Act 12, was passed in 2016 and was sold as a way to put small, financially struggling water and sewer systems into the hands of private companies that could afford to fix them up and prevent environmental violations.
Burnout, retirements and uncompetitive salaries have exacerbated a growing scarcity of workers in critical job positions for managing infrastructure, transit and disaster preparedness.
Residents who need to get their water tested because contamination standards are exceeded would have to be reimbursed by their utility, under a proposed bill.