Bill Text: FL S0896 | 2015 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
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-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2015 CS for CS for SB 896 By the Committees on Transportation; and Community Affairs; and Senator Brandes 596-03453-15 2015896c2 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 communications services within the right-of 6 way limits of certain county or public highways or 7 roads; conforming a cross-reference; amending s. 8 337.401, F.S.; authorizing the Department of 9 Transportation and certain local governmental entities 10 to prescribe and enforce rules or regulations 11 regarding placing and maintaining specified structures 12 within the right-of-way limits of roads or publicly 13 owned rail corridors under their respective 14 jurisdictions; prohibiting a municipality or county 15 from requiring a utility to provide proprietary maps 16 of facilities under certain circumstances; prohibiting 17 a municipality or county from requiring a provider of 18 communications services to provide proprietary maps of 19 facilities under certain circumstances; amending s. 20 337.403, F.S.; requiring a utility owner, under 21 certain circumstances, to initiate at its own expense 22 the work necessary to alleviate an interference to a 23 public road, including directly associated drainage, 24 or publicly owned rail corridor which is caused by the 25 utility if the utility is placed within the right-of 26 way limits of the public road or publicly owned rail 27 corridor; conforming a cross-reference; requiring an 28 authority or an entity other than the authority to 29 bear the costs of relocating a utility in certain 30 circumstances; providing applicability; requiring the 31 authority to bear the cost of the utility work 32 necessary to eliminate an unreasonable interference if 33 the utility is lawfully located within a certain 34 utility easement; providing legislative findings; 35 providing an effective date. 36 37 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 38 39 Section 1. Section 125.42, Florida Statutes, is amended to 40 read: 41 125.42 Water, sewage, gas, power, telephone, other utility, 42 and television lines within the right-of-way limits ofalong43 county roads and highways.— 44 (1) The board of county commissioners, with respect to 45 property located without the corporate limits of any 46 municipality, is authorized to grant a license to any person or 47 private corporation to construct, maintain, repair, operate, and 48 remove lines for the transmission of water, sewage, gas, power, 49 telephone, other public utilities,andtelevision, or other 50 communications services as defined in s. 202.11 under, on, over, 51 across, or within the right-of-way limits ofand alongany 52 county highway or any public road or highway acquired by the 53 county or public by purchase, gift, devise, dedication, or 54 prescription. However, the board of county commissioners shall 55 include in any instrument granting such license adequate 56 provisions: 57 (a) To prevent the creation of any obstructions or 58 conditions which are or may become dangerous to the traveling 59 public; 60 (b) To require the licensee to repair any damage or injury 61 to the road or highway by reason of the exercise of the 62 privileges granted in any instrument creating such license and 63 to repair the road or highway promptly, restoring it to a 64 condition at least equal to that which existed immediately prior 65 to the infliction of such damage or injury; 66 (c) Whereby the licensee shall hold the board of county 67 commissioners and members thereof harmless from the payment of 68 any compensation or damages resulting from the exercise of the 69 privileges granted in any instrument creating the license; and 70 (d) As may be reasonably necessary, for the protection of 71 the county and the public. 72 (2) A license may be granted in perpetuity or for a term of 73 years, subject, however, to termination by the licensor, in the 74 event the road or highway is closed, abandoned, vacated, 75 discontinued, or reconstructed. 76 (3) The board of county commissioners is authorized to 77 grant exclusive or nonexclusive licenses for the purposes stated 78 herein for television. 79 (4) This law is intended to provide an additional method 80 for the granting of licenses and shall not be construed to 81 repeal any law now in effect relating to the same subject. 82 (5) In the event of widening, repair, or reconstruction of 83 any such road, the licensee shall move or remove such water, 84 sewage, gas, power, telephone, and other utility lines and 85 television lines at no cost to the county should they be found 86 by the county to be unreasonably interfering, except as provided 87 in s. 337.403(1)(d)-(j)s. 337.403(1)(d)-(i). 88 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1), subsection (2), 89 and paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 337.401, Florida 90 Statutes, are amended to read: 91 337.401 Use of right-of-way for utilities subject to 92 regulation; permit; fees.— 93 (1)(a) The department and local governmental entities, 94 referred to in this section and in ss. 337.402, 337.403, and 95 337.404ss. 337.401-337.404as the “authority,” that have 96 jurisdiction and control of public roads or publicly owned rail 97 corridors are authorized to prescribe and enforce reasonable 98 rules or regulations with reference to the placing and 99 maintainingalong,across,oron, or within the right-of-way 100 limits of any road or publicly owned rail corridors under their 101 respective jurisdictions any electric transmission, telephone, 102 telegraph, or other communications services lines; pole lines; 103 poles; railways; ditches; sewers; water, heat, or gas mains; 104 pipelines; fences; gasoline tanks and pumps; or other structures 105 referred to in this section and in ss. 337.402, 337.403, and 106 337.404this sectionas the “utility.” The department may enter 107 into a permit-delegation agreement with a governmental entity if 108 issuance of a permit is based on requirements that the 109 department finds will ensure the safety and integrity of 110 facilities of the Department of Transportation; however, the 111 permit-delegation agreement does not apply to facilities of 112 electric utilities as defined in s. 366.02(2). 