Bill Text: NJ A821 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires notification of municipalities by public utilities under certain circumstances.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-16 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee [A821 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A821-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2014 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ROBERT AUTH
District 39 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires notification of municipalities by public utilities under certain circumstances.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning public utilities and supplementing chapter 67 of Title 40 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Unless otherwise provided by any municipal requirement, ordinance or contract with the municipality to the contrary, at the discretion of a municipality, a public utility as defined in R.S.48:2-13 shall notify the municipality not less than 60 days prior to undertaking any installation, construction, maintenance, repair, renewal, relocation or removal of any pipes, mains, conduits, cables, wires, towers, poles or other equipment and appliances, herein called "facilities," in, on, along, under or over any municipal roadway, except in cases where the work is undertaken in response to an emergency, or where the municipality deems it appropriate to waive the notification requirement, and shall obtain whatever permit the municipality requires as a condition for allowing such work to proceed. In cases where the utility undertakes work in response to an emergency, the utility shall notify promptly the appropriate police department of the municipality in which the work is being undertaken.
Unless otherwise provided by the municipality, the utility shall submit to the municipality a certified check or bond as a guarantee of compliance with the provisions of any permit or conditions established by the municipality to guarantee restoration of the road right of way or property in an amount sufficient to cover costs that may be incurred by the municipality in making repairs or restoration of its right of way or property if the satisfactory repair or restoration is not made by the utility. The amount of the certified check or bond shall represent the best judgment and estimate of the municipal engineer of the actual cost to the municipality that might be incurred to restore the roadway to its condition prior to commencement of any installation, construction, maintenance, repair, renewal, relocation or removal of any facilities if such work were not properly performed by the utility.
2. Prior to the completion of any work undertaken by a utility as described pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and the closing of any road opened in completing such work, the utility shall notify the appropriate municipal approving authority, who shall ensure that the utility construction conforms to all applicable codes, standards and specifications. No bond or check tendered pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be released without the approval of the municipal approving authority.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require that public utilities notify municipalities within 60 days of undertaking any installation, construction, maintenance, repair, renewal, relocation or removal of any pipes, mains, conduits, cables, wires, towers, poles or other equipment in, on, along, under or over any municipal roadway, except in cases of emergency.
The bill would also require utilities to post a certified check or bond with municipalities in an amount sufficient to cover costs that may be incurred by the municipality in making repairs or restoration of its right of way or property if the satisfactory repair or restoration is not made by the utility. The bill authorizes the municipality to hold onto the bond until the work has been satisfactorily completed in the judgment of the municipal approving authority.
The bill provides that unless otherwise provided by any municipal requirement, ordinance or contract with the municipality to the contrary, a public utility must notify a municipality not less than 60 days prior to beginning any work specified in the bill, except in cases of emergency. There is an exception to this requirement in cases where the municipality deems it appropriate to waive the notification requirement. Further, in cases where the utility undertakes work in response to an emergency, the bill would require the utility to notify promptly the appropriate police department of the municipality in which the work is being undertaken.
