89R2714 JDK-F
	By: Gerdes	H.B. No. 1335

	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.