| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the regulation by the Texas Department of |
|
|
Transportation of right-of-way landscaping installed by utilities. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 202, Transportation Code, |
|
|
is amended by adding Section 202.062 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 202.062. LANDSCAPING IN RIGHT-OF-WAY BY UTILITIES. |
|
|
(a) In this section, "utility" means a person who owns or operates |
|
|
a utility facility in the right-of-way of a state highway, |
|
|
including a line, pipeline, conduit, or cable used to provide |
|
|
water, saltwater, steam, electricity, gas, oil, communications, or |
|
|
waste services. |
|
|
(b) The department by rule shall require a utility that |
|
|
disturbs the right-of-way of a state highway while constructing or |
|
|
maintaining a utility facility in the right-of-way to install, at |
|
|
the utility's expense, in the right-of-way after the construction |
|
|
or maintenance is complete plants that: |
|
|
(1) are native, regionally appropriate, and |
|
|
pollinator-friendly; and |
|
|
(2) generally grow roots less than four feet below the |
|
|
surface. |
|
|
(c) The department may consult with the Department of |
|
|
Agriculture as needed for the purposes of this section. |
|
|
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |