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78R3957 CBH-F
By: Whitmire S.B. No. 951
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to use of regional notification centers to provide
underground facility notification before excavation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 251.009, Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 251.009. PROVISION OF GENERAL INFORMATION. At least
once each calendar year, at intervals not exceeding 15 months, each
Class A underground facility operator who conveys, transmits, or
distributes by means of its underground facilities service directly
to more than one million residential customers within this state
shall provide all of its residential customers in this state
general information about excavation activities covered by this
chapter and the appropriate [statewide] toll-free telephone number
established by the corporation.
SECTION 2. Section 251.060, Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 251.060. DUTIES OF CORPORATION. The corporation shall
develop and implement processes to:
(1) maintain a registration of:
(A) notification centers as provided by Section
251.101(a)(3);
(B) operators who elect to convert facilities to
Class A facilities under Section 251.005(a); or
(C) operators who elect to become Class A
underground facility operators under Section 251.005(b);
(2) establish minimum technical standards used by
notification centers;
(3) establish a statewide toll-free telephone number
to be used by excavators that incorporates the use of a call router
system that routes calls to the appropriate regional notification
center or establish a toll-free telephone number for each region
[centers on a pro rata basis];
(4) oversee the bid process and select the vendor for
the [statewide] toll-free telephone number or numbers;
(5) oversee the bid process and select the vendor for
the call router system, if necessary;
(6) determine before May 1 of each year, if necessary,
the cost-sharing between the notification centers of:
(A) the toll-free telephone number; and
(B) the call router system prescribed by Section
251.102(4);
(7) develop public service announcements to educate
the public about [statewide] one-call notification and its
availability;
(8) [establish a format for information transfer among
notification centers other than high speed data transmission, if
appropriate;
[(9)] on a complaint concerning charges, investigate
and determine appropriate charges;
(9) [(10)] recommend a civil penalty against a
notification center that does not meet the requirements of this
chapter of not less than $1,000 or more than $5,000 for each
violation;
(10) [(11)] refer the recommended penalty to the
attorney general, who shall institute a suit in a court of competent
jurisdiction to recover the penalty;
(11) [(12)] assist in dispute resolution among
notification centers or between a notification center and an
operator;
(12) [(13)] assist any operator who encounters
difficulty in joining the appropriate [a] notification center; and
(13) [(14)] review and study design standards for the
placement of underground facilities throughout this state.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 251.061, Utilities Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 251.061. CONTRACT FOR [STATEWIDE] TOLL-FREE NUMBER OR
NUMBERS AND CALL ROUTER SYSTEM.
SECTION 4. Section 251.061(a), Utilities Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The corporation shall solicit proposals for the
contract to establish and operate the [statewide] toll-free
telephone number or numbers and, if necessary, the call router
system by using a request for proposals process that includes
specifications that have been approved by the board of directors in
accordance with this chapter.
SECTION 5. Subchapter C, Chapter 251, Utilities Code, is
amended by amending Sections 251.101 and 251.102 and by adding
Section 251.1015 to read as follows:
Sec. 251.101. NOTIFICATION CENTER. (a) A notification
center is a legal entity that:
(1) operates a notification system capable of serving
all excavators and operators in the system's region [statewide];
(2) is created to:
(A) receive notification of an intent to excavate
and of damage to an underground facility and disseminate that
information to member operators that may be affected by the
excavation or damage [and to other notification centers operating
in this state]; and
(B) receive notification of an extraordinary
circumstance and disseminate that information to member operators
[and to other notification centers operating in this state]; and
(3) registers the following information with the
corporation:
(A) its name, address, and telephone number;
(B) the name of a contact person;
(C) a statement of compliance with Section
251.104; and
(D) a listing of the counties in the system's
region [which it operates].
(b) The three [A] notification centers [center] operating
on September 1, 1997, may continue to operate if the notification
centers comply [center complies] with this chapter. A notification
center may operate only in the region to which the center is
assigned by Section 251.1015. If a notification center fails to
comply with this chapter, the corporation shall assign another
notification center to that region.
Sec. 251.1015. NOTIFICATION CENTER REGIONS. (a) Texas
Excavation Safety System, Incorporated, is assigned to the northern
region. The northern region consists of the counties in the
following Texas Department of Transportation districts:
(1) Abilene;
(2) Amarillo;
(3) Atlanta;
(4) Brownwood;
(5) Childress;
(6) Dallas;
(7) Fort Worth;
(8) Paris;
(9) Tyler;
(10) Waco; and
(11) Wichita Falls.
(b) Texas One Call System is assigned to the western region.
The western region consists of the counties in the following Texas
Department of Transportation districts:
(1) El Paso;
(2) Laredo;
(3) Lubbock;
(4) Odessa;
(5) Pharr; and
(6) San Angelo.
