HBA-CBW H.B. 2709 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2709
By: Hawley
State Affairs
3/28/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, electric utilities have the authority to use eminent
domain to take private property for the construction of electric
transmission lines.  Traditionally, electric utilities constructed
transmission lines on the utility customer's property,  which provided the
electric utility with some incentive to work with the landowner to
negotiate easement rights.  As the state begins to prepare for a
deregulated electric market in January 2002, some electric utilities have
begun using eminent domain authority to construct transmission lines over
property outside of the utilities' operating area to have a competitive
advantage. Under these circumstances, landowners could be forced to lose
their property rights without consideration of alternatives. House Bill
2709 prohibits an electric utility from using its power of condemnation to
construct, operate, or maintain a line unless certain conditions are met. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2709 amends the Utilities Code to prohibit an electric utility
from using its power of condemnation to construct, operate, or maintain a
line unless the electric utility: 

  _follows existing line rights-of-way;

  _follows other existing rights-of-way, if it is not feasible to follow
existing line rightsof-way; or 

  
  _follows existing property lines to the extent feasible, if it is not
feasible to follow other existing rights-of-way. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.