Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB3547 Compare Versions

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1	1	83R21741 JXC-D
2	2	By: Oliveira, et al. H.B. No. 3547
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3547:
4	4	By: Bohac C.S.H.B. No. 3547
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to standards and procedures for determining whether a
10	10	person who owns, operates, or manages a pipeline is a common
11	11	carrier; authorizing a fee.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 111.002, Natural Resources Code, is
14	14	amended to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 111.002. COMMON CARRIERS UNDER CHAPTER. (a) Except as
16	16	provided by Subsection (b), a [A] person is a common carrier subject
17	17	to the provisions of this chapter if it:
18	18	(1) owns, operates, or manages a pipeline or any part
19	19	of a pipeline in the State of Texas for the transportation of crude
20	20	petroleum to or for the public for hire, or engages in the business
21	21	of transporting crude petroleum by pipeline;
22	22	(2) owns, operates, or manages a pipeline or any part
23	23	of a pipeline in the State of Texas for the transportation of crude
24	24	petroleum to or for the public for hire and the pipeline is
25	25	constructed or maintained on, over, or under a public road or
26	26	highway, or is an entity in favor of whom the right of eminent
27	27	domain exists;
28	28	(3) owns, operates, or manages a pipeline or any part
29	29	of a pipeline in the State of Texas for the transportation of crude
30	30	petroleum to or for the public for hire which is or may be
31	31	constructed, operated, or maintained across, on, along, over, or
32	32	under the right-of-way of a railroad, corporation, or other common
33	33	carrier required by law to transport crude petroleum as a common
34	34	carrier;
35	35	(4) under lease, contract of purchase, agreement to
36	36	buy or sell, or other agreement or arrangement of any kind, owns,
37	37	operates, manages, or participates in ownership, operation, or
38	38	management of a pipeline or part of a pipeline in the State of Texas
39	39	for the transportation of crude petroleum, bought of others, from
40	40	an oil field or place of production within this state to any
41	41	distributing, refining, or marketing center or reshipping point
42	42	within this state;
43	43	(5) owns, operates, or manages, wholly or partially,
44	44	pipelines for the transportation for hire of coal in whatever form
45	45	or of any mixture of substances including coal in whatever form;
46	46	(6) owns, operates, or manages, wholly or partially,
47	47	pipelines for the transportation of carbon dioxide or hydrogen in
48	48	whatever form to or for the public for hire, but only if such person
49	49	files with the commission a written acceptance of the provisions of
50	50	this chapter expressly agreeing that, in consideration of the
51	51	rights acquired, it becomes a common carrier subject to the duties
52	52	and obligations conferred or imposed by this chapter; or
53	53	(7) owns, operates, or manages a pipeline or any part
54	54	of a pipeline in the State of Texas for the transportation of
55	55	feedstock for carbon gasification, the products of carbon
56	56	gasification, or the derivative products of carbon gasification, in
57	57	whatever form, to or for the public for hire, but only if the person
58	58	files with the commission a written acceptance of the provisions of
59	59	this chapter expressly agreeing that, in consideration of the
60	60	rights acquired, it becomes a common carrier subject to the duties
61	61	and obligations conferred or imposed by this chapter.
62	62	(b) A pipeline owner, operator, or manager is not a common
63	63	carrier subject to the provisions of this chapter unless at least 33
64	64	percent of the pipeline's capacity is used or is reasonably likely
65	65	to be used to transport one or more substances for one or more
66	66	persons who are not:
67	67	(1) corporate parents of the owner, operator, or
68	68	manager;
69	69	(2) subsidiaries of the owner, operator, or manager;
70	70	or
71	71	(3) under common control with the owner, operator, or
72	72	manager.
73	73	SECTION 2. Chapter 111, Natural Resources Code, is amended
74	74	by adding Subchapter B-1 to read as follows:
75	75	SUBCHAPTER B-1. COMMON CARRIER DETERMINATION HEARINGS
76	76	Sec. 111.041. COMMON CARRIER DETERMINATION. (a) A person
77	77	who owns, operates, or manages a pipeline may not exercise the power
78	78	of eminent domain granted by Section 111.019 to construct a
79	79	pipeline unless the State Office of Administrative Hearings
80	80	determines that the person is a common carrier as defined by Section
81	81	111.002 following one or more hearings conducted under this
82	82	subchapter.
83	83	(b) A person who owns, operates, or manages a pipeline may
84	84	submit a request to the commission for a determination of whether
85	85	the person is a common carrier.
86	86	(c) If a person who has been determined to be a common
87	87	carrier as defined by Section 111.002 with regard to a pipeline
88	88	transfers the permit to operate the pipeline to another person, the
89	89	person to whom the permit is transferred may not own, operate, or
90	90	manage the pipeline as a common carrier as defined by that section
91	91	unless the person is determined to be a common carrier as defined by
92	92	that section.
93	93	Sec. 111.042. DUTIES AND POWERS OF COMMISSION. (a) The
94	94	commission shall, not later than the fifth day after the date the
95	95	commission receives a request submitted under Section 111.041:
96	96	(1) review the request for administrative
97	97	completeness; and
98	98	(2) if the request is complete, forward the request to
99	99	the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
100	100	(b) The commission shall charge a person who submits a
101	101	complete request under Section 111.041 a fee for making a common
102	102	carrier determination.
