HB 2572 Signed by Gov

H.B. No. 2572

	AN ACT
	relating to the authority of a gas corporation to use a public
	right-of-way.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 121.2025(a), Utilities Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(a) Except as otherwise provided by this section or Section
	182.025, Tax Code, a municipality may not assess a charge for the
	placement, construction, maintenance, repair, replacement,
	operation, use, relocation, or removal of a gas pipeline facility
	on, along, under, or across a public road, highway, street, alley,
	stream, canal, or other public way.
	SECTION 2. Section 181.005, Utilities Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	Sec. 181.005. AUTHORITY TO LAY AND MAINTAIN LINES. (a) A
	gas corporation has the right to lay and maintain lines over, along,
	under, and across a public road, a railroad, railroad right-of-way,
	an interurban railroad, a street railroad, a canal or stream, or a
	municipal street or alley only if:
	(1) the pipeline complies with:
	(A) all safety regulations adopted by the
	Railroad Commission of Texas and all federal regulations relating
	to pipeline facilities and pipelines; and
	(B) all rules adopted by the Texas Department of
	Transportation or the Railroad Commission of Texas and all federal
	regulations regarding the accommodation of utility facilities on a
	right-of-way, including regulations relating to the horizontal or
	vertical placement of the pipeline; and
	(2) the owner or operator of the pipeline ensures that
	the public right-of-way and any associated facility are promptly
	restored to their former condition of usefulness after the
	installation or maintenance of the pipeline.
	(b) The right granted by Subsection (a) relating to the use
	of a municipal street or alley is subject to the payment of charges
	in accordance with Section 121.2025 of this code and Sections
	182.025 and 182.026, Tax Code.
	(c) In determining the route of a pipeline within a
	municipality, a gas corporation shall consider using existing
	easements and public rights-of-way, including streets, roads,
	highways, and utility rights-of-way. In deciding whether to use a
	public easement or right-of-way, the gas corporation shall consider
	whether:
	(1) the use is economically practicable;
	(2) adequate space exists; and
	(3) the use will violate, or cause the violation of any
	pipeline safety regulations.
	(d) The Texas Department of Transportation may require the
	owner or operator of a pipeline to relocate the pipeline:
	(1) at the expense of the owner or operator of the
	pipeline, if the pipeline is located on a right-of-way of the state
	highway system;
	(2) at the expense of this state, if the pipeline is
	located on property in which the owner or operator of the pipeline
	has a private interest; or
	(3) in accordance with Section 203.092,
	Transportation Code, at the expense of this state, if the pipeline
	is owned or operated by a gas utility as defined by Section 181.021
	of this code or a common carrier as defined by Chapter 111, Natural
	Resources Code.
	(e) Rules adopted by the Texas Department of Transportation
	regarding horizontal and vertical placement of pipelines must be
	reasonable and, for rights-of-way of the state highway system, must
	provide an appeals process through the Texas Department of
	Transportation.
	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2572 was passed by the House on April
	28, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 0, 2 present, not
	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
	No. 2572 on May 25, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 0,
	1 present, not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2572 was passed by the Senate, with
	amendments, on May 21, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
	0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor SOURCE: Texas Legislature on Line

Texas Legislature adjourns after meltdown in Senate; special session looms

By DAVE MONTGOMERY and AMAN BATHEJA - Fort worth Star Telegram - Mon. June 1, 2009
AUSTIN — The 81st Legislature adjourned Monday night with angry state senators urging Gov. Rick Perry to call a special session to salvage $2 billion in highway transportation money. The money was left in limbo when the House killed legislation to keep the Texas Department of Transportation and four other state agencies operating.

The dust-up dashed hopes for a smooth conclusion to the 140-day biennial session without the need for a special session to deal with unresolved issues or priorities demanded by the governor.

Earlier, on the first day of the hurricane season, lawmakers came through at Perry’s insistence with emergency legislation to replenish a windstorm insurance fund for Gulf Coast residents.

