The department may charge fees for rail facility use, but not for public utility facilities, and it must handle rail revenue in specified ways.
Sec. 91.074. REVENUE. (a) The department may require a person, including any public or private entity, to pay a fee as a condition of using any part of a rail facility or system. The department may not require a person to pay a fee in connection with the placement, maintenance, or other use of a public utility facility. (b) The department shall establish and maintain rents or other compensation for the use of rail facilities or systems in an amount that is, together with other revenue of the department received under this chapter, sufficient to enable the department to comply with the requirements of Section 91.072. (c) The department may contract with a person for the use of all or part of a rail facility or system or may lease or sell all or part of a rail facility or system, including all or any part of the right-of-way adjoining trackwork, for any purpose, including placing on the adjoining right-of-way a storage or transfer facility, warehouse, garage, parking facility, telecommunication line or facility, restaurant, or gas station. Any portion of a rail facility or system that is used or leased by a private person under this subsection for a commercial purpose is not exempt from ad valorem taxation and is subject to local zoning regulations and building standards. (d) The department shall not unreasonably discriminate in deciding who may use any part of a rail facility or system. (e) All revenue received by the department under this chapter: (1) shall be deposited to the credit of the state highway fund and may be used for any purpose authorized by this chapter; and (2) is exempt from the application of Section 403.095, Government Code. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1325, Sec. 4.01, eff. June 21, 2003. Amended by: Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 281 (H.B. 2702), Sec. 1.06, eff. June 14, 2005.