89R2714 JDK-F
By: Kolkhorst S.B. No. 501
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to underground facility safety.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 251.002(13), Utilities Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(13) "Underground facility" means a line, cable,
pipeline system, conduit, or structure that is located partially or
totally underground and that is used to produce, store, convey,
transmit, or distribute:
(A) any form of telecommunications service,
including voice, data, video, or optical transmissions or cable
television service;
(B) electrical energy;
(C) natural or synthetic [, electricity,] gas;
(D) petroleum or petroleum products;
(E)[,] water;
(F) slurry;
(G)[,] sewage;
(H)[,] steam; [,] or
(I) any other material or liquids such as
[petroleum, petroleum products, or] hazardous liquids.
SECTION 2. Section 251.009, Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 251.009. PROVISION OF GENERAL INFORMATION. At least
once each calendar year, at intervals not exceeding 15 months, each
[Class A underground facility] operator who conveys, transmits, or
distributes by means of its underground facilities service
[directly to more than one million residential customers] within
this state shall provide all of its residential customers in this
state general information about excavation activities covered by
this chapter and the statewide toll-free telephone number
established by the corporation.
SECTION 3. Section 251.060, Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 251.060. DUTIES OF CORPORATION. The corporation
shall develop and implement processes to:
(1) maintain a registration of [:
[(A)] notification centers as provided by Section
251.101(a)(3);
[(B) operators who elect to convert facilities to
Class A facilities under Section 251.005(a); or
[(C) operators who elect to become Class A
underground facility operators under Section 251.005(b);]
(2) establish minimum technical standards used by
notification centers;
(3) establish a statewide toll-free telephone number
to be used by excavators that incorporates the use of a call router
system that routes calls to the notification centers on a pro rata
basis;
(4) oversee the bid process and select the vendor for
the statewide toll-free telephone number;
(5) oversee the bid process and select the vendor for
the call router system;
(6) determine before May 1 of each year the
cost-sharing between the notification centers of:
(A) the toll-free telephone number; and
(B) the call router system prescribed by Section
251.102(4);
(7) develop public service announcements to educate
the public about statewide one-call notification and its
availability;
(8) establish a format for information transfer among
notification centers other than high speed data transmission, if
appropriate;
(9) on a complaint concerning charges, investigate and
determine appropriate charges;
(10) recommend a civil penalty against a notification
center that does not meet the requirements of this chapter of not
less than $1,000 or more than $5,000 for each violation;
(11) refer the recommended penalty to the attorney
general, who shall institute a suit in a court of competent
jurisdiction to recover the penalty;
(12) assist in dispute resolution among notification
centers or between a notification center and an operator;
(13) assist any operator who encounters difficulty in
joining a notification center; and
(14) review and study design standards for the
placement of underground facilities throughout this state.
SECTION 4. Section 251.062(b), Utilities Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) Before January 15 of each year, each [a Class A
facility] operator shall pay to the corporation a fee of $50 for
services to be performed by the corporation during that calendar
year. A fee for a part of a year may not be prorated.
SECTION 5. Section 251.105(b), Utilities Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The notification center shall charge an [a Class A
underground facility] operator not more than $1.25 for a call made
to the system that affects the operator. The board may increase or
decrease the maximum charge only on an affirmative vote of at least
two-thirds of the total number of votes entitled to be cast. A
notification center may petition the corporation for an increase in
the maximum charge and is entitled to the increase on proof that
costs exceed the maximum charge.
SECTION 6. Sections 251.107(a) and (b), Utilities Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) Each operator [of a Class A underground facility],
including a political subdivision of this state, shall participate
in a notification center as a condition of doing business in this
state.
(b) Each operator [of a Class A underground facility] shall
provide to the notification center:
(1) maps or grid locations or other identifiers
determined by the operator indicating the location of the
operator's underground facilities;
(2) the name and telephone number of a contact person
or persons; and
(3) at least quarterly but, if possible, as those
changes occur, information relating to each change in the
operator's maps or grid locations or other identifiers or in the
person or persons designated as the operator's contact person or
persons.
SECTION 7. Section 251.157(a), Utilities Code, is 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) the 48th hour after the time the excavator gives to
the notification system notice of intent to excavate, excluding
Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays;
(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.
SECTION 8. Section 251.159(a), Utilities Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) If an excavation operation results in damage to an
underground facility, the excavator shall immediately contact the
[underground facility] operator of the facility to report the
damage.
SECTION 9. Section 251.203(a), Utilities Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if:
(1) the person without authorization from the owner or
operator of the facility intentionally removes, damages, or
conceals a marker or sign giving information about the location of
an [a Class A] underground facility; and
(2) the marker or sign gives notice of the penalty for
intentional removal, damage, or concealment of the marker or sign.
SECTION 10. The following provisions of the Utilities Code
are repealed:
(1) Sections 251.002(1) and (2); and
(2) Section 251.005.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.