At the center of the dispute was the House’s decision to abandon a "safety net" bill that would have granted a two-year continuance for the Transportation Department, the state Department of Insurance and three other agencies. The safety net legislation for the Transportation Department was considered a stop-gap fix after a more comprehensive bill restructuring the agency died in the waning days of the Legislature.

Before adjourning, House members approved a parliamentary patch-up that they said would keep the Transportation Department operating. But senators condemned that action as insufficient, voting 17-11 to adjourn without voting on it, and denounced the House for killing the transportation bill. That legislation included $2 billion in transportation bonds to fund highway projects across the state.

Senators called on Perry to convene a special session to reauthorize the Transportation Department and clear the way for using the $2 billion in highway construction money.

Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle did not directly address the request for a special session, but she disputed the senators’ description of the situation, saying the agencies will be able to continue operating like normal despite the tumultuous conclusion of the session.

'A disaster’

"The action by the House is a disaster," said Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan. "Right now, the budget at TxDOT is wrecked and people are going to start losing their jobs" if Perry declines to call a special session.

Senators were told that the agency can continue to operate until September 2010, giving Perry adequate time to call lawmakers back to Austin if he agrees that it’s necessary.

Senators expressed outrage that the House abruptly adjourned without passing a resolution that would have permitted the use of the bonds.

"They went sine die [adjourned] after destroying four and a half months of work that passed through this body," said Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay.

In other action, the Senate sent to the governor a $1.9 billion school funding bill that includes a one-time $800 pay raise for teachers.

It was the first expansion of public school financing since 1948 that wasn’t mandated by a court order, said Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, the Senate Education Committee chairwoman. She described the measure

"as one of the finest pieces of legislation this Legislature has done in a very long time."

The House and Senate adjourned Monday evening after days of turbulence that included a bill-killing parliamentary slowdown in the House and a threatened filibuster in the Senate.

"Some days I thought would never end, and some weeks flew by," Speaker Joe Straus said before adjourning the House on a motion from Rep. Charlie Geren, R- Fort Worth.

After a weekend when many bills seemed to zoom through both chambers, things often slowed to a crawl Monday. During long delays between votes, members on the House floor signed "thank you" cards or used their laptops to check news sites or watch funny videos.

Senators did their part to avoid a special session by sending Perry legislation to fund windstorm insurance coverage for Gulf Coast counties. Perry had threatened to call a special session if lawmakers failed to bolster the insurance fund. The bill passed the House earlier.

A 'miracle’ comeback

Some of the most emotional moments on the session’s last day centered on the return of Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, just weeks after he suffered a heart attack and collapsed in a Capitol elevator. Lawmakers had feared the worst when Geren, Kuempel’s close friend, told House members early on that their colleague was in a medical coma.

The chamber erupted in applause and cheers as Geren wheeled Kuempel onto the House floor.

"It’s good to be here," Kuempel said with a broad smile, right before receiving a kiss on the cheek from Rep. Vicki Truitt, R-Keller.

Many expressed amazement that Kuempel made it back in time for the end of the session. "It’s a miracle," said Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, shaking his head in disbelief.

Voter ID battle

Compared to bitterly confrontational sessions of previous years, the 81st Legislature was relatively tame as Straus, a moderate Republican from San Antonio, sought to steer the almost evenly divided House on a bipartisan course after replacing former Speaker Tom Craddick, who was ousted.

But the tranquility dissolved in the closing days as Democrats staged a five-day parliamentary slowdown that successfully killed a voter-identification bill. Hundreds of other bills caught in the crossfire also died.

The voter ID issue, which will likely return in the 2011 session, was easily the most volatile partisan issue in both chambers.

Lingering bitterness from the fight over the voter ID bill was still evident Monday.

"I hope that the people of Texas will be able to look back at this session as the moment when members put their foot down and stopped the House leadership from pushing partisan priorities over the needs of Texas families," said Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth.

House Elections Committee Chairman Todd Smith, R-Euless, said,

"I think it went marvelously well in that the House functioned as a remarkably civil body until the last few days," referring to the impasse over voter ID legislation

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DAVE MONTGOMERY, 512-476-4294 AMAN BATHEJA, 817-390-7695