By West                                                H.B. No. 844
    1-1                         A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-2                                AN ACT
    1-3  relating to the increase in civil penalties for violation of
    1-4  pipeline safety standards.
    1-5        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-6        SECTION 1.  Article 6053-1(C), Vernon's Civil Statues, is
    1-7  amended to read as follows:
    1-8        (C)  The Attorney General is authorized, on behalf of the
    1-9  Railroad Commission, to enforce said safety standards by injunction
   1-10  restraining violations thereof (including the restraint of
   1-11  transportation of gas or the operation of a pipeline facility).
   1-12  Any violation of such safety standards shall further be subject to
   1-13  a civil penalty, payable to the State of Texas, in an amount not to
   1-14  exceed $25,000 <$10,000> for each such violation for each day that
   1-15  such violation persists, except that the maximum civil penalty
   1-16  shall not exceed $500,000 for any related series of violations.
   1-17  Any such civil penalty may be compromised by the Attorney General
   1-18  in consideration of the appropriateness of the penalty to the size
   1-19  of the business of the person charged, the gravity of the
   1-20  violation, and the good faith of the person charged in attempting
   1-21  to achieve compliance after notification of violation.
   1-22        SECTION 2.  Section 117.051, Natural Resources Code, is
   1-23  amended to read as follows:
    2-1        Sec. 117.051.  Civil Penalty.  A person who violates this
    2-2  chapter or a rule adopted by the commission under this chapter is
    2-3  subject to a civil penalty of not less than $50 nor more than
    2-4  $25,000 <$10,000> for each act of violation and for each day of
    2-5  violation, provided that the maximum civil penalty that may be
    2-6  assessed for any related series of violations may not exceed
    2-7  $500,000.
    2-8        SECTION 3.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
    2-9  only to a violation committed on or after the effective date of
   2-10  this Act.  For purposes of this section, a violation is committed
   2-11  before the effective date of this act if any element of the
   2-12  violations occurs before the effective date.
   2-13        (b)  A violation committed before the effective date of this
   2-14  Act is covered by the law in effect when the violation was
   2-15  committed, and the former law is continued in effect for this
   2-16  purpose.
   2-17        SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
   2-18        SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-19  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-20  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-21  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-22  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.