Bill Text: FL S0896 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Location of Utilities
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)
Status: (Failed) 2015-05-01 - Died in Appropriations [S0896 Detail]
Download: Florida-2015-S0896-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Location of Utilities
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)
Status: (Failed) 2015-05-01 - Died in Appropriations [S0896 Detail]
Download: Florida-2015-S0896-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2015 SB 896 By Senator Brandes 22-00424B-15 2015896__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the location of utilities; amending 3 s. 125.42, F.S.; authorizing the board of county 4 commissioners to grant a license to work on or operate 5 specified utility and communications services lines 6 only within the right-of-way limits of certain county 7 or public highways or roads; conforming a cross 8 reference; amending s. 337.401, F.S.; authorizing the 9 Department of Transportation and certain local 10 governmental entities to prescribe and enforce rules 11 or regulations regarding placing and maintaining 12 specified structures only within the right-of-way 13 limits of roads or publicly owned rail corridors under 14 their respective jurisdictions; prohibiting a 15 municipality or county from requiring a provider of 16 communications services to resubmit information 17 already in the possession of, or previously provided 18 to, the municipality or county; amending s. 337.403, 19 F.S.; requiring a utility owner, under certain 20 circumstances, to initiate at its own expense the work 21 necessary to alleviate an interference to a public 22 road or publicly owned rail corridor which is caused 23 by a utility if it is within the right-of-way limits 24 of the public road or publicly owned rail corridor; 25 requiring an authority or an entity other than the 26 authority to bear the costs of relocating a utility in 27 certain circumstances; requiring the authority to bear 28 the cost of the utility work necessary to eliminate an 29 unreasonable interference if the utility is located 30 within a certain utility easement; conforming a cross 31 reference; providing an effective date. 32 33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 34 35 Section 1. Section 125.42, Florida Statutes, is amended to 36 read: 37 125.42 Water, sewage, gas, power, telephone, other utility, 38 and television lines within the right-of-way limits ofalong39 county roads and highways.— 40 (1) The board of county commissioners, with respect to 41 property located without the corporate limits of any 42 municipality, is authorized to grant a license to any person or 43 private corporation to construct, maintain, repair, operate, and 44 remove lines for the transmission of water, sewage, gas, power, 45 telephone, other public utilities,andtelevision, or other 46 communications services within the right-of-way limits ofunder,47on, over, across and alongany county highway or any public road 48 or highway acquired by the county or public by purchase, gift, 49 devise, dedication, or prescription. However, the board of 50 county commissioners shall include in any instrument granting 51 such license adequate provisions: 52 (a) To prevent the creation of any obstructions or 53 conditions which are or may become dangerous to the traveling 54 public; 55 (b) To require the licensee to repair any damage or injury 56 to the road or highway by reason of the exercise of the 57 privileges granted in any instrument creating such license and 58 to repair the road or highway promptly, restoring it to a 59 condition at least equal to that which existed immediately prior 60 to the infliction of such damage or injury; 61 (c) Whereby the licensee shall hold the board of county 62 commissioners and members thereof harmless from the payment of 63 any compensation or damages resulting from the exercise of the 64 privileges granted in any instrument creating the license; and 65 (d) As may be reasonably necessary, for the protection of 66 the county and the public. 67 (2) A license may be granted in perpetuity or for a term of 68 years, subject, however, to termination by the licensor, in the 69 event the road or highway is closed, abandoned, vacated, 70 discontinued, or reconstructed. 71 (3) The board of county commissioners is authorized to 72 grant exclusive or nonexclusive licenses for the purposes stated 73 herein for television. 74 (4) This law is intended to provide an additional method 75 for the granting of licenses and shall not be construed to 76 repeal any law now in effect relating to the same subject. 77 (5) In the event of widening, repair, or reconstruction of 78 any such road, the licensee shall move or remove such water, 79 sewage, gas, power, telephone, and other utility lines and 80 television lines at no cost to the county should they be found 81 by the county to be unreasonably interfering, except as provided 82 in s. 337.403(1)(d)-(j)s. 337.403(1)(d)-(i). 83 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and paragraph 84 (b) of subsection (3) of section 337.401, Florida Statutes, are 85 amended to read: 86 337.401 Use of right-of-way for utilities subject to 87 regulation; permit; fees.