mission and the federal government about a year ;WO, shortly atter the Stag- gers Act was passed by Congress. Fainter said the suit challenges the constitutional- ity of provisions of the act which create -an unchecked monopolistic situation" and which pre-empt Texas authorities from taking action in intrastate rail-relat- ed matters. The key, of course, is the continually increasing transportation rate imposed on Houston and Austin electrical utilities by Burlington Northern Railway to ship western coal to Texas under contracts running through the year 2000. Schunk said the most recent litigation involved motions for summary judgments which were filed two months ago by both sides. In filing such a motion, an attorney requests the presiding judge to declare that, the merits of the case presented by the opposing side are non-existent and therefore should not be heard. This would immediately decide the case, but is not likely to happen in this case because of its lion.' However. he said the attorney general s office decries the effect of the deregula- tion act on Texas utilities which have switched from natural gas facilities to coal-burning plants as an energy efficien- cy measure. Fainter noted that "Texas took the lead in moving from natural gas to coal-fired generating power. We don't have much low-sulfur coal" of the type demanded under federal clean air and other environ- mental regulations. "Some 60 percent of U.S. low-sulfur coal resources is in Wyoming and Mon- tana," said Fainter. Houston Lighting 81 Power Co. contract- ed to buy coal from those states at "rela- tively good prices" when it started making plans to convert to coal, he said. "Then Montana placed a 30 percent severance tax on the coal (a charge im- posed by Montana on coal leaving the state)," Fainter said. At that point, Texas increase in their taxes," Fainter said. Most of the f'Oal used in Montana is interstate," Fainter said, adding that Montana still uses much natural gas as its fuel, some of it from Texas. The assistant attorney general said his office "does not begrudge a reasonable profit" made by Burlington Northern on the coal it is shipping here, but "we did urge some protection in the act against a monopolistic situation" whereby Burling- ton is the exclusive rail shipper. The fact that there are no restrictions on what Burlington can charge is hurting Austin as well as Houston. Fainter point- ed out, "and this is passed on to consum- ers." In other action at the meeting. Ralph Royster was elected president of the traf- fic league for the year 1981-82. Truman Griffin was elected first vice president; Ben Smith, second vice president: George Strange, third vice president, and Virgil Musick, executive vice president hone company urges Legislature to revise part of wiretap law .1‘. ROLAND LINDSEY JUL 8 1931 cgA14 F*111t5r3/4po p.Irs,HT AUSTIN — Telephone company )fficials concerned that their em- )loyees could be prosecuted under a .iew Texas wiretap law have asked 3-ov. Bill Clements to allow a special ;ession of the Legislature convening 'text week to revise the statute. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. '.as submitted a formal request to he governor to include the wiretap revisions in the agenda for the 30- Aily special session, Clements' press secretary Jon Ford said Tuesday. The wiretap bill was passed dur- ing the regular session which ended June 1 and takes effect Sept. 1. Some legislators contend that if :71ements opens the special session :(yr consideration of the change re- itiested by Bell, he may be jeopard- zing the wiretap law because it vould then be subject to other tmendments or repeal. "I think when you open up that Abject matter, you open the whole hing up," said Rep. Lynn Nabers, )-Brownwood, chairman of the -louse committee that handled the Afiretap bill. "I don't think the governor .vants another bite at that apple." Southwestern Bell officials are iiiietly lobbying legislative leaders for revision of the wiretap bill. Nabers said a Bell lobbyists has made an appointment to meet with him Wednesday. Clements, who is vacationing in Virginia this week, has given no in- dication he will submit the issue to the session and risk further changes in the bill that legalizes the use of court-approved wiretaps in drug investigations. Ford said Tuesday the letter from the telephone company is on file along with hundreds of others sug- gesting topics for consideration by t he special session which convenes Monday. "They have spelled out their con- cern over that provision in the law and the governor has it under con- sideration but has made no definite decision on it," Ford said. The telephone company objects to a provision requiring that tele- phone company employees involved in wiretaps prove they were acting in accordance with a valid court order. Southwestern Bell wants the law changed to provide that prosecutors in criminal cases involving tele- phone company employees would have to prove the employees were not acting under court orders when they installed the wiretaps. Sen. Bob Glasgow. D-Stephen- ville, who authored the provision, said he will oppose efforts by the telephone company to revise it. "The important thing about the wiretap bill that everybody has overlooked is that it makes it. illegal for anyone except the Texas Depart- ment Of Public Safety to possess wiretap equipment," Glas ow said. "It gets all that stuff ut of the hands of private people."