Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House passes task-force bill setting utility relocation cost-sharing, trench-sharing rules
Summary
Senate Bill 78 requires the Department of Transportation to pay 50% of relocation costs for utilities within state highway projects, establishes competitive-neutral permitting and shared-trench capacity rules; it passed the House 57-7.
The House approved Senate Bill 78, a multipart task-force bill that sets statewide rules for utilities and highway rights-of-way.
Representative Hatch, describing work by a task force of lawmakers, utility and private-sector members and UDOT, said SB78 requires the Department of Transportation to pay half the cost of relocating utilities within a state highway project, requires excavation and installation permit fees to be competitive-neutral, and establishes a prorated system for sharing trench capacity based on fiber or capacity held.
The bill defines compensation for access to the interstate system and restricts use of in-kind telecommunications capacity acquired by the state so that it will be used for statewide purposes and will not compete with the private sector. Hatch said the task force reached a bipartisan, stakeholder-driven compromise and asked for support. The House passed SB78 on the floor, 57 yes to 7 no.
