Amends TCA Title 4; Title 7; Title 29; Title 65 and Title 66.

This bill requires public utilities and railroads to adhere to certain compensation, notification, and other requirements concerning public utility facilities located within, or to be located within, a railroad right-of-way. This bill will apply to facilities: located within a railroad right-of-way, whether on public or private property, on or after January 1, 2022; and existing within a railroad right-of-way, whether on public or private property, before January 1, 2022, if written agreements concerning those facilities do not exist, are terminated, or expire. This bill requires a public utility that locates its facilities (cables, conduits, wires, pipes, and structures used to transmit utility services) within the right-of-way of a railroad to compensate the railroad $500 for each crossing, as one-time payment in lieu of any license fees, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties. A railroad may petition the department of transportation for more than $500 if the railroad and public utility cannot agree on compensation and the railroad incurs extraordinary direct expenses as a result of the construction of the facilities or believes that special circumstances exist. If a petition is filed, the department must determine whether extraordinary direct expenses are incurred or whether special circumstances exist and the amount of compensation to be paid to the railroad. If grade crossing markings or signs are damaged during construction, the party responsible for the damage must pay the replacement costs, unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties. This bill requires railroads and public utilities, concerning facilities located within or to be located within a railroad right-of-way, to: (1) Notify, at the entity's sole expense, the other entity of emergencies, planned repairs, construction or other similar operations within a railroad right-of-way if the operation may affect the other entity; (2) Establish, at the entity's sole expense, a mechanism for receiving notification of emergencies 24 hours per day, seven days a week and provide contact information for dealing with emergencies for every public utility facility located within a railroad right-of-way; (3) Repair and maintain the entity's own property or facilities located within the railroad right-of-way and not perform regular or emergency maintenance or repair of the other entity's property or facilities; (4) Comply with applicable state law, federal law, and orders and rules of the department in meeting the notification and response responsibilities described in (1)-(3); (5) Determine for itself the amount and scope of insurance the entity must carry to cover risks associated with the property of the railroad or facilities within the right-of-way; (6) Indemnify the other entity for damages resulting from the entity's own negligence related to the presence of utility facilities within the railroad right-of-way; and (7) Reimburse the other entity for expenses reasonably incurred resulting from emergencies caused by the property or facilities of each entity located within the railroad right-of-way and for reasonable miscellaneous expenses incurred by the other entity upon the other entity's written request; and (8) Provide the other entity with a physical description of any alterations or additions to the entity's property or facilities located within the railroad right-of-way in the area of the public utility facilities. Except for (8), the provisions above are subject to agreements made otherwise by the parties. In regard to a public utility, this bill: (1) Requires the utility to relocate its facilities within a railroad right-of-way if the relocation is reasonably necessary for railroad operations, at the expense of the public utility unless the facilities relocated only serve the railroad; (2) Requires the utility to provide the railroad with a physical description of the new facilities, upon placement of new facilities within a railroad right-of-way and at its sole expense, and the description must include the location and depth of any underground facilities; and (3) Authorizes the utility to remain in a railroad right-of-way unless the department approves abandonment of the facilities and orders the public utility to remove the abandoned facilities. This bill prohibits a railroad from: (1) Requiring a gas public utility to encase any steel pipeline facilities installed within the railroad's right-of-way. The gas public utility, complying with applicable state and federal pipeline safety rules and regulations, will determine whether and how its facilities should be cased; and (2) Refusing to permit a public utility to construct facilities within a right-of-way solely because of a dispute between the parties concerning compensation for or conditions to the right of placing the facilities within the railroad right-of-way. This bill provides that a public utility may proceed with construction while the dispute is resolved through petition to the department, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties. If a public utility constructs a facility within a railroad right-of-way while a dispute is pending, and the department, after notice and a hearing determines that the facilities are located in an unreasonable location or constructed in an unsafe, then the department may order the public utility to remove or modify the facilities at the public utility's sole expense.