(c) Lone Star Notification Center is assigned to the
southern region. The southern region consists of the counties in
the following Texas Department of Transportation districts:
(1) Austin;
(2) Beaumont;
(3) Bryan;
(4) Corpus Christi;
(5) Houston;
(6) Lufkin;
(7) San Antonio; and
(8) Yoakum.
Sec. 251.102. GENERAL DUTIES OF NOTIFICATION CENTER. A
notification center shall:
(1) operate 24 hours a day every day of the year;
(2) have the capability to receive emergency
information 24 hours a day from excavators and disseminate the
information as soon as it is received to the appropriate operators
[and to all registered and affected notification centers operating
in this state];
(3) have the capacity to receive extraordinary
circumstance information 24 hours a day from operators and
disseminate the information as soon as it is received to all
appropriate persons [registered and affected notification
centers];
(4) submit to the corporation, not later than May 15 of
each year, a pro rata share of the expense, as established by the
corporation, of the statewide toll-free telephone number and the
call router, if necessary;
(5) provide, on request of an excavator, a contact
name and telephone number of a representative of the operator for
special circumstances; and
(6) have personnel capable of assisting
Spanish-speaking customers.
SECTION 6. Sections 251.107(a) and (b), Utilities Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) Each operator of a Class A underground facility,
including a political subdivision of this state, shall participate
in the [a] notification center assigned to the region in which that
facility is located as a condition of doing business in this state.
(b) Each operator of a Class A underground facility shall
provide to the notification center assigned to the region in which
that facility is located:
(1) maps or grid locations or other identifiers
determined by the operator indicating the location of the
operator's underground facilities;
(2) the name and telephone number of a contact person
or persons; and
(3) at least quarterly but, if possible, as those
changes occur, information relating to each change in the
operator's maps or grid locations or other identifiers or in the
person or persons designated as the operator's contact person or
persons.
SECTION 7. Section 251.151(a), Utilities Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Sections 251.155 and 251.156, a
person who intends to excavate shall notify the [a] notification
center assigned to the region in which the excavation will occur not
earlier than the 14th day before the date the excavation is to begin
or later than the 48th hour before the time the excavation is to
begin, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays.
SECTION 8. Section 251.153, Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 251.153. DUTY OF NOTIFICATION CENTER. (a) At the time
an excavator provides the [a] notification center with the
excavator's intent to excavate, the notification center shall
advise the excavator that water, slurry, and sewage underground
facilities in the area of the proposed excavation may not receive
information concerning the excavator's proposed excavation.
(b) [Not later than two hours after the time the
notification center receives a notice of intent to excavate from an
excavator, the notification center shall provide to every other
affected notification center operating in this state the
information required by Section 251.152 and received from the
excavator. The notification center shall provide the information
by the use of high speed data transmission.
[(c)] Not later than two hours after the time the
notification center receives a notice of intent to excavate from an
excavator [or from a different notification center], the
notification center shall notify each member operator that may have
an underground facility in the vicinity of the proposed excavation
operation.
SECTION 9. Section 251.154(a), Utilities Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A person required to provide notice under this chapter
is considered to have provided the notice when the person delivers
the required information and the appropriate [a] notification
center receives that information within the time limits prescribed
by this chapter.
SECTION 10. Section 251.155(c), Utilities Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) When an emergency exists, the excavator shall notify the
appropriate [a] notification center as promptly as reasonably
possible.
SECTION 11. Section 251.158(b), Utilities Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The operator shall notify the appropriate [a]
notification center of the extraordinary circumstance and shall
include in the notification:
(1) the nature and location of the extraordinary
circumstance;
(2) the expected duration of the situation and the
approximate time at which the operator will be able to resume
location request activities; and
(3) the name and telephone number of the individual
that the notification system can contact if there is an emergency
that requires the operator's immediate attention.
SECTION 12. Section 251.159(b), Utilities Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) If the excavator is not certain of the operator's
identity, the excavator shall contact the appropriate [a]
notification center to report the damage[, and the notification
center shall immediately notify all other affected notification
centers]. Immediately on receiving notification, each
notification center shall contact each member operator that has
underground facilities in or near the area in which the damage
occurred.
SECTION 13. Section 251.202(c), Utilities Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) The corporation shall use the money received under this
section to develop public service announcements to educate the
public about [the statewide] one-call notification system and its
availability as prescribed by Section 251.060(7).
SECTION 14. Section 251.105(a), Utilities Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 15. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
(b) The Texas Underground Facility Notification Corporation
shall implement the regional notification system as required by
this Act not later than January 1, 2004. In implementing the
system, the corporation shall ensure that a contract described by
Subsection (c) of this section is not impaired.
(c) This Act does not affect the validity of a contract
between a notification center and an operator that was entered into
before the effective date of this Act. An operator that enters into
a contract with a notification center before the effective date of
this Act shall comply with Section 251.107(a), Utilities Code, as
amended by this Act, on expiration of the contract.