Virginia Senate Bill 794 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Completed Legislative Action
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: Passed on April 10 2020 - 100% progression
Action: 2020-04-10 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1131)
Text: Latest bill text (Chaptered) [HTML]

Utility easements; location of broadband facilities. Declares that it is the policy of the Commonwealth that (i) easements for the location and use of electric and communications facilities may be used to provide or expand broadband or other communications services; (ii) the use of easements to provide or expand broadband or other communications services is in the public interest; (iii) the installation, replacement, or use of public utility conduit, including the costs of installation, replacement, or use of conduit of a sufficient size to accommodate the installation of infrastructure to provide or expand broadband or other communications services, is in the public interest; (iv) the use of easements to provide or expand broadband or other communications services (a) does not constitute a change in the physical use of the easement; (b) does not interfere with, impair, or take any vested or other rights of the owner or occupant of the servient estate; (c) does not place any additional burden on the servient estate other than a de minimis burden, if any; and (d) has value to the owner or occupant of the servient estate greater that any de minimum impact; and (v) the installation and operation of broadband or other communications services within easements, appurtenant or gross, are merely changes in the manner, purpose, or degree of the granted use as appropriate to accommodate a new technology. The measure further provides that (1) absent any express prohibition on the installation and operation of broadband or other communications services in an easement that is contained in a deed or other instrument by which the easement was granted, the installation and operation of broadband or other communications services within any easement shall be deemed, as a matter of law, to be a permitted use within the scope of every easement for the location and use of electric and communications facilities and (2) subject to compliance with any express prohibitions in a written easement, any incumbent utility or communications provider may use an easement to install, construct, provide, maintain, modify, lease, operate, repair, replace, or remove its communications equipment, system, or facilities, and provide communications services through the same, without such incumbent utility or communications provider paying additional compensation to the owner or occupant of the servient estate or to the incumbent utility, provided that no additional utility poles are installed. The measure provides that any incumbent utility or communications provider may use a prescriptive easement to install, construct, provide, maintain, modify, lease, operate, repair, replace, or remove its communications equipment, system, or facilities, and provide communications services through the same, without such incumbent utility or communications provider paying additional compensation to the owner or occupant of the servient estate or to the incumbent utility, provided that no additional utility poles are installed.

Utility easements; location of broadband and other communications facilities.

Sen. Lynwood Lewis [D]

Sen. Mark Peake [R]

Sen. William Stanley [R]

2020-02-27 - Senate - Senate: House substitute agreed to by Senate (35-Y 3-N 1-A) (Y: 35 N: 3 NV: 1 Abs: 1) [PASS]
2020-02-25 - House - House: VOTE: Passage (92-Y 7-N 1-A) (Y: 92 N: 7 NV: 0 Abs: 1) [PASS]
2020-02-18 - House - House: Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (21-Y 0-N) (Y: 21 N: 0 NV: 1 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2020-02-06 - Senate - Senate: Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) (Y: 40 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2020-02-06 - Senate - Senate: Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) (Y: 40 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2020-02-05 - Senate - Senate: Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) (Y: 40 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2020-02-03 - Senate - Senate: Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute (14-Y 0-N) (Y: 14 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2020-02-03 - Senate - Senate: Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute (13-Y 1-N) (Y: 12 N: 1 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]

Date	Chamber	Action
2020-04-10		Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1131)
2020-04-10		Governor: Approved by Governor-Chapter 1131 (effective 7/1/20)
2020-03-12		Governor: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 11, 2020
2020-03-12	Senate	Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on March 12, 2020
2020-03-05	House	Signed by Speaker
2020-03-05	Senate	Signed by President
2020-03-04	Senate	Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB794ER)
2020-03-04	Senate	Enrolled
2020-02-27	Senate	Title replaced 20108506D-H1
2020-02-27	Senate	House substitute agreed to by Senate (35-Y 3-N 1-A)
2020-02-25	House	VOTE: Passage (92-Y 7-N 1-A)
2020-02-25	House	Passed House with substitute (92-Y 7-N 1-A)
2020-02-25	House	Engrossed by House - committee substitute SB794H1
2020-02-25	House	Committee substitute agreed to 20108506D-H1
2020-02-25	House	Read third time
2020-02-24	House	Passed by for the day
2020-02-21	House	Passed by for the day
2020-02-20	House	Read second time
2020-02-18	House	Committee substitute printed 20108506D-H1
2020-02-18	House	Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (21-Y 0-N)
2020-02-13	House	Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce
2020-02-13	House	Read first time
2020-02-13	House	Placed on Calendar
2020-02-06	Senate	Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N)
2020-02-06	Senate	Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
2020-02-06	Senate	Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute SB794S1
2020-02-06	Senate	Committee substitute agreed to 20106150D-S1
2020-02-06	Senate	Reading of substitute waived
2020-02-06	Senate	Read second time
2020-02-05	Senate	Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
2020-02-03	Senate	Committee substitute printed 20106150D-S1
2020-02-03	Senate	Incorporates SB539 (Peake)
2020-02-03	Senate	Incorporates SB302 (Stanley)
2020-02-03	Senate	Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute (14-Y 0-N)
2020-01-17	Senate	Assigned C&L sub: Energy
2020-01-08	Senate	Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
2020-01-08	Senate	Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20104980D

HB831 (Same As) 2020-04-10 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1132)

Chapter	Article	Section	Citation Type	Statute Text
55	1	306	(n/a)	See Bill Text

Type	Source
Summary	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+SB794
Text	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+SB794+hil
Text	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+SB794S1+hil
Text	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+SB794H1+hil
Text	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+SB794ER+hil
Text	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP1131+hil
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+vot+S02V0079+SB0794
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+vot+S02V0101+SB0794
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+vot+SV0357SB0794+SB0794
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+vot+SV0373SB0794+SB0794
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+vot+SV0374SB0794+SB0794
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+vot+H14V0285+SB0794
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+vot+HV1360+SB0794
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+vot+SV1150SB0794+SB0794