Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Senate advances bill to reimburse broadband and other utilities for labor costs in state road projects, but senators press MoDOT fiscal concerns
Summary
Senate substitute for Senate Bill 10 65 would require MoDOT to reimburse non-rate-regulated utilities (broadband, cable, telephone) for labor costs when the state forces relocation on highway projects. Lawmakers adopted amendments to ask MoDOT and the Public Service Commission to develop colocation criteria and agreed a compromise cap and sunset (three years at $25 million per year). Some senators raised concerns about the impact on MoDOT's budget and possible consumer pass-throughs.
The Missouri Senate took up and amended Senate substitute for Senate Bill 10 65, a bill intended to encourage broadband deployment by shifting some relocation labor costs from non-rate-regulated utilities to the Missouri Department of Transportation for state projects.
Sponsor remarks described the bill as leveling the playing field for broadband and other non-rate-regulated providers that lack a PSC rate-recovery mechanism available to investor-owned utilities. "This legislation aims to make Missouri's…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat