H.B. No. 4107

	AN ACT
	relating to the notice of entry for the purpose of exercising the
	power of eminent domain by a common carrier pipeline.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 111.019, Natural Resources Code, is
	amended by adding Subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g) to read as
	follows:
	(d)  Before entering property for the purpose of making a
	preliminary survey to be used in the exercise of the power of
	eminent domain granted under this section, the common carrier or
	its employees, contractors, agents, or assigns shall provide the
	property owner with:
	(1)  written notice of the carrier's intent to enter the
	property; and
	(2)  an indemnification provision in favor of the
	property owner with respect to damages, if any, resulting from the
	survey.
	(e)  Notice and indemnification provided under Subsection
	(d):
	(1)  must be provided to the property owner not later
	than the second day before the date of entry to the property;
	(2)  must include the phone number of a person whom the
	property owner may contact regarding any questions or objections
	the property owner has relating to the survey; and
	(3)  may be provided by first class mail, e-mail,
	personal delivery to an adult living on the property, or by any
	other method of service authorized by the Texas Rules of Civil
	Procedure.
	(f)  Entry to property for which notice is provided under
	Subsection (d) is subject to the conditions that the entry:
	(1)  is limited to only the portion of the property
	that:
	(A)  is anticipated to be affected by:
	(i)  the route of the proposed pipeline; or
	(ii)  a proposed pipeline appurtenance; or
	(B)  must be accessed to conduct the survey,
	including the property corners or property location monuments
	necessary to identify the boundaries of the property;
	(2)  is limited to the purpose of conducting surveys;
	(3)  unless otherwise authorized by the property owner,
	does not authorize the cutting, removal, or relocation of a fence
	for the purpose of conducting the survey without the prompt
	restoration or repair of the fence;
	(4)  requires the restoration of property to be as
	close as reasonably possible to the original condition before
	entry;
	(5)  requires all equipment and tools used in the
	survey to be removed by a certain date; and
	(6)  requires that the property owner, on written
	request, be provided, at no charge, a survey plat or depiction
	gathered and prepared from information obtained from the survey.
	(g)  This section does not prevent an entity from seeking
	survey access rights or seeking to prevent interference with those
	rights in a civil action authorized under other law.
	SECTION 2.  The changes in law made by this Act to Section
	111.019, Natural Resources Code, apply only to a condemnation
	proceeding in which the petition is filed on or after the effective
	date of this Act and to any property condemned through the
	proceeding. A condemnation proceeding in which the petition is
	filed before the effective date of this Act and any property
	condemned through the proceeding are governed by the law in effect
	immediately before that date, and that law is continued in effect
	for that purpose.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 4107 was passed by the House on May
	14, 2021, by the following vote:  Yeas 127, Nays 1, 1 present, not
	voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 4107 was passed by the Senate on May
	24, 2021, by the following vote:  Yeas 30, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED:  _____________________
	Date
	_____________________
	Governor