HF 491 (LSB 2748YH (3) 91)

HOUSE FILE 491

BY  GOLDING, THOMPSON, HAYES, HENDERSON, and ANDREWS

A BILL FOR

An Act concerning common carriers and including effective date and applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 6A.21, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  Except as otherwise provided, for purposes of this chapter and chapter 6B:
   a.  “Aboveground merchant line” means “merchant line” as defined in section 478.6A, subsection 1, excluding those merchant lines that are underground.
   b.  “Agricultural land” means real property owned by a person in tracts of ten acres or more and not laid off into lots of less than ten acres or divided by streets and alleys into parcels of less than ten acres, and that has been used for the production of agricultural commodities during three out of the past five years. Such use of property includes, but is not limited to, the raising, harvesting, handling, drying, or storage of crops used for feed, food, seed, or fiber; the care or feeding of livestock; the handling or transportation of crops or livestock; the storage, treatment, or disposal of livestock manure; and the application of fertilizers, soil conditioners, pesticides, and herbicides on crops. Agricultural land includes land on which is located farm residences or outbuildings used for agricultural purposes and land on which is located facilities, structures, or equipment for agricultural purposes. Agricultural land includes land taken out of agricultural production for purposes of environmental protection or preservation.
   c.  “Commodity” means a product that is used by an individual consumer or is used to produce a product used by an individual consumer.
   d.  “Common carrier” means a commercial enterprise that holds itself out as ready to engage in the transportation of goods or passengers for hire, as a public employment, and not as a casual occupation, and that undertakes to carry for all persons indifferently, within the limits of the enterprise’s capacity and the sphere of business required of it. For a carrier engaged in the transportation of a hazardous liquid to qualify as a common carrier, the carrier must establish by clear and convincing evidence that it will transport a commodity for one or more shippers not affiliated with the carrier who will either retain ownership of the commodity or sell the commodity to a party other than the carrier. A common carrier determination by the federal energy regulatory commission shall be controlling for purposes of this paragraph.
   c.  e.  “Private development purposes” means the construction of, or improvement related to, recreational trails, recreational development paid for primarily with private funds, aboveground merchant lines, housing and residential development, or commercial or industrial enterprise development.
   d.  f.  “Public use” or “public purpose” or “public improvement” does not include the authority to condemn agricultural land for private development purposes unless the owner of the agricultural land consents to the condemnation.
    Sec. 2.  Section 6A.24, Code 2025, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  4.  Notwithstanding subsection 3, an acquiring agency proposing to acquire property by eminent domain pursuant to a grant under chapter 479B shall have the burden of establishing by clear and convincing evidence that the proposed use meets the definition of a public use, public purpose, or public improvement.
    Sec. 3.  Section 479B.16, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  A pipeline company granted a pipeline permit shall, subject to subsection 4, be vested with the right of eminent domain, to the extent necessary and as prescribed and approved by the commission, not exceeding seventy-five feet in width for right-of-way and not exceeding one acre in any one location in addition to right-of-way for the location of pumps, pressure apparatus, or other stations or equipment necessary to the proper operation of its pipeline. The commission may grant additional eminent domain rights where when the pipeline company has presented sufficient evidence to adequately demonstrate that a greater area is required for the proper construction, operation, and maintenance of the pipeline or for the location of pumps, pressure apparatus, or other stations or equipment necessary to the proper operation of its pipeline.
    Sec. 4.  Section 479B.16, Code 2025, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  4.  A pipeline company granted a pipeline permit shall not be vested with the right of eminent domain unless the pipeline company is a common carrier, as defined in section 6A.21.
    Sec. 5.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
    Sec. 6.  APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies to condemnation proceedings for which the application filed under section 6B.3 is filed on or after the effective date of this Act.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill defines a common carrier for purposes of Code chapters 6A (eminent domain law) and 6B (procedure under eminent domain) as a commercial enterprise that transports goods or passengers for hire as a public employment. A carrier that transports hazardous liquid only qualifies as a common carrier if the carrier transports a commodity, defined as a product that is used by an individual consumer or used to produce a product used by an individual consumer, for one or more shippers that are unaffiliated with the carrier and will not sell the hazardous liquid to the carrier. The federal energy regulatory commission’s determination on whether a carrier qualifies as a common carrier is controlling.
   Under current law, when a property owner or an acquiring agency seeks judicial review of an exercise of eminent domain, an acquiring agency must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the definition of public use, public purpose, or public improvement is met. The bill provides that an acquiring agency seeking to use eminent domain pursuant to a grant under Code chapter 479B (hazardous liquid pipelines and storage facilities) must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the exercise of eminent domain meets the definition of a public use, public purpose, or public improvement.
   The bill prohibits a pipeline company from being vested with the right of eminent domain unless the pipeline company qualifies as a common carrier.
   The bill takes effect upon enactment and applies to condemnation proceedings for which the application is filed on or after the effective date of the bill.