By Thompson, Craddick                                 H.B. No. 1515

         Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1515:

         By Craddick                                       C.S.H.B. No. 1515

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the collection of fees for the use of municipal land as

 1-3     a utility right-of-way.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 182.025, Tax Code, is amended by adding

 1-6     Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:

 1-7           (d)  A city or town may not collect a fee described by

 1-8     Subsection (a) after the second anniversary of the date the fee

 1-9     becomes due, except through judicial proceedings filed in

1-10     accordance with Subsection (e).

1-11           (e)  If the city or town seeks judicial relief to collect a

1-12     fee, the action must be filed not later than the second anniversary

1-13     of the date the fee becomes due.

1-14           SECTION 2.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 311, Transportation Code,

1-15     is amended by adding Section 311.905 to read as follows:

1-16           Sec. 311.905.  STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON THE COLLECTION OF

1-17     CERTAIN FEES FOR THE USE OF MUNICIPAL STREETS.  (a)  A municipality

1-18     may not collect a fee relating to a contract, agreement, or

1-19     franchise between the municipality and a public utility for the use

1-20     of a municipal street, alley, or public way by the public utility

1-21     in the course of its business after the fourth anniversary of the

1-22     date the fee becomes due except through judicial proceedings filed

1-23     in accordance with Subsection (c).

1-24           (b)  A municipality may not collect from the owner of an

 2-1     interurban pipeline a fee for the use of a municipal street, alley,

 2-2     or public way to place, construct, maintain, repair, replace,

 2-3     operate, use, or remove the pipeline after the fourth anniversary

 2-4     of the date the fee becomes due except through judicial proceedings

 2-5     filed in accordance with Subsection (c).  This subsection does not

 2-6     apply to the owner of an interurban pipeline that makes sales of

 2-7     natural gas from the pipeline within the municipality.

 2-8           (c)  If a municipality seeks judicial relief to collect a fee

 2-9     described by Subsection (a) or (b), the action must be filed not

2-10     later than the fourth anniversary of the date the fee becomes due.

2-11           (d)  In this section, "interurban pipeline" means a line of

2-12     pipe that conveys petroleum products, chemical products, crude oil,

2-13     hazardous liquids, or natural gas on, along, under, over, or across

2-14     a public right-of-way that passes through a municipality.

2-15           SECTION 3.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-16           (b)  The change in law made in this Act, relating to when a

2-17     cause of action must be filed in a court, applies only to a cause

2-18     of action that is filed on or after the effective date of this Act.

2-19           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-20     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-21     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-22     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-23     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.