89R12289 CS-F
By: Hancock S.B. No. 2042
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the time frame required for excavation notification.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 251.002, Utilities Code, is amended by
amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as
follows:
(1) "Business day" means a day other than:
(A) a Saturday or Sunday; or
(B) a legal holiday.
(1-a) "Class A underground facility" means an
underground facility that is used to produce, store, convey,
transmit, or distribute:
(A) electrical energy;
(B) natural or synthetic gas;
(C) petroleum or petroleum products;
(D) steam;
(E) any form of telecommunications service,
including voice, data, video, or optical transmission, or cable
television service; or
(F) any other liquid, material, or product not
defined as a Class B underground facility.
SECTION 2. Section 251.151(a), Utilities Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Sections 251.155 and 251.156, a
person who intends to excavate shall notify a notification center
not earlier than the 14th business day or later than the 3rd
business day before the date the excavation is to begin [or later
than the 48th hour before the time the excavation is to begin,
excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays].
SECTION 3. Sections 251.157(a) and (d), Utilities Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) Each Class A underground facility operator contacted by
the notification system shall mark the approximate location of its
underground facilities at or near the site of the proposed
excavation if the operator believes that marking the location is
necessary. The operator shall mark the location not later than:
(1) 11:59 p.m. on the second business day [48th hour]
after the date [time] the excavator gives to the notification
system notice of intent to excavate[, excluding Saturdays, Sundays,
and legal holidays]; or
(2) [11:59 a.m. on the Tuesday following a Saturday
notification unless the intervening Monday is a holiday;
[(3) 11:59 a.m. on the Wednesday following a Saturday
notification if the intervening Monday is a holiday; or
[(4)] a time agreed to by the operator and the
excavator.
(d) Not later than 11:59 p.m. on the second business day
[48th hour] after the date [time] the excavator gives to the
notification center notice of intent to excavate, an operator
contacted by the notification center shall notify the excavator of
the operator's plans to not mark the proximate location of an
underground facility at or near the site of the proposed
excavation. The operator must provide the notification by e-mail
or facsimile or by another verifiable electronic method approved by
the board.
SECTION 4. The following provisions of the Utilities Code
are repealed:
(1) Section 251.002(14); and
(2) Section 251.151(b).
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.