— 88 (1)(a) The department and local governmental entities, 89 referred to in this section and in ss. 337.402, 337.403, and 90 337.404ss. 337.401-337.404as the “authority,” that have 91 jurisdiction and control of public roads or publicly owned rail 92 corridors are authorized to prescribe and enforce reasonable 93 rules or regulations with reference to the placing and 94 maintaining within the right-of-way limits ofalong, across, or95onany road or publicly owned rail corridors under their 96 respective jurisdictions any electric transmission, telephone, 97 telegraph, or other communications services lines; pole lines; 98 poles; railways; ditches; sewers; water, heat, or gas mains; 99 pipelines; fences; gasoline tanks and pumps; or other structures 100 referred to in this section and in ss. 337.402, 337.403, and 101 337.404this sectionas the “utility.” The department may enter 102 into a permit-delegation agreement with a governmental entity if 103 issuance of a permit is based on requirements that the 104 department finds will ensure the safety and integrity of 105 facilities of the Department of Transportation; however, the 106 permit-delegation agreement does not apply to facilities of 107 electric utilities as defined in s. 366.02(2). 108 (3) 109 (b) Registration described in paragraph (a) does not 110 establish a right to place or maintain, or priority for the 111 placement or maintenance of, a communications facility in roads 112 or rights-of-way of a municipality or county. Each municipality 113 and county retains the authority to regulate and manage 114 municipal and county roads or rights-of-way in exercising its 115 police power. Any rules or regulations adopted by a municipality 116 or county which govern the occupation of its roads or rights-of 117 way by providers of communications services must be related to 118 the placement or maintenance of facilities in such roads or 119 rights-of-way, must be reasonable and nondiscriminatory, and may 120 include only those matters necessary to manage the roads or 121 rights-of-way of the municipality or county. In exercising its 122 authority over providers of communications services under this 123 section, a municipality or county may not require a provider of 124 communications services to resubmit information already in the 125 possession of the municipality or county or previously provided 126 to the municipality or county. 127 Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 337.403, Florida 128 Statutes, is amended to read: 129 337.403 Interference caused by utility; expenses.— 130 (1) If a utility that is within the right-of-way limits of 131placed upon, under, over, or alongany public road or publicly 132 owned rail corridor is found by the authority to be unreasonably 133 interfering in any way with the convenient, safe, or continuous 134 use, or the maintenance, improvement, extension, or expansion, 135 of such public road or publicly owned rail corridor, the utility 136 owner shall, upon 30 days’ written notice to the utility or its 137 agent by the authority, initiate the work necessary to alleviate 138 the interference at its own expense except as provided in 139 paragraphs (a)-(j)(a)-(i). The work must be completed within 140 such reasonable time as stated in the notice or such time as 141 agreed to by the authority and the utility owner. If an 142 authority requires the relocation of a utility for purposes not 143 described in this subsection, the authority shall bear the cost 144 of relocating the utility. If the relocation is required as a 145 condition or result of a project by an entity other than an 146 authority, then that entity shall bear the costs of relocating 147 the utility. 148 (a) If the relocation of utility facilities, as referred to 149 in s. 111 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, Pub. L. No. 150 84-627, is necessitated by the construction of a project on the 151 federal-aid interstate system, including extensions thereof 152 within urban areas, and the cost of the project is eligible and 153 approved for reimbursement by the Federal Government to the 154 extent of 90 percent or more under the Federal Aid Highway Act, 155 or any amendment thereof,then in that eventthe utility owning 156 or operating such facilities shall perform any necessary work 157 upon notice from the department, and the state shall pay the 158 entire expense properly attributable to such work after 159 deducting therefrom any increase in the value of a new facility 160 and any salvage value derived from an old facility. 161 (b) When a joint agreement between the department and the 162 utility is executed for utility work to be accomplished as part 163 of a contract for construction of a transportation facility, the 164 department may participate in those utility work costs that 165 exceed the department’s official estimate of the cost of the 166 work by more than 10 percent. The amount of such participation 167 is limited to the difference between the official estimate of 168 all the work in the joint agreement plus 10 percent and the 169 amount awarded for this work in the construction contract for 170 such work. The department may not participate in any utility 171 work costs that occur as a result of changes or additions during 172 the course of the contract. 