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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 "This legislation aims to make Missouri's broadband investment landscape more competitive by modernizing outdated utility relocation policies," the senator from Franklin told colleagues on the floor.
The substitute was narrowed in committee work and in floor amendments: the final negotiated language limited reimbursement to just labor costs (not equipment), phased in annual caps and included a sunset. Senators adopted an amendment directing the Public Service Commission and MoDOT to develop criteria for colocation of facilities in highway rights of way to avoid cutting new lines across private land where feasible.
Fiscal concerns dominated much of the floor discussion. A senator inquired whether MoDOT had agreed to the changes; debate referenced earlier estimates and fiscal notes. One senator said he had heard MoDOT might view potential annual claims in larger budgets, citing a figure that had circulated indicating MoDOT reimbursement could be substantial over multiple years. The sponsor and supporters negotiated a compromise that lowered aggregate exposure to the state with a three-year sunset and capped annual reimbursement at $25 million per year under the amended language.
After amendment votes and agreement on a cap and sunset compromise, the sponsor laid the bill over to the informal calendar for additional work before final passage.
Key unresolved items for future floor action included administrative rules to allocate the capped funds and whether reimbursements would be reflected in lower consumer rates for customers of providers receiving payments.
