By: Beckley H.B. No. 520
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation by the Texas Department of
Transportation of right-of-way landscaping installed by utilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 202, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 202.062 to read as follows:
Sec. 202.062. LANDSCAPING IN RIGHT-OF-WAY BY UTILITIES.
(a) In this section, "utility" means a person who owns or operates
a utility facility in the right-of-way of a state highway,
including a line, pipeline, conduit, or cable used to provide
water, saltwater, steam, electricity, gas, oil, communications, or
waste services.
(b) The department by rule shall require a utility that
disturbs the right-of-way of a state highway while constructing or
maintaining a utility facility in the right-of-way to install, at
the utility's expense, in the right-of-way after the construction
or maintenance is complete plants that:
(1) are native, regionally appropriate, and
pollinator-friendly; and
(2) generally grow roots less than four feet below the
surface.
(c) The department may consult with the Department of
Agriculture as needed for the purposes of this section.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.