Bill Text: TX HB2888 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the application of the Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety Act to Class B underground facilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-14 - Referred to Energy Resources [HB2888 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB2888-Introduced.html
88R7448 CXP-F | ||
By: Capriglione | H.B. No. 2888 |
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relating to the application of the Underground Facility Damage | ||
Prevention and Safety Act to Class B underground facilities. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 251.005, Utilities Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 251.005. CONVERSION OF FACILITY OR OPERATOR. [ |
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operator of an underground facility that is exempted under this | ||
subchapter may voluntarily convert that facility to a Class A or | ||
Class B underground facility, depending on how the facility is | ||
used, by sending written communication from a competent authority | ||
of the operator to the corporation advising of the status change. | ||
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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 or Class B underground facility operator who conveys, | ||
transmits, or distributes by means of its underground facilities | ||
service directly to more than one million residential customers in | ||
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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); and | ||
(B) operators who elect to convert facilities to | ||
Class A or Class B facilities under Section 251.005 [ |
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(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 [ |
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B 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 a Class A or Class | ||
B 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 or Class B 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 or Class B 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 or Class B 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. This Act takes effect January 1, 2025. |