AN ACT RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION -- WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Alex Finkelman

HB 5511 lets Jamestown water and sewer commission limit its obligation to serve only a defined service area, potentially denying hookups outside it; effective upon passage.

04/22/2025 Committee recommended measure be held for further study

Summary — HB 5511

Title: AN ACT RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION — WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Bill number: HB 5511 (companion: SB 2900)
Introduced: Feb 13, 2025 (filed Mar 14, 2025)
Sponsor: Rep. Alex S. Finkelman
Status (most recent): 04/22/2025 — Committee recommended measure be held for further study; left pending in committee. Effective date: upon passage.

Purpose / Intent

The bill authorizes the Jamestown Water and Sewer Commission (the town’s commissioners) to limit the public water system’s legal obligation to supply potable water to applicants who live only within a formally “designated and described” service area, rather than to every acre inside the town’s municipal boundaries. The change is intended to clarify and narrow the commission’s service obligation.

Key provisions

Adds a new section (46-15-24) to Chapter 46-15 (Water Resources Management).

Grants the Jamestown water and sewer commissioners explicit authority to limit the public water system’s obligation to supply water to applicants residing within the commission’s defined service area, rather than to the entire geographic area of the town of Jamestown.

States the act takes effect immediately upon passage.

Who would be affected

Primary: Residents, property owners, developers, and prospective applicants for water service in the town of Jamestown who are located inside town boundaries but outside the commission’s formal service area—these parties could be denied connection under an asserted limit to the commission’s obligation.

Municipal actors: Jamestown Water and Sewer Commission (gains discretionary authority); town government and planning staff (may see impacts on development patterns and permitting).

Secondary: Real estate market, septic system operators, and regional infrastructure planners if requests for extensions or new service are restricted.

Procedural / timeline notes

Introduced and referred to the House Municipal Government & Housing Committee; also read and referred to Ways & Means in committee process.

Public hearing(s) and testimony were recorded (public hearing considered 04/28/2025); as of 04/22/2025 the committee recommended holding the measure for further study and it was left pending.

Potential implications and considerations

Provides legal clarity for the commission to avoid mandatory extensions of service to all town parcels, which could limit financial exposure and control infrastructure expansion costs.

Could constrain development or create inequities for properties inside town limits but outside the defined service area, potentially increasing reliance on septic systems.

Raises administrative questions about how a “designated and described” service area is defined, updated, and communicated, and whether policy/ordinance or map changes would be required.

May prompt local debate over balancing utility financial sustainability and equal access to municipal services.

For readers seeking additional detail: the bill text is brief and limited to the single statutory addition; SB 2900 is the companion measure in the Senate.