103	103	(c) The commission by rule shall establish the amount of the
104	104	fee to be charged under this section. The commission may establish a
105	105	fee schedule listing different amounts the commission may charge
106	106	for making a common carrier determination according to the location
107	107	and length of the pipeline at issue.
108	108	(d) The fee must be in an amount that covers the costs
109	109	incurred by the commission and the State Office of Administrative
110	110	Hearings in determining whether the person is a common carrier. The
111	111	commission shall consult with the State Office of Administrative
112	112	Hearings to determine the costs that the commission and the office
113	113	will incur in making determinations under this subchapter.
114	114	(e) Money collected by the commission under this section
115	115	shall be deposited in the general revenue fund to the credit of the
116	116	commission.
117	117	(f) The commission by rule may require that a person who
118	118	submits a request demonstrate to the commission or the State Office
119	119	of Administrative Hearings that the person has substantially
120	120	complied with the notice requirements of Section 111.044.
121	121	Sec. 111.043. DUTIES OF STATE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE
122	122	HEARINGS. (a) Not later than the 10th day after the date the State
123	123	Office of Administrative Hearings receives a request from the
124	124	commission under Section 111.042, the office shall provide to the
125	125	person who submitted the request notice that the office has
126	126	received the request and shall include with the notice a proposed
127	127	location, date, and time for a hearing or hearings on the request.
128	128	The proposed hearing date or dates must be not earlier than the 15th
129	129	day and not later than the 50th day after the date the office sends
130	130	the notice.
131	131	(b) The State Office of Administrative Hearings shall
132	132	conduct a hearing on the request to determine whether the person who
133	133	submitted the request is a common carrier as defined by Section
134	134	111.002. A hearing conducted under this subsection is a contested
135	135	case hearing under Chapter 2001, Government Code.
136	136	(c) The State Office of Administrative Hearings may not
137	137	conduct a hearing on a request until the person who submitted the
138	138	request pays the fee required by Section 111.042.
139	139	(d) Before issuing a final decision on a request, the State
140	140	Office of Administrative Hearings shall hold at least one public
141	141	hearing on the request in a county in which the pipeline is or will
142	142	be located. The office shall determine whether a public hearing in
143	143	more than one county is necessary based on the location and length
144	144	of the proposed pipeline.
145	145	Sec. 111.044. NOTICE. (a) After the State Office of
146	146	Administrative Hearings provides notice under Section 111.043, the
147	147	person who submitted the request shall:
148	148	(1) publish notice of the request for two consecutive
149	149	weeks before the date of the first hearing in a newspaper of general
150	150	circulation in each county in which a portion of the pipeline may be
151	151	located; and
152	152	(2) in a manner that provides a reasonable amount of
153	153	time for receipt of the notice before the date of the first hearing,
154	154	mail or deliver notice of the request to:
155	155	(A) each owner of property over which an easement
156	156	or other property interest may be required for the pipeline; and
157	157	(B) each owner of a house or other habitable
158	158	structure located within 300 feet of the centerline of the route of
159	159	the pipeline.
160	160	(b) The notice of the request must include:
161	161	(1) a statement that the person has filed a request for
162	162	a determination that could provide eminent domain authority for a
163	163	pipeline and that the determination may affect property located on
164	164	or near the route of the pipeline;
165	165	(2) the proposed location, date, and time of each
166	166	hearing that the State Office of Administrative Hearings will hold
167	167	on the request;
168	168	(3) a statement that the purpose of each hearing is to
169	169	determine whether the person who submitted the request is a common
170	170	carrier, as defined by the laws of this state, and not to determine
171	171	the route of the pipeline; and
172	172	(4) a statement that a person may attend each hearing
173	173	and offer testimony on whether the person who submitted the request
174	174	is a common carrier as defined by the laws of this state.
175	175	Sec. 111.045. DECISION; JUDICIAL REVIEW. (a) Not later
176	176	than the 15th day after the date the hearing or hearings on a
177	177	request are concluded, the State Office of Administrative Hearings
178	178	shall issue a final decision as to whether the person who submitted
179	179	the request is a common carrier as defined by Section 111.002.
180	180	(b) A final decision of the State Office of Administrative
181	181	Hearings under this section is subject to judicial review under
182	182	Chapter 2001, Government Code. The appeal is limited to a
183	183	determination of whether there is a reasonable probability that the
184	184	person who submitted the request under Section 111.041 that is the
185	185	subject of the decision is a common carrier as defined by Section
186	186	111.002 and may not include a review of the requestor's compliance
187	187	with the procedural requirements of this subchapter.
188	188	Sec. 111.046. INTERAGENCY CONTRACT. The commission and the
189	189	State Office of Administrative Hearings shall enter into an
190	190	interagency contract to pay the costs incurred by the office in
191	191	implementing this subchapter.
192	192	SECTION 3. Not later than the 30th day after the effective
193	193	date of this Act, the Railroad Commission of Texas shall adopt rules
194	194	to implement the changes in law made by this Act to Chapter 111,
195	195	Natural Resources Code.
196	196	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
197	197	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
198	198	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
199	199	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
200	200	Act takes effect September 1, 2013.