Enact legislation that helps Laredo’s municipality authority with regards to right-of-way charges and single pipeline owners.

Changes to the Texas Natural Resources Code and the Texas Utilities Code occurred when the Texas Legislature enacted Senate 480 and House Bill 951, 70th Legislature, Regular Session. The City does not question the legislature’s delegation of exclusive jurisdiction to the Commission on the issue of validity of a municipality’s right-of-way fee charged single pipeline owner under Texas Natural Resources Code or Texas Utilities Code. However, the City does question the proposed rules’ encouragement that every proceeding be converted from a determination of the accuracy of the rates for a single pipeline owner, into a review of validity of every charge for every pipeline in the municipality. These actions result in a Railroad Commission serving as a regulator of rates for all pipeline owners in a municipality rather than an adjudicator body in any individual appeal which put municipalities at a disadvantage.

Oppose any state legislation or regulatory efforts that provide Laredo any reductions in the City’s:

• Compensation for use of the City’s right-of-ways and
• Management of Laredo’s right-of-ways