173 (c) When an agreement between the department and utility is 174 executed for utility work to be accomplished in advance of a 175 contract for construction of a transportation facility, the 176 department may participate in the cost of clearing and grubbing 177 necessary to perform such work. 178 (d) If the utility facility was initially installed to 179 exclusively serve the authority or its tenants, or both, the 180 authority shall bear the costs of the utility work. However, the 181 authority is not responsible for the cost of utility work 182 related to any subsequent additions to that facility for the 183 purpose of serving others. For a county or municipality, if such 184 utility facility was installed in the right-of-way as a means to 185 serve a county or municipal facility on a parcel of property 186 adjacent to the right-of-way and if the intended use of the 187 county or municipal facility is for a use other than 188 transportation purposes, the obligation of the county or 189 municipality to bear the costs of the utility work shall extend 190 only to utility work on the parcel of property on which the 191 facility of the county or municipality originally served by the 192 utility facility is located. 193 (e) If, under an agreement between a utility and the 194 authority entered into after July 1, 2009, the utility conveys, 195 subordinates, or relinquishes a compensable property right to 196 the authority for the purpose of accommodating the acquisition 197 or use of the right-of-way by the authority, without the 198 agreement expressly addressing future responsibility for the 199 cost of necessary utility work, the authority shall bear the 200 cost of removal or relocation. This paragraph does not impair or 201 restrict, and may not be used to interpret, the terms of any 202 such agreement entered into before July 1, 2009. 203 (f) If the utility is an electric facility being relocated 204 underground in order to enhance vehicular, bicycle, and 205 pedestrian safety and in which ownership of the electric 206 facility to be placed underground has been transferred from a 207 private to a public utility within the past 5 years, the 208 department shall incur all costs of the necessary utility work. 209 (g) An authority may bear the costs of utility work 210 required to eliminate an unreasonable interference when the 211 utility is not able to establish that it has a compensable 212 property right in the particular property where the utility is 213 located if: 214 1. The utility was physically located on the particular 215 property before the authority acquired rights in the property; 216 2. The utility demonstrates that it has a compensable 217 property right in adjacent properties along the alignment of the 218 utility or, after due diligence, certifies that the utility does 219 not have evidence to prove or disprove that it has a compensable 220 property right in the particular property where the utility is 221 located; and 222 3. The information available to the authority does not 223 establish the relative priorities of the authority’s and the 224 utility’s interests in the particular property. 225 (h) If a municipally owned utility or county-owned utility 226 is located in a rural area of critical economic concern, as 227 defined in s. 288.0656(2), and the department determines that 228 the utility is unable, and will not be able within the next 10 229 years, to pay for the cost of utility work necessitated by a 230 department project on the State Highway System, the department 231 may pay, in whole or in part, the cost of such utility work 232 performed by the department or its contractor. 233 (i) If the relocation of utility facilities is necessitated 234 by the construction of a commuter rail service project or an 235 intercity passenger rail service project and the cost of the 236 project is eligible and approved for reimbursement by the 237 Federal Government, then in that event the utility owning or 238 operating such facilities located by permit on a department 239 owned rail corridor shall perform any necessary utility 240 relocation work upon notice from the department, and the 241 department shall pay the expense properly attributable to such 242 utility relocation work in the same proportion as federal funds 243 are expended on the commuter rail service project or an 244 intercity passenger rail service project after deducting 245 therefrom any increase in the value of a new facility and any 246 salvage value derived from an old facility. In no event shall 247 the state be required to use state dollars for such utility 248 relocation work. This paragraph does not apply to any phase of 249 the Central Florida Commuter Rail project, known as SunRail. 250 (j) If a utility is located within an existing and valid 251 utility easement granted by recorded plat, regardless of whether 252 such land was subsequently acquired by the authority by 253 dedication, transfer of fee, or otherwise, the authority shall 254 bear the cost of the utility work required to eliminate an 255 unreasonable interference. 256 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.