Bill Text: NJ A3495 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides changes to transportation planning and funding process to reduce costs of certain transportation infrastructure projects.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-03-05 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee [A3495 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A3495-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman AMY H. HANDLIN
District 13 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Provides changes to transportation planning and funding process to reduce costs of certain transportation infrastructure projects.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning transportation infrastructure projects, amending P.L.1984, c.73, supplementing Titles 27, 40, and 52 of the Revised Statutes, and repealing section 1 of P.L.1983, c.283.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 21 of P.L.1984, c.73 (C.27:1B-21) is amended to read as follows:
21. a. There is hereby established a separate fund entitled "Special Transportation Fund." This fund shall be maintained by the State Treasurer and may be held in depositories as may be selected by the treasurer and invested and reinvested as other funds in the custody of the treasurer, in the manner provided by law. The commissioner may from time to time (but not more frequently than monthly) certify to the authority an amount necessary to fund payments made, or anticipated to be made by or on behalf of the department, from appropriations established for or made to the department from revenues or other funds of the authority. The commissioner's certification shall be deemed conclusive for purposes of the act. The authority shall, within 15 days of receipt of the certificate, transfer from available funds of the authority to the treasurer for deposit in the Special Transportation Fund the amount certified by the commissioner, provided that all funds transferred shall only be expended by the department by project pursuant to appropriations made from time to time by the Legislature for the purposes of the act.
b. The department shall not expend any money except as appropriated by law. Commencing with appropriations for the fiscal years beginning on July 1, 1988, the department shall not expend any funds, other than for permitted maintenance, except as are appropriated by specific projects identified by a description of the projects, the county or counties within which they are located, and amounts to be expended on each project, in the annual appropriations act. Funds expended for permitted maintenance may be appropriated as one item of appropriation and subject to allocation at the commissioner's discretion.
c. No funds appropriated, authorized, or expended pursuant to this act shall be used to finance the resurfacing of highways by department personnel, where that resurfacing would require the use of more than 100,000 tons of bituminous concrete for that purpose in any calendar year, except that the commissioner may waive this provision when the commissioner determines the existence of emergency conditions requiring the use of department personnel for the resurfacing of highways, after the department has effectively reached the 100,000 ton limit.
d. In order to provide the department with flexibility in administering the specific appropriations by project identified in the annual appropriations act, the commissioner may transfer a part of any item to any other item subject to the approval of the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting and of the Joint Budget Oversight Committee or its successor. Upon approval of the director and the committee, the transfer shall take effect.
e. Any federal funds which become available to the State for transportation projects which have not been appropriated to the department in the annual appropriations act, shall be deemed appropriated to the department and may, subject to approval by the Joint Budget Oversight Committee and the State Treasurer, be expended for any purpose for which such funds are qualified.
f. There shall be no appropriations from the revenues and other funds of the authority for regular and routine maintenance of public highways and components thereof, or operational activities of the department unrelated to the implementation of, and indirect costs associated with, the capital program. This restriction shall apply to the purchase or lease of any vehicle used for this purpose. The commissioner shall include in his annual budget request sufficient funding to effectuate the purposes of P.L.2000, c.73 (C.27:1B-21.14 et al.).
g. To the extent that salaries or overhead of the department or the New Jersey Transit Corporation are charged to transportation projects, each agency shall keep adequate and truthful personnel records, and time charts to adequately justify each such charge, and shall make those records available to the external auditor to the authority.
h. The commissioner shall annually, on or before January 1 of each fiscal year, report to the Governor and the Legislature how much money was expended in the previous fiscal year for salaries and overhead of the department and the New Jersey Transit Corporation. However, the amount expended from the revenues and other funds of the authority for salaries and overhead of the department and the New Jersey Transit Corporation for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006 through the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015 shall not exceed 13 percent of the total funds appropriated from the revenues and other nonfederal funds of the authority for those fiscal years, and [shall not exceed $208,000,000] for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2016 shall be gradually decreased until the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018 in which the amount shall not exceed 8.66 percent for that fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter.
