H.B. No. 1709

	AN ACT
	relating to the closing, abandoning, and vacating of a public road
	by a county; authorizing the imposition of a fee.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 251.058, Transportation Code, is amended
	by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1), (d), (e),
	and (f) to read as follows:
	(b)  Title to a public road or portion of a public road that
	is closed, abandoned, and vacated to the center line of the road
	vests on the date the order is signed by the county judge in the
	owner of the property that abuts the portion of the road being
	closed, abandoned, and vacated.  A copy of the order shall be filed
	in the deed records of the county and serves as the official
	instrument of conveyance from the county to the owner of the
	abutting property.  The order shall:
	(1)  include the name of each property owner who
	receives a conveyance under this section;
	(2)  include the dimensions of the property being
	conveyed to each property owner; [and]
	(3)  be indexed in the deed records of the county in a
	manner that describes:
	(A)  the county conveying the property as grantor;
	and
	(B)  the property owner receiving the conveyance
	as grantee; and
	(4)  if a public utility or common carrier that has the
	right of eminent domain is using the property being conveyed for a
	right-of-way or easement purpose, state that the title to the
	property is subject to the right-of-way or easement and the
	continued use by the public utility or common carrier of utility
	infrastructure in existence on the date the order is signed.
	(b-1)  Not later than the 30th day before the date an order is
	signed under Subsection (b), the commissioners court shall notify a
	public utility or common carrier described by Subsection (b)(4) of
	the proposal to close, abandon, and vacate the public road or
	portion of the public road.
	(d)  If a commissioners court closes, abandons, and vacates a
	public road or a portion of a public road at the request of an owner
	of property that abuts the portion of the road being closed,
	abandoned, and vacated, the commissioners court may require the
	owner to:
	(1)  pay all reasonable administrative costs incurred
	for processing the request and recording the order described by
	Subsection (b) in the county deed records; and
	(2)  reimburse the county for the market value of any
	property interest conveyed to the owner.
	(e)  A county by order of the commissioners court may adopt
	standard fees required to be paid under Subsection (d)(1) for
	processing a request and recording an order.
	(f)  For purposes of Subsection (b), "utility
	infrastructure" includes any facility owned by:
	(1)  an electric utility, as defined by Section 31.002,
	Utilities Code;
	(2)  a gas utility, as defined by Section 101.003 or
	121.001, Utilities Code;
	(3)  a telecommunications provider, as defined by
	Section 51.002, Utilities Code; or
	(4)  a video service provider, as defined by Section
	66.002, Utilities Code.
	SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act to Section
	251.058, Transportation Code, applies only to a request to close,
	abandon, and vacate a public road or a portion of a public road that
	is submitted to a commissioners court on or after the effective date
	of this Act. A request submitted to a commissioners court before the
	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the
	request was submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for
	that purpose.
	SECTION 3.  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, 2015.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 1709 was passed by the House on April
	30, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 138, Nays 1, 1 present, not
	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
	No. 1709 on May 22, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 133, Nays 1,
	2 present, not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 1709 was passed by the Senate, with
	amendments, on May 21, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
	0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor