Bill Text: TX HB2979 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to a prohibition on the exercise of eminent domain and the disposition of certain property acquired for certain rail projects.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-18 - Filed [HB2979 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-HB2979-Introduced.html

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89R11636 JAM-D
By: Harris H.B. No. 2979

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a prohibition on the exercise of eminent domain and the
disposition of certain property acquired for certain rail projects.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 112.002, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(b) A railroad company may:
(1) sue, be sued, plead, and be impleaded in its
corporate name;
(2) have and use a seal and alter the seal at will;
(3) receive and convey persons and property on its
railway by any mechanical power, including the use of steam;
(4) regulate the time and manner in which, and the
compensation for which, passengers and property are transported,
subject to the provisions of law;
(5) except as provided by Subsection (c), exercise the
power of eminent domain for the purposes prescribed by this
subtitle or Subtitle D;
(6) purchase, hold, and use all property as necessary
for the construction and use of its railway, stations, and other
accommodations necessary to accomplish company objectives, and
convey that property when no longer required for railway use; and
(7) take, hold, and use property granted to the
company to aid in the construction and use of its railway, and
convey that property in a manner consistent with the terms of the
grant when the property is no longer required for railway use.
(c) A private entity may not exercise the power of eminent
domain for the purpose of developing or operating a high-speed rail
project, as defined by Section 112.201.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 112, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 112.063 to read as follows:
Sec. 112.063. DISPOSITION OF REAL PROPERTY ACQUIRED FOR
HIGH-SPEED RAIL PROJECT. (a) In this section, "high-speed rail"
has the meaning assigned by Section 112.201.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a private entity
that acquires real property for a high-speed rail project may not
use that property for any purpose other than a high-speed rail
project.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a person from whom
real property is acquired by a private entity as described by
Subsection (b), and the person's heirs, successors, and assigns,
are entitled to notice and opportunity to repurchase the property
before all other purchasers for the price paid to the owner by the
entity at the time the entity acquired the property if:
(1) the high-speed rail project for which the property
was acquired is canceled before the property is used for that
project;
(2) the property is not used for the high-speed rail
project for which the property was acquired before the 10th
anniversary of the date of acquisition; or
(3) the property becomes unnecessary for the
high-speed rail project for which the property was acquired before
the 10th anniversary of the date of acquisition.
(d) Subsections (b) and (c) do not apply to real property
acquired by a private entity as described by Subsection (b) if,
before the acquisition of the property:
(1) the entity acquiring the property gives written
notice to the person from whom the property is to be acquired that
the property may be used for a purpose other than a high-speed rail
project; and
(2) the person from whom the property is to be acquired
signs a statement acknowledging that written notice was given under
Subdivision (1).
(e) Notice and repurchase as required by Subsection (c)
shall follow the timelines and processes for notice and repurchase
in Chapter 21, Property Code.
SECTION 3. Section 131.012, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 131.012. EMINENT DOMAIN. (a) Except as provided by
Subsection (b), a [A] corporation chartered for the purpose of
constructing, acquiring, maintaining, or operating lines of
electric railway between municipalities in this state for the
transportation of freight, passengers, or both freight and
passengers may:
(1) exercise the power of eminent domain with all the
rights and powers granted by law to a railroad company; and
(2) enter, condemn, and appropriate land,
right-of-way, easements, or other property of any person or
corporation to acquire:
(A) right-of-way on which to construct and
operate lines of railway for the acquiring corporation; or
(B) sites for depots or power plants.
(b) An interurban electric railway company may not exercise
the power of eminent domain for the purposes described by
Subsection (a).
SECTION 4. Section 112.063, Transportation Code, as added
by this Act, applies to real property acquired on or after September
1, 2025.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.