| 1 | 1 | | By: Virdell H.B. No. 1378 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 7 | 7 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 8 | | relating to municipal and county regulation of certain electric |
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| 9 | 9 | | energy storage. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 247, Local Government Code, as added by |
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| 12 | 12 | | Chapter 19 (S.B. 1017), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular |
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| 13 | 13 | | Session, 2023, is amended by adding Section 247.004 to read as |
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| 14 | 14 | | follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | Sec. 247.004. REGULATION OF ELECTRIC ENERGY STORAGE. (a) |
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| 16 | 16 | | This section applies only to electric energy storage intended to be |
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| 17 | 17 | | used to sell at wholesale energy or ancillary services, as defined |
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| 18 | 18 | | by Section 35.004, Utilities Code. |
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| 19 | 19 | | (b) A municipality by ordinance and a county by order shall |
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| 20 | 20 | | prohibit the installation of electric energy storage within 500 |
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| 21 | 21 | | yards of real property owned by a person other than the owner or |
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| 22 | 22 | | operator of the proposed storage unless the owner or operator of the |
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| 23 | 23 | | proposed storage obtains written consent from each owner of the |
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| 24 | 24 | | real property. |
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| 25 | 25 | | (c) For the purposes of this section, the measurement of |
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| 26 | 26 | | distance between an electric energy storage structure and a |
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| 27 | 27 | | property line shall be taken from the point on the structure that is |
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| 28 | 28 | | nearest to the nearest point on the property line. |
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| 29 | 29 | | (d) A county may not regulate under Subsection (b) the |
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| 30 | 30 | | installation of electric energy storage within the corporate |
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| 31 | 31 | | boundaries of a municipality. |
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| 32 | 32 | | SECTION 2. Not later than October 1, 2025, a municipality by |
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| 33 | 33 | | ordinance and a county by order shall adopt a prohibition on the |
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| 34 | 34 | | installation of electric energy storage as required by Section |
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| 35 | 35 | | 247.004, Local Government Code, as added by this Act. The ordinance |
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| 36 | 36 | | or order may not require the removal of any electric energy storage |
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| 37 | 37 | | the installation of which began before the effective date of the |
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| 38 | 38 | | ordinance or order. |
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| 39 | 39 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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