i. No revenues or other funds of the authority shall be expended for emergency response operations, the review of applications for access permits under the State highway access management code and membership fees or other fees connected with membership in TRANSCOM, the Transportation Operations Coordinating Committee.
j. Every project in which revenues or other funds of the authority are expended shall be included on a website created by the authority whose exclusive purpose shall be reporting on the status of State and federal projects and serving as a singular location for State and federal public documentation concerning those projects. The website shall document the status of each project, presented in tabular form outlining the budgeted amount, the amount spent and committed, and the amount necessary to complete each project. The website shall include a chart which compares the planned and actual quarterly and cumulative expenditures for each project. The website shall chronicle actions which have a bearing on the progress of projects, including, but not limited to, awards for legal, insurance, and engineering services, environmental review, public involvement and outreach, property acquisitions, and construction contracts. The website shall also include a description of any action by an external regulatory agency such as the Department of Environmental Protection, or any other party, which occurred during the reporting period that affected the cost or timely completion of any project in any manner. Information concerning each project shall be included and updated, at minimum, once per month.
k. There shall be a minimum appropriation from the revenues and other funds of the authority of $25,000,000 each fiscal year, commencing with the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2016 for the design, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, land acquisition, and environmental mitigation of freight rail projects that: are significant to port commerce connectivity; eliminate rail freight missing links to port facilities; or upgrade freight rail trackage to a 286,000 pound load carrying capacity. The amount appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall be inclusive of all amounts annually appropriated for the New Jersey Rail Freight Assistance Program.
(cf: P.L.2016, c.56, s.4)
2. (New section) In addition to, and not in limitation of, the powers of the Commissioner of Transportation, pursuant to R.S.27:7-21, the commissioner shall adopt rules, regulations, and specifications allowing that, for the purposes of department cost savings and increased efficiencies, in any contract covering all matters and things incident to the acquisition, improvement, betterment, construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and repair of a public highway, as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1985, c.334, (C.58:11B-3), that:
a. the contract contain a provision providing for bonus compensation payment to the contractor, of an amount less than the amount of savings to the Department of Transportation, if the contractor completes a public highway prior to the schedule provided for in the contract; and
b. the contract contain a provision allowing the Department of Transportation to require all contractors working on department projects to use a limited number of designs and limited types of designs for a public highway and a limited number of materials and limited types of materials used for the acquisition, improvement, betterment, construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and repair of a public highway which have been pre-approved by the department.
3. (New section) For the purposes of Department of Transportation cost savings and increased efficiencies, the Commissioner of Transportation, in entering into a cooperative agreement with any county enabling the provision of payments for the cost of designs, labor, and materials for road projects deemed necessary for the effectuation of State or federally-financed State transportation aid and related programs, shall negotiate a single cooperative agreement with a county to provide payments for the cost of designs, labor, and materials, including those designs and materials as required pursuant to subsection b. of section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), for road projects to that county and to every municipality within that county. The cooperative agreement shall be used as a template for any cooperative agreement the Department of Transportation establishes with a municipality within the county where the county is not a party to that cooperative agreement.
4. (New section) The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. Infrastructure projects, such as highways projects, transportation projects, or other types of projects in the public rights-of-way, are vital to maintaining the quality of life enjoyed by the citizens of this State and to ensuring the health, safety, and welfare of its residents.
b. Very often these infrastructure projects cannot be undertaken without impact costs resulting from ancillary accommodation work and the relocation of public utility and cable television facilities located in project areas, and along roads and highways, and in the public rights-of-way.
c. Public utilities and cable television companies doing business in the State of New Jersey have been granted a privilege to occupy the public rights-of-way and to occupy areas along the State's roads and highways as public utilities and cable television companies that provide vital public services.
d. Prior to the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the Commissioner of Transportation was authorized to include the costs associated with any ancillary accommodation work or the relocation of public utility and cable television facilities in the overall cost of highway projects, thereby requiring taxpayers and citizens of this State to fund these costs.
