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House passes bill requiring earlier coordination and repair accountability for broadband construction
Summary
HB 259 requires at least one calendar week of pre-excavation coordination, immediate notification of damaged utilities, and ties final payment to completion of repairs to keep local communities from bearing repair costs; the House passed the bill after amendments to strengthen accountability.
Representative Sam DeWitt presented House Bill 259 to address routine damage to underground utilities during broadband expansion. "If you break it, you fix it before you get paid," DeWitt said, urging the chamber to require more pre-work coordination and stronger enforcement to protect small-town water systems and other local infrastructure.
DeWitt said the bill lengthens pre-construction notice from two days to one calendar week, requires immediate notification when a utility is damaged, and ties final contractor payments to completion of necessary repairs. Several members raised practical concerns about mapping gaps for rural water systems and whether contractors could feasibly coordinate large projects in the proposed window. DeWitt responded that the bill seeks to improve coordination and accountability but acknowledged it does not solve legacy mapping or funding gaps for rural utilities.
Floor amendments were adopted to remove problematic language about hazardous materials response and to clarify reimbursement holdbacks; the bill passed on a recorded vote (98 yays). Representative DeWitt moved to adopt the title and laid the motion on the table without objection.