113 (2) The authority may grant to any person who is a resident 114 of this state, or to any corporation which is organized under 115 the laws of this state or licensed to do business within this 116 state, the use of a right-of-way for the utility in accordance 117 with such rules or regulations as the authority may adopt. No 118 utility shall be installed, located, or relocated unless 119 authorized by a written permit issued by the authority. However, 120 for public roads or publicly owned rail corridors under the 121 jurisdiction of the department, a utility relocation schedule 122 and relocation agreement may be executed in lieu of a written 123 permit. The permit shall require the permitholder to be 124 responsible for any damage resulting from the issuance of such 125 permit. In exercising its authority over a utility under this 126 section, a municipality or county may not require a utility to 127 provide proprietary maps of facilities where such facilities 128 have been previously subject to a permit from the authority. The 129 authority may initiate injunctive proceedings as provided in s. 130 120.69 to enforce provisions of this subsection or any rule or 131 order issued or entered into pursuant thereto. 132 (3) 133 (b) Registration described in paragraph (a) does not 134 establish a right to place or maintain, or priority for the 135 placement or maintenance of, a communications facility in roads 136 or rights-of-way of a municipality or county. Each municipality 137 and county retains the authority to regulate and manage 138 municipal and county roads or rights-of-way in exercising its 139 police power. Any rules or regulations adopted by a municipality 140 or county which govern the occupation of its roads or rights-of 141 way by providers of communications services must be related to 142 the placement or maintenance of facilities in such roads or 143 rights-of-way, must be reasonable and nondiscriminatory, and may 144 include only those matters necessary to manage the roads or 145 rights-of-way of the municipality or county. In exercising its 146 authority over providers of communications services under this 147 section, a municipality or county may not require a provider of 148 communications services to provide proprietary maps of 149 facilities where such facilities have been previously subject to 150 a permit from the authority. 151 Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 337.403, Florida 152 Statutes, is amended to read: 153 337.403 Interference caused by utility; expenses.— 154 (1) If a utility that is placed upon, under, over, or 155 within the right-of-way limits ofalongany public road or 156 publicly owned rail corridor is found by the authority to be 157 unreasonably interfering in any way with the convenient, safe, 158 or continuous use, or the maintenance, improvement, extension, 159 or expansion, of such public road, including directly associated 160 drainage, or publicly owned rail corridor, the utility owner 161 shall, upon 30 days’ written notice to the utility or its agent 162 by the authority, initiate the work necessary to alleviate the 163 interference at its own expense except as provided in paragraphs 164 (a)-(j)(a)-(i). The work must be completed within such 165 reasonable time as stated in the notice or such time as agreed 166 to by the authority and the utility owner. If an authority 167 requires the relocation of a utility for purposes not described 168 in this subsection, the authority shall bear the cost of 169 relocating the utility. If the relocation is required as a 170 condition or result of a project by an entity other than an 171 authority, the entity other than the authority shall bear the 172 costs of relocating the utility. However, nothing in this 173 subsection shall impair any rights of the holder of any private 174 railroad right-of-way, including any rights in any agreement 175 between the holder of the private railroad right-of-way and a 176 utility that otherwise allocates such relocation cost. 177 (a) If the relocation of utility facilities, as referred to 178 in s. 111 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, Pub. L. No. 179 84-627, is necessitated by the construction of a project on the 180 federal-aid interstate system, including extensions thereof 181 within urban areas, and the cost of the project is eligible and 182 approved for reimbursement by the Federal Government to the 183 extent of 90 percent or more under the Federal Aid Highway Act, 184 or any amendment thereof,then in that eventthe utility owning 185 or operating such facilities shall perform any necessary work 186 upon notice from the department, and the state shall pay the 187 entire expense properly attributable to such work after 188 deducting therefrom any increase in the value of a new facility 189 and any salvage value derived from an old facility. 190 (b) When a joint agreement between the department and the 191 utility is executed for utility work to be accomplished as part 192 of a contract for construction of a transportation facility, the 193 department may participate in those utility work costs that 194 exceed the department’s official estimate of the cost of the 195 work by more than 10 percent. The amount of such participation 196 is limited to the difference between the official estimate of 197 all the work in the joint agreement plus 10 percent and the 198 amount awarded for this work in the construction contract for 199 such work. The department may not participate in any utility 200 work costs that occur as a result of changes or additions during 201 the course of the contract. 