e. In addition, other costs are also passed on to the taxpayers as a result of the existence of facilities during the planning and design phase, the bidding phase, and the construction phase of infrastructure projects.
f. In many instances, public utilities and cable television companies delay the relocation of their facilities, thereby increasing the costs of infrastructure projects and denying taxpayers the use of infrastructure projects.
g. For any infrastructure project, undertaken by a State, county, or municipal contracting entity and financed with public funds, wherein the existence of public utility or cable television facilities will cause ancillary accommodation work or relocation of public utility or cable television facilities, the cost of such accommodation or relocation shall be borne by that public utility or cable television company and shall not be passed along to the taxpayers of this State.
5. (New section) As used in sections 4 through 14 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Ancillary accommodation work" means any work caused by, or resulting from, the existence of a public utility or cable television facility within any project area including, but not limited to, a public right-of-way in the course of the design or performance of any infrastructure project. This shall include, but need not be limited to, any work associated with any interference with construction, loss of production, relocation, installation, support, protection in place, or removal of public utility or cable television company facilities within a project area.
"Cable television company" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 3 of P.L.1972, c.186 (C.48:5A-3).
"Contracting entity" means any State, county, or municipal entity that enters into a contract with a contractor for an infrastructure project.
"Contractor" means a person who is directly awarded and enters into a contract for services related to an infrastructure project by a contracting entity.
"Coordination meeting" means a meeting conducted by a contracting entity for the purpose of coordinating the design, planning, and construction of an infrastructure project.
"Draft infrastructure project work plan and construction schedule" means a draft of a plan and construction schedule for an infrastructure project being contemplated by a contracting entity, which shall include, but need not be limited to, the preliminary design and construction completion schedule anticipated for the infrastructure project.
"Final infrastructure project work plan and construction schedule" means a plan and construction schedule for an infrastructure project that has been adopted by the contracting entity. This shall include, at a minimum, the final design and construction completion schedule anticipated for the infrastructure project.
"Highway" means any road, street, highway, thoroughfare, bridge, tunnel, overpass, interchange, or right-of-way which is open to the use of the public for the purpose of vehicular travel and which is maintained, owned, controlled, or otherwise under the jurisdiction of the State, a county, or a municipality.
"Highway project" means a project comprising the planning, acquisition, engineering, construction, reconstruction, repair, resurfacing, and rehabilitation of highways and the planning, acquisition, engineering, construction, reconstruction, repair, maintenance, and rehabilitation of public transportation projects and of other transportation projects which the State, a county, or a municipality may be authorized by law to undertake.
"Impact cost" means any direct or indirect cost associated with any adverse impact on the productive cycle of construction activity on an infrastructure project or, any impact that will prevent a contracting entity from proceeding with the construction and completion of an infrastructure project caused by public utility or cable television company facilities in the project area during the course of an infrastructure project. These costs include, but need not be limited to, any cost as a result of delay in the construction of the project, loss of production, lost profit, and extended field and home office overhead.
"Infrastructure project" means any highway project or transportation project or the construction, reconstruction, alteration, addition, physical betterment, or improvement of any other infrastructure within a contracting entity's jurisdiction.
"Infrastructure project contract" means any contract entered into by a contracting entity and a contractor related to an infrastructure project.
"Project area" means the physical area in which an infrastructure project is located.
"Public highway" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 3 of P.L.1985, c.334, (C.58:11B-3).
"Public transportation project" means, in connection with public transportation service, a passenger station, shelter, terminal, automobile parking facility, ferry, ferry facility, including a capital project for a ferry terminal, approach roadway, pedestrian accommodation, parking, dock, and other necessary land-side improvement, ramp, track connection, signal system, power system, information and communication system, roadbed, transit lane, right-of-way, equipment storage, pedestrian walkway, bridge connecting to a passenger station and servicing facility, bridge, grade crossing, rail car, locomotive, motorbus and other motor vehicle, maintenance and garage facility, revenue handling equipment, and any other equipment, facility, or property useful for or related to the provision of public transportation service.
