Ownership and Regulation of Public Utilities.
Houston City Charter, art. IX, § 15
in effectSection 15. - Ownership and Regulation of Public Utilities.
The right is hereby granted to the City of Houston to acquire its public utilities, such as gas, water and electric light works, and underground, surface and elevated street railways, subways or underground conduit systems for electric light, power, telephone, telegraph and other wires used for the purpose of transmitting any electric service. That such utilities may be purchased by a payment in cash of twenty-five per cent. of such price, the balance in annual installments, including interest, to be paid out of the revenues of such utility, and that such works so purchased shall stand pledged as security for the payment of the amount due thereon, but that no judgment shall be rendered against the city upon any deferred note, requiring the city to pay any specified sum of money, but said judgment shall be merely one of foreclosure, divesting and depriving the City of the possession of the property so purchased but not paid for, in which event the City shall forfeit and lose only the cash payment of twenty-five per cent. of the agreed price, without liability or judgment in any sum for the unpaid purchase price; provided, that no purchase or expenditure shall be made under this Section, unless the same shall first have been submitted to the vote of the qualified tax-paying voters at an election to be held exclusively for that purpose.
And the right is hereby expressly granted to the City of Houston to regulate all public utilities in said City, and to require efficiency of public service, and to require all persons or corporations to discharge the duties and undertakings for the performance of which the respective franchises were made. (Act of 1905)
Source: City of Houston, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CH_ARTIXGEPR_S15OWREPUUTFetched: 10/26/2026