202 (c) When an agreement between the department and utility is 203 executed for utility work to be accomplished in advance of a 204 contract for construction of a transportation facility, the 205 department may participate in the cost of clearing and grubbing 206 necessary to perform such work. 207 (d) If the utility facility was initially installed to 208 exclusively serve the authority or its tenants, or both, the 209 authority shall bear the costs of the utility work. However, the 210 authority is not responsible for the cost of utility work 211 related to any subsequent additions to that facility for the 212 purpose of serving others. For a county or municipality, if such 213 utility facility was installed in the right-of-way as a means to 214 serve a county or municipal facility on a parcel of property 215 adjacent to the right-of-way and if the intended use of the 216 county or municipal facility is for a use other than 217 transportation purposes, the obligation of the county or 218 municipality to bear the costs of the utility work shall extend 219 only to utility work on the parcel of property on which the 220 facility of the county or municipality originally served by the 221 utility facility is located. 222 (e) If, under an agreement between a utility and the 223 authority entered into after July 1, 2009, the utility conveys, 224 subordinates, or relinquishes a compensable property right to 225 the authority for the purpose of accommodating the acquisition 226 or use of the right-of-way by the authority, without the 227 agreement expressly addressing future responsibility for the 228 cost of necessary utility work, the authority shall bear the 229 cost of removal or relocation. This paragraph does not impair or 230 restrict, and may not be used to interpret, the terms of any 231 such agreement entered into before July 1, 2009. 232 (f) If the utility is an electric facility being relocated 233 underground in order to enhance vehicular, bicycle, and 234 pedestrian safety and in which ownership of the electric 235 facility to be placed underground has been transferred from a 236 private to a public utility within the past 5 years, the 237 department shall incur all costs of the necessary utility work. 238 (g) An authority may bear the costs of utility work 239 required to eliminate an unreasonable interference when the 240 utility is not able to establish that it has a compensable 241 property right in the particular property where the utility is 242 located if: 243 1. The utility was physically located on the particular 244 property before the authority acquired rights in the property; 245 2. The utility demonstrates that it has a compensable 246 property right in adjacent properties along the alignment of the 247 utility or, after due diligence, certifies that the utility does 248 not have evidence to prove or disprove that it has a compensable 249 property right in the particular property where the utility is 250 located; and 251 3. The information available to the authority does not 252 establish the relative priorities of the authority’s and the 253 utility’s interests in the particular property. 254 (h) If a municipally owned utility or county-owned utility 255 is located in a rural area of critical economic concern, as 256 defined in s. 288.0656(2), and the department determines that 257 the utility is unable, and will not be able within the next 10 258 years, to pay for the cost of utility work necessitated by a 259 department project on the State Highway System, the department 260 may pay, in whole or in part, the cost of such utility work 261 performed by the department or its contractor. 262 (i) If the relocation of utility facilities is necessitated 263 by the construction of a commuter rail service project or an 264 intercity passenger rail service project and the cost of the 265 project is eligible and approved for reimbursement by the 266 Federal Government, then in that event the utility owning or 267 operating such facilities located by permit on a department 268 owned rail corridor shall perform any necessary utility 269 relocation work upon notice from the department, and the 270 department shall pay the expense properly attributable to such 271 utility relocation work in the same proportion as federal funds 272 are expended on the commuter rail service project or an 273 intercity passenger rail service project after deducting 274 therefrom any increase in the value of a new facility and any 275 salvage value derived from an old facility. In no event shall 276 the state be required to use state dollars for such utility 277 relocation work. This paragraph does not apply to any phase of 278 the Central Florida Commuter Rail project, known as SunRail. 279 (j) If a utility is lawfully located within an existing and 280 valid utility easement granted by recorded plat, regardless of 281 whether such land was subsequently acquired by the authority by 282 dedication, transfer of fee, or otherwise, the authority shall 283 bear the cost of the utility work required to eliminate an 284 unreasonable interference. 285 Section 4. The Legislature finds that a proper and 286 legitimate state purpose is served by clarifying a utility’s 287 responsibility for relocating its facilities within the right 288 of-way or within a utility easement granted by recorded plat. 289 Therefore, the Legislature determines and declares that this act 290 fulfills an important state interest. 291 Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 292