"Public utility" means an entity, publicly, cooperatively, or investor-owned, established for the purpose of transmitting or distributing telecommunications, power, electricity, light, heat, gas, oil, crude products, water, steam, waste, storm water, or any other similar commodity.
"Public utility facility" means any track, pipe, main or lateral, conduit, access manhole or chamber, cable, wire, towers, pole, telecommunications equipment, data transmissions system, or other equipment, appliance, or apparatus of any public utility, but not including any railroad or any cable television company.
"Right-of-way" means any right-of-way dedicated to public use, the jurisdiction over which is held by a State, county, or municipal entity.
"Transportation project" means, in addition to a public highway and public transportation project, any equipment, facility, or property useful or related to the provision of any ground, waterborne, or air transportation for the movement of people and goods, including rail freight infrastructure.
6. (New section) a. A contracting entity shall prepare a written draft infrastructure project work plan and construction schedule for a proposed infrastructure project within its jurisdiction. The draft infrastructure project work plan and construction schedule shall include, but need not be limited to, the following information: a description of the infrastructure project, the time frame in which the infrastructure project shall commence, the time frame for completion of the infrastructure project, a listing of every public utility and cable television company doing business or located within the contracting entity's jurisdiction, and any other relevant information concerning the infrastructure project.
b. A contracting entity
shall prepare a written final infrastructure project work plan and construction
schedule after the coordination meeting required to be held pursuant to
subsection b. of section 7 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill). The final infrastructure project work plan and
construction schedule shall include, but need not be limited to, the following
information: a detailed description of the infrastructure project, the time
frame in which the infrastructure project shall commence, the time frame for
completion of the infrastructure project, a listing of every public utility and
cable television company doing business or located within the contracting
entity's jurisdiction, and any other relevant information concerning the
infrastructure project.
7. (New section) a. A contracting entity shall provide notice to every public utility and cable television company which does business or is located within the contracting entity's jurisdiction of any impending infrastructure project within that jurisdiction during the initial planning and design phase of the project and no later than 120 calendar days prior to the solicitation of bids for that infrastructure project. The notice shall be provided by certified mail, return receipt requested, and shall include a copy of the draft infrastructure project work plan and construction schedule required pursuant to subsection a. of section 6 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. Within 60 days of the date of notice provided under subsection a. of this section, the contracting entity shall schedule and hold a coordination meeting between the contracting entity and all authorized representatives from any public utility or cable television company provided notice of the infrastructure project, pursuant to subsection a. of this section, in order to establish the coordination of the infrastructure project and any public utility or cable television company facility protection or relocation work that is required for purposes of the infrastructure project.
8. (New section) a. Immediately upon receipt of the draft infrastructure work plan and construction schedule required to be provided to a public utility or cable television company, pursuant to subsection a. of section 7 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the legislature as this bill), and prior to the coordination meeting, the affected public utility and cable television company shall undertake all necessary pre-engineering and field location testing, as required, to determine the precise location and extent of their facilities that exist within, and adjacent to, the project area. All costs associated with this pre-engineering shall be borne by the public utility or cable television company, or both, as appropriate.
b. At the coordination meeting, any public utility or cable television company whose facility is located in the project area shall provide, in writing, an accurate description, characteristic, and location of all of their facilities, and shall provide a written determination of every facility that will have an impact on the infrastructure project, including whether the characteristic or location of the facility will adversely impact the productive cycle of construction activity on the infrastructure project or, in any manner, will prevent a contracting entity from proceeding in the construction and completion of the infrastructure project.
9. (New section) Within 30 days of the coordination meeting held pursuant to subsection b. of section 7 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the contracting entity shall distribute to every public utility and cable television company who attended the coordination meeting the final infrastructure project work plan and construction schedule.
10. (New section) At the discretion of the public utility or cable television company, if it is determined that the public utility or cable television company will perform all, or a portion of, the ancillary accommodation work prior to commencing the infrastructure project, the public utility or cable television company shall perform and complete the ancillary accommodation work in accordance with the final infrastructure project work plan and construction schedule and without any interference or delay to the contractor's work schedule. The public utility or cable television company shall be liable to the contracting entity for any impact costs incurred by the contractor as a result of the failure of the public utility or cable television company to complete the ancillary accommodation work in accordance with the final infrastructure project work plan and construction schedule.
