquire the stock or 56
bonds of any electrical corporation, unless, in either case, 57
authorized so to do by the commission. Save where stock 58
shall be transferred or held for the purpose of collateral 59
security, no stock corporation of any description, domestic 60
or foreign, other than a gas corporation, electrical 61
corporation, water corporation, sewer corporation or street 62
railroad corporation, shall, without the consent of the 63
commission, purchase or acquire, take or hold, more than ten 64
percent of the total capital stock issued by any gas 65
corporation, electrical corporation, water corporation or 66
sewer corporation organized or existing under or by virtue 67
of the laws of this state, except that a corporation now 68
lawfully holding a majority of the capital stock of any gas 69
corporation, electrical corporation, water corporation or 70
sewer corporation may, with the consent of the commission, 71
acquire and hold the remainder of the capital stock of such 72
gas corporation, electrical corporation, water corporation 73
or sewer corporation, or any portion thereof. 74
3. No person, public utility, or other corporation 75
shall purchase or acquire, take, or hold fifty percent or 76
more of the total capital stock issued by any sewer or water 77
corporation that regularly provides service to eight 78
thousand or fewer customers without notifying the commission 79
within thirty days of said acquisition. 80
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4. Notwithstanding subsection 3 of this section, any 81
sewer or water corporation that regularly provides service 82
to eight thousand or fewer customers that is delinquent in 83
filing its public service commission annual report or is six 84
months or more delinquent in paying its public service 85
commission assessment or is in violation of any other public 86
service commission or Missouri department of natural 87
resources rules or regulations shall not sell or transfer 88
fifty percent or more of its total capital stock issued 89
without the consent of the commission. 90
5. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to 91
prevent the holding of stock heretofore lawfully acquired, 92
or to prevent upon the surrender or exchange of said stock 93
pursuant to a reorganization plan, the purchase, 94
acquisition, taking or holding of a proportionate amount of 95
stock of any new corporation organized to take over, at 96
foreclosure or other sale, the property of any corporation 97
whose stock has been thus surrendered or exchanged. Every 98
contract, assignment, transfer or agreement for transfer of 99
any stock by or through any person or corporation to any 100
corporation in violation of any provision of this chapter 101
shall be void and of no effect, and no such transfer or 102
assignment shall be made upon the books of any such gas 103
corporation, electrical corporation, water corporation or 104
sewer corporation or shall be recognized as effective for 105
any purpose. 106
6. No sale, assignment, lease, transfer, mortgage, 107
disposition, encumbrance, merger, or consolidation of a 108
public utility, as defined in section 386.020, shall be 109
permitted unless the public service commission makes a 110
finding that such transaction is in the public interest. 111
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