HBA-CBW C.S.H.B. 484 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 484 By: Craddick Energy Resources 3/25/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law requires community liaison to be conducted in person to maintain communication with appropriate fire, police, and local public officials regarding preparations for pipeline emergencies. C.S.H.B. 484 sets forth alternate methods of conducting community liaison meetings with such officials should meetings in person not be possible. 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 C.S.H.B. 484 amends the Natural Resources and Utilities codes regarding response to an emergency involving a gas, hazardous liquid, or carbon dioxide pipeline facility. The bill requires the Railroad Commission of Texas (commission) to require operators or their designated representatives to communicate and conduct liaison activities with fire, police, and other appropriate public emergency response officials. The bill provides that liaison activities must be conducted by meetings in person except as provided in the Act. The bill authorizes an operator or the operator's representative to conduct required community liaison activities that are not in person only if the operator or the operator's representative has made the following efforts to conduct a community liaison meeting in person with the officials: _mailing a written request for a meeting in person to the appropriate officials by certified mail, return receipt requested; _sending a request for a meeting in person to the appropriate officials by facsimile transmission; and _making one or more telephone calls or e-mail message transmissions to the appropriate officials to request a meeting in person. If the operator or the operator's representative can not arrange a meeting in person, the bill requires the operator or the operator's representative to make specified efforts to conduct community liaison activities by means of a telephone conference call with the officials. The bill provides that if the operator or the operator's representative has made such efforts but has not successfully arranged a meeting or conference call, the information required to be conveyed may be delivered by certified mail, return receipt requested. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 484 differs from the original bill by requiring the Railroad Commission of Texas (commission) to require operators or their designated representatives to communicate and conduct liaison activities with fire, police, and other appropriate public emergency response officials by meetings in person, unless the operator or the operator's representative has made specified efforts to conduct a community liaison meeting in person with the officials and can not arrange such a meeting, in which case the operator or the operator's representative is required to make specified efforts to conduct community liaison activities by means of a telephone conference call. The original bill prohibited the commission from requiring community liaison to be conducted by meetings in person. The substitute also differs from the original bill by providing procedures that are to be taken to conduct community liaison activities in person, by telephone conference call, or through delivery by mail of community liaison information.