PUBLIC SAFETY STANDARDS

(a) In this section: (1) "Industrial district" has the meaning assigned by Section 42.044, Local Government Code, and includes an area that is designated by the governing body of a municipality as a zoned industrial area. (1-a) "Public utility" has the meaning assigned by Section 13.002, Water Code. (2) "Regulatory authority" has the meaning assigned by Section 13.002, Water Code. (3) "Residential area" means: (A) an area designated as a residential zoning district by a governing ordinance or code or an area in which the principal land use is for private residences; (B) a subdivision for which a plat is recorded in the real property records of the county and that contains or is bounded by public streets or parts of public streets that are abutted by residential property occupying at least 75 percent of the front footage along the block face; or (C) a subdivision a majority of the lots of which are subject to deed restrictions limiting the lots to residential use. (b) The regulatory authority for a public utility shall by rule or ordinance adopt standards for installing fire hydrants and maintaining sufficient water pressure for service to fire hydrants adequate to protect public safety in residential areas in a municipality with a population of 1,000,000 or more. (c) The commission shall assess residential areas in a municipality with a population of 1,000,000 or more to ensure that: (1) the regulatory authority for the area has adopted the standards required by this section; and (2) all public utilities serving the residential area are complying with the standards required by this section. (d) The commission shall require a municipality with a population of 1,000,000 or more and acting as a regulatory authority to make appropriate revisions to standards the commission considers to be inadequate within a reasonable time established by the commission. (e) The commission shall require a public utility in violation of a standard required under this section and established by the commission or by a municipality with a population of 1,000,000 or more and acting as a regulatory authority to comply with the standard within a reasonable time established by the commission. (f) This section does not limit the authority of a municipality with a population of 1,000,000 or more and acting as a regulatory authority to prohibit a public utility in violation of a standard established by the municipality from recovering through the public utility's rates a penalty or fine incurred for a violation of a standard. (g) This section also applies to: (1) a municipality with a population of more than 42,500 and less than 48,000 located in two counties, one of which is a county with a population of more than 2.1 million; (2) a municipality, including any industrial district within the municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction, with a population of more than 15,000 and less than 45,700 located in a county with a population of more than 235,000 and less than 255,000; and (3) a municipality, including any industrial district within the municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction, with a population of more than 32,000 and less than 35,000 located in two counties.