Sec. 316.004.  PERMIT PROGRAM.  (a)  A municipality by ordinance may establish a permit program under this subchapter.
(b)  The governing body of the municipality shall include in the ordinance:
(1)  provisions the governing body determines are necessary or desirable to protect, at the site of an applicant's proposed facility, the public, utility companies, and any person who has the right to use the municipal street;
(2)  provisions that require:
(A)  clearances between the facility or improvement and utility lines that comply with clearances from structures to utility lines required by a nationally recognized building code;
(B)  a permit holder to provide a cash or surety bond in an amount approved by the municipality sufficient to cover the costs for the municipality or a public utility to remove the permit holder's facilities or improvements;  and
(C)  a permit holder to pay the costs to relocate a municipal or public utility facility or improvement in a municipal street associated with the installation of a facility or improvement of the permit holder;  and
(3)  a provision authorizing the municipality or a utility company or other person authorized by the municipality to remove, without liability, any part of a facility for which a permit has been issued if there is a lawful need for the site or for access to the site.
(c)  The governing body may include in the ordinance:
(1)  construction, maintenance, operation, and inspection requirements;
(2)  public liability insurance requirements;
(3)  a requirement that the applicant or permit holder pay for traffic and safety studies;
(4)  provisions for conducting a public hearing on the issuance, renewal, or revocation of a permit, with notice and reporting expenses of the hearing to be paid by the applicant or permit holder;
(5)  a requirement for indemnity agreements by abutting fee title land owners in the form of covenants that run with the title to the abutting land;  or
(6)  a provision that authorizes the governing body, at its discretion, to terminate the permit without notice to the permit holder.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.