Water Utilities Fight Fee Waiver For Domestic Violence Victims

Water utilities in Mississippi are fighting a rule that would require them to be more lenient in their billing practices with domestic violence victims compared to other customers. "The Mississippi Rural Water Association has sued the state Public Service Commission in federal court, claiming the commission overstepped its authority and conflicted with federal law" when it passed the rule, the Associated Press reported.

Specifically, the rule "allows victims’ utility fees to be waived for 60 days," WREG reported. It became effective in October "and applies to electric service, natural gas service, water service and other utilities regulated by the Public Service Commission," The Dispatch reported.

The suit was filed in late October in the U.S. District Court in Jackson. It asks U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan III to block the rule. "It's the latest in a series of clashes between the commission and nonprofit water and electrical utilities," the AP reported.

Northern District Commissioner Brandon Presley, who supported the rule, questioned the utilities' lawsuit.

"They ought to be ashamed of themselves," he said, per the report. "I don't think their customers would approve of their money being spent like this."

The intention of the waiver is to make it easier for domestic violence victims to escape their situations. Presley explained the thinking behind the rule.

"It's really just a bit of breathing room for victims to be able to get out of a dangerous situation and to be able to get the assistance that they need to move out," he said, per the Dispatch. "Right now, we know there are a lot of people who stay in dangerous situations simply because they don't have the financial means to pack up and move. One of the biggest impediments to that, one of the biggest roadblocks are utility deposits because it's a lot of money up front."

Lorine Cady, who works with domestic violence victims at the House of Grace, seconded that reasoning.

“That’s a big, big barrier — the utility deposit sometimes — to the women moving and starting their lives over,” Cady said, per WREG. “They may be afraid to leave because their lives are in danger."

Water utilities have questioned the commission's motivation for making the rule.

“Our view is that this is not about domestic violence, this is about trying to establish jurisdiction if they can,” said Jim Herring, a lawyer for the Mississippi Rural Water Association and Madison County’s Bear Creek Water Association, to the Mississippi Business Journal. “We think the statutes clearly preclude this.”

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