By Swinford H.B. No. 3116
76R8272 DRH-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to rail transportation districts.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 1, Chapter 623, Acts of the 67th
1-5 Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article 6550c, Vernon's Texas
1-6 Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 1. The legislature finds that:
1-8 (1) railroads are a safe, cost effective, energy
1-9 efficient, and environmentally friendly mode of transportation [the
1-10 state contains many rural areas that are heavily dependent on
1-11 agriculture for economic survival];
1-12 (2) efficient rail transportation is essential to
1-13 Texas agriculture and Texas industry [transportation of
1-14 agricultural and industrial products is essential to the continued
1-15 economic vitality of rural areas];
1-16 (3) preservation of essential rail service is a
1-17 necessity for the continued prosperity of small towns and rural
1-18 areas in this state [the rail transportation systems in some rural
1-19 areas are threatened by railroad bankruptcies and abandonment
1-20 proceedings that would cause the cessation of rail services to the
1-21 areas];
1-22 (4) maximum competition between railroads will ensure
1-23 reasonable rates and a high level of service for agriculture,
1-24 mining, manufacturing, and other sectors of the Texas economy that
2-1 are dependent on rail transportation [it is in the interest of all
2-2 citizens of the state that existing rail systems be maintained for
2-3 the most efficient and economical movement of essential
2-4 agricultural products from the areas of production to the local,
2-5 national, and export markets];
2-6 (5) diversion of truck traffic from the highways to
2-7 the railroads of this state will improve highway safety, while
2-8 reducing highway congestion and the need for highway improvements;
2-9 (6) [rural] rail transportation districts are
2-10 appropriate political subdivisions to provide for the continued
2-11 operation of railroads, which are declared by Article X, Section
2-12 2, of the Texas Constitution to be public highways;
2-13 (7) [(6)] the creation, re-creation, financing,
2-14 maintenance, and operation of [rural] rail transportation districts
2-15 and facilities acquired by the districts under this Act will help
2-16 develop, maintain, and diversify the economy of the state,
2-17 eliminate unemployment or underemployment, foster the growth of
2-18 enterprises based on agriculture, and serve to develop and expand
2-19 transportation and commerce within the state under the authority
2-20 granted by Article III, Section 52-a, of the Texas Constitution;
2-21 and
2-22 (8) [(7)] financing by [rural] rail transportation
2-23 districts for the purposes provided by this Act is a lawful and
2-24 valid public purpose.
2-25 SECTION 2. Section 2, Chapter 623, Acts of the 67th
2-26 Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article 6550c, Vernon's Texas
2-27 Civil Statutes), is amended by amending Subdivisions (1), (4), and
3-1 (11) and adding Subdivisions (18), (19), (20), and (21) to read as
3-2 follows:
3-3 (1) "Board" means the board of directors of a [rural]
3-4 rail transportation district.
3-5 (4) "District" means a [rural] rail transportation
3-6 district created under this Act.
3-7 (11) "Rail facilities" means any real, personal, or
3-8 mixed property, or any interest in that property that is determined
3-9 by the board to be necessary or convenient for the economic
3-10 viability and successful operation [provision] of a [rural] rail
3-11 transportation system and all property or interests necessary or
3-12 convenient for the acquiring, providing, constructing, enlarging,
3-13 remodeling, renovating, improving, furnishing, using, or equipping
3-14 of, or generating traffic for, the system, including rights-of-way,
3-15 earthworks and structures, trackwork, train controls, stations,
3-16 rolling stock, [and] maintenance facilities, rail-served industrial
3-17 parks, transload facilities and reload centers, intermodal
3-18 terminals, and intermodal equipment.
3-19 (18) "Intermodal equipment" means trucks, truck
3-20 tractors, trailers, semitrailers, containers and chassis, straddle
3-21 cranes, side loaders, and all other equipment needed for the
3-22 performance of rail or truck services.
3-23 (19) "Intermodal terminals" means rail-served
3-24 facilities where semitrailers and containers are transferred from
3-25 rail cars to trucks and other vehicles and from trucks and other
3-26 vehicles to rail cars.
3-27 (20) "Rail-served industrial park" means a real estate
4-1 development served by a railroad, including land, structures,
4-2 trackage, streets, and public utilities, that provides facility
4-3 sites or complete facilities for sale or lease to parties that use
4-4 rail transportation for the movement of the preponderance of their
4-5 inbound materials or outbound products.
4-6 (21) "Transload facilities and reload centers" means
4-7 rail-served facilities where goods and materials are transferred
4-8 from rail cars to trucks and other vehicles or from trucks and
4-9 other vehicles to rail cars, with storage possible before
4-10 reloading.
4-11 SECTION 3. Section 3(a), Chapter 623, Acts of the 67th
4-12 Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article 6550c, Vernon's Texas
4-13 Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
4-14 (a) The commissioners courts of two or more eligible
4-15 counties that, taken together, constitute a contiguous geographic
4-16 area may by order create or re-create a [rural] rail transportation
4-17 district consisting of the territory of the counties whose
4-18 commissioners courts adopt the order.
