78(R) HB 2084 - Introduced version


                                                                                

78R7330 PAM-D

By:  Campbell                                                     H.B. No. 2084



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to notice of proposed construction sent to the county 
commissioners court and others regarding, and the marking, 
location, and removal of, certain wireless communication 
facilities.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  This Act may be cited as the LeClair-Jennings 
Act.               
	SECTION 2.  Chapter 35, Business & Commerce Code, is amended 
by adding Subchapter J to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER J. WIRELESS COMMUNICATION FACILITY
	Sec. 35.111.  DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "wireless 
communication facility" means an equipment enclosure, antenna, 
antenna support structure, and any associated facility used for the 
reception or transmittal of a radio frequency, microwave, or other 
signal for a commercial communications purpose.
	Sec. 35.112.  FILING REQUIREMENTS REGARDING CONSTRUCTION. 
(a)  A person wishing to construct a wireless communication 
facility that is taller than 100 feet shall, before the 30th day 
before the date construction begins, file with the county clerk or 
the county official designated by the commissioners court of the 
county in which the person wishes to construct a wireless 
communication facility:
		(1)  a statement that construction is proposed and that 
provides the date on or after which the construction will begin;
		(2)  the correct phone number and address of the person 
proposing the construction;
		(3)  the legal description of the proposed site of 
construction, including a graphic depiction showing the location, 
height, longitude, latitude, pad size, location of any guy wires, 
roadway access, and proposed use of the wireless communication 
facility; and
		(4)  a phone number that is operational 24 hours a day, 
seven days a week, for emergency purposes.
	(b)  A person wishing to construct a wireless communication 
facility shall assign each proposed wireless communication 
facility a unique identification and shall provide the county clerk 
or official with that unique identification.
	Sec. 35.113.  NOTICE OF CONSTRUCTION. (a)  A person 
proposing to construct a wireless communication facility that is 
taller than 100 feet shall, before the 30th day before the date the 
construction begins, mail a letter to:
		(1)  each of the following:                                            
			(A)  a public airport located within three miles 
of the proposed facility location; and
			(B)  the Texas Department of Agriculture, which 
shall notify the boll weevil eradication foundation; and
		(2)  one of the following:                                             
			(A)  each owner of land within two miles of the 
proposed facility location if the proposed location is not within a 
metropolitan statistical area; or
			(B)  a newspaper of general circulation in the 
county of construction.
	(b)  The letter must state:                                             
		(1)  the legal description of the proposed site of 
construction, including a graphic depiction showing the location, 
height, longitude, latitude, pad size, location of any guy wires, 
roadway access, and proposed use of the wireless communication 
facility;
		(2)  at a minimum, the name, phone number, and mailing 
address of the person proposing construction of the wireless 
communication facility;
		(3)  the unique identification of the wireless 
communication facility; and
		(4)  a phone number that is operational 24 hours a day, 
seven days a week, for emergency purposes.
	Sec. 35.114.  TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP. If a transfer of 
ownership of a wireless communication facility occurs that results 
in a change in the information required under Section 35.113(b)(2), 
(3), or (4), the lessee of the real property used for the wireless 
communication facility shall give written notice to the county 
clerk or official of the county of construction and the lessor of 
the real property.
	Sec. 35.115.  REMOVAL. A contract entered into by a property 
owner that conveys to a person a property interest for the purpose 
of allowing the person to construct a wireless communication 
facility must contain a provision relating to the removal of the 
facility and any appurtenances to the facility that prescribes the 
circumstances under which removal shall be accomplished.
	Sec. 35.116.  EXCEPTIONS. This subchapter does not apply to 
any structure whose main purpose is to provide electric service, a 
wireless communication facility used by an entity only for internal 
communications, a wireless communication facility constructed by a 
municipality, a wireless communication facility used for emergency 
communications, a radio or television reception antenna, a 
satellite or microwave parabolic antenna not used by a wireless 
communication service provider, a receive-only antenna, an antenna 
owned and operated by a federally licensed amateur radio station 
operator, a cable television company facility if the company holds 
a valid and current franchise,  a radio or television broadcasting 
facility, a colocation antenna, or a wireless communication 
facility installed for colocation purposes.
	Sec. 35.117.  EFFECT ON CERTAIN ORDINANCES. This subchapter 
does not preempt a local ordinance regulating a wireless 
communication facility.
	SECTION 3.  Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Transportation Code, 
is amended by adding Section 21.070 to read as follows:
	Sec. 21.070.  MARKING OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATION FACILITY. 
(a)  In this section:
		(1)  "Cultivated field" means any open space or pasture 
larger than five acres in which a plant or tree nursery is located 
or an agricultural crop, including cotton, corn, grain, grapes, 
beets, peanuts, and rice, but not including grass grown for hay, is 
grown on a continuing basis.
		(2)  "Wireless communication facility" has the meaning 
assigned by Section 35.111, Business & Commerce Code.
	(b)  Absence of plants, seedlings, or a crop on a temporary 
basis due to crop rotation or other farm management techniques does 
not remove an open area from the definition of "cultivated field."
	(c)  This section applies only to an antenna structure that 
is used to provide commercial wireless communications services and 
that is located in a cultivated field or within 100 feet of a 
cultivated field.
	(d)  A person who proposes to construct a wireless 
communication facility that is at least 100 feet but not more than 
200 feet in height above ground level shall mark the highest guy 
wires on the facility, if any.  The markings required under this 
section must be of a kind generally used for marking antennae 
structures.
	SECTION 4.  (a)  The changes in law made by this Act apply 
only to a wireless communication facility constructed on or after 
the effective date of this Act.
	(b)  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote 
of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided 
by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this Act does 
not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes 
effect September 1, 2003.