(a) A municipality may elect to have the railroad commission exercise exclusive original jurisdiction over gas utility rates, operations, and services in the municipality by ordinance or by submitting the question of the surrender of its jurisdiction to the voters at a municipal election.
(b) The governing body of a municipality shall submit at a municipal election the question of surrendering its jurisdiction to the railroad commission if the governing body receives a petition signed by a number of qualified voters of the municipality equal to at least the lesser of 20,000 or 10 percent of the number of voters voting in the last preceding general election in the municipality.

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Terms Used In Texas Utilities Code 103.003

  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Signed: includes any symbol executed or adopted by a person with present intention to authenticate a writing. See Texas Government Code 311.005

(c) A municipality may not elect to surrender its jurisdiction while a case involving the municipality is pending.
(d) A municipality that surrenders its jurisdiction to the railroad commission may reinstate its jurisdiction. The provisions of this section governing the surrender of jurisdiction apply to the reinstatement of jurisdiction.