4-19 SECTION 4. Section 3A(a), Chapter 623, Acts of the 67th
4-20 Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article 6550c, Vernon's Texas
4-21 Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
4-22 (a) In addition to eligible counties, the commissioners
4-23 court of a county that meets the requirements of Section 3(b) of
4-24 this Act by order may create a [rural] rail transportation district
4-25 for purposes of developing, financing, maintaining, and operating a
4-26 new rail system under this Act and for other purposes of this Act.
4-27 SECTION 5. Section 5, Chapter 623, Acts of the 67th
5-1 Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article 6550c, Vernon's Texas
5-2 Civil Statutes), is amended by amending Subsections (a), (l), and
5-3 (n) and adding Subsection (r) to read as follows:
5-4 (a) A [rural] rail transportation district is a public body
5-5 and a political subdivision of the state exercising public and
5-6 essential governmental functions and having all the powers
5-7 necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of this Act,
5-8 including the powers granted in this section. A district, in the
5-9 exercise of powers under this Act, is performing only governmental
5-10 functions and is a "governmental unit" within the meaning of
5-11 Chapter 101, Civil Practice and Remedies Code. A district is a
5-12 "local government" under Chapter 1084, Acts of the 70th
5-13 Legislature, Regular Session, 1987 (Article 715c, Vernon's Texas
5-14 Civil Statutes); an "issuer" under Chapter 503, Acts of the 54th
5-15 Legislature, 1955 (Article 717k, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes),
5-16 Chapter 784, Acts of the 61st Legislature, Regular Session, 1969
5-17 (Article 717k-3, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), the Bond
5-18 Procedures Act of 1981 (Article 717k-6, Vernon's Texas Civil
5-19 Statutes), Chapter 53, Acts of the 70th Legislature, 2nd Called
5-20 Session, 1987 (Article 717k-8, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), and
5-21 Chapter 656, Acts of the 68th Legislature, Regular Session, 1983
5-22 (Article 717q, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes); and a "public
5-23 agency" under Chapter 3, Acts of the 61st Legislature, Regular
5-24 Session, 1969 (Article 717k-2, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), and
5-25 Chapter 400, Acts of the 66th Legislature, 1979 (Article 717m-1,
5-26 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes). The acquisition, improvement, or
5-27 repair of rail facilities by a district is an "eligible project"
6-1 under Chapter 656, Acts of the 68th Legislature, Regular Session,
6-2 1983 (Article 717q, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
6-3 (l) A district may sell, lease, convey, or otherwise dispose
6-4 of any of its rights, interests, or properties not needed for or,
6-5 in the case of leases, not inconsistent with the continued
6-6 [efficient] operation and maintenance of its principal rail lines
6-7 [the system]. It may, on adoption of an order by the board, sell,
6-8 lease, or otherwise dispose of, at any time, any surplus materials
6-9 or personal or real property not needed for continued provision of
6-10 rail service on its principal lines [its requirements] or for the
6-11 purpose of carrying out its power under this Act. A district may
6-12 sell its principal rail lines and associated rail properties to a
6-13 railroad company if the railroad company gives the district the
6-14 right of first refusal to reacquire those lines and properties for
6-15 net liquidation value if the railroad company or its successor
6-16 subsequently files an abandonment application for those lines with
6-17 the Surface Transportation Board. A railroad company that intends
6-18 to file for abandonment of a rail line acquired under this section
6-19 must notify the district and the Railroad Commission of Texas at
6-20 least 90 days before filing notice of abandonment.
6-21 (n) A district may lease the rail facilities or any part to,
6-22 or contract for the use or operation of the rail facilities or any
6-23 part by, any operator. A district shall encourage to the maximum
6-24 extent practicable the participation of private enterprise in the
6-25 operation of rail facilities. The term of a lease or [an] operating
6-26 contract under this subsection may not exceed 20 years, unless the
6-27 lease or operating contract requires the lessee or operator to make
7-1 a capital investment in rights-of-way, earthworks and structures,
7-2 trackwork, train controls, stations, and other permanent components
7-3 of the rail facility. Any lease or operating contract must
7-4 obligate the lessee or operator to interchange traffic with other
7-5 railroads at junctions specified by the shipper, but only with a
7-6 division of the revenue that adequately compensates the lessee or
7-7 operator for all costs incurred and provides a reasonable profit.
7-8 (r) A district may construct, own, operate, or lease a
7-9 rail-served industrial park, if the rail traffic to and from the
7-10 industrial park will help ensure the economic viability of a rail
7-11 line owned by the district. A district may lease sites or
7-12 facilities within a rail-served industrial park only to a party
7-13 that uses rail transportation for the movement of a preponderance
7-14 of its inbound materials or outbound products. The district may
7-15 exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire land for the
7-16 development of a rail-served industrial park only if the land that
7-17 is sought is not being developed for another industrial purpose.
7-18 SECTION 6. Section 6A(a), Chapter 623, Acts of the 67th
7-19 Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article 6550c, Vernon's Texas
7-20 Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
7-21 (a) A district may use the procedures provided by Chapter
7-22 271, Local Government Code, to finance rail facilities of the
7-23 district, except to the extent of conflict with this Act and except
7-24 that the district may not levy or collect ad valorem taxes unless
7-25 approved at an election by a majority of the voters in each county
7-26 comprising the district.
7-27 SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
8-1 SECTION 8. The importance of this legislation and the
8-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
8-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.