11. (New section) At the discretion of a public utility or cable television company whose facility adversely impacts the productive cycle of construction activity on an infrastructure project or in any matter prevents a contracting entity from proceeding in the construction and completion of an infrastructure project, if it is determined that, due to circumstances beyond the control of that public utility or cable television company, it cannot complete a portion, or all, of the ancillary accommodation work within, or adjacent to, the project area, and that the contracting entity will be required to perform a portion, or all, of the ancillary accommodation work under the infrastructure project contract, the contracting entity shall include in its solicitation for bid an allowance item to be funded by the public utility or cable television company to reimburse the contracting entity for any impact costs associated with the ancillary accommodation work. In order to ensure funding for the ancillary accommodation work, the public utility or cable television company shall post a payment bond payable to the contracting entity for the estimated cost of the ancillary accommodation work as determined by the contracting entity.
12. (New section) If, at the discretion of the contracting entity, it is determined that a public utility or cable television facility, in any manner, will delay or prevent the contracting entity from proceeding with the construction and completion of the infrastructure project, the contracting entity shall notify the public utility or cable television company, as appropriate, that the public utility or cable television company is interfering with the infrastructure project and has a set amount of time to relocate, remove, shift, alter, or protect, as appropriate, their facility or facilities so as not to interfere in any way with the infrastructure project.
13. (New section) If, at the discretion of the contracting entity with jurisdiction over a project area, the existing public utility facilities or cable television company facilities are deemed to be of a poor and deteriorated condition such that those facilities require replacement, the public utility or cable television company responsible for maintaining the facilities shall perform this work prior to the completion of the infrastructure project contract.
14. (New section) A contractor awarded an infrastructure project contract by the contracting entity shall be given priority over other entities to perform any non-specialized public utility facility or cable television company facility work performed by the public utility or cable television company during the construction phase of the infrastructure project.
15. (New section) As used in sections 15 and 16 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Cable television company" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 3 of P.L.1972, c.186 (C.48:5A-3).
"Emergency" means any condition that creates a risk to the public of potential injury or property damage.
"Improvement project" means the laying out, opening, construction, widening, straightening, enlargement, extension, alteration, changing of location, grading, paving, or otherwise improving, of a public highway.
"Project area" means the physical area in which an improvement project is located.
"Public highway" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 3 of P.L.1985, c.334, (C.58:11B-3).
"Public utility" shall have the same meaning as provided in R.S.48:2-13.
"Utility work" means connecting, disconnecting, servicing, or repairing or attempting to connect, disconnect, service, or repair any utility service.
16. (New section) a. No later than 90 days before a county or municipality begins an improvement project on a public highway under its jurisdiction, the county or municipality shall notify all public utilities and cable television companies doing business or located within the project area that the county or municipality will undertake the improvement project.
b. Upon receipt of the notice required pursuant to subsection a. of this section, a public utility and cable television company shall have 14 days to notify the county or municipality of any utility work expected to be conducted by the public utility and cable television company in the project area in the next five years.
c. The public utility and cable television company and the county or municipality shall determine an adequate number of days during which the public utility and cable television company shall be permitted to conduct utility work in the project area before the county or municipality will commence the improvement project. A county or municipality may, at its discretion, allow a public utility and cable television company to conduct utility work while the county or municipality is working on the improvement project.
d. The notice required pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall provide that the public utility and cable television company is prohibited from engaging in any utility work that will result in any opening or alteration to the surface of a highway in the project area for five years commencing on the date the improvement project is completed, except that the prohibition shall not apply in the case of an emergency or to accommodate new construction.
17. (New section) a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule, regulation, or order to the contrary, a business needing a permit to conduct work on a "public highway," as that term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1985, c.334, (C.58:11B-3), shall receive priority status from the Department of Transportation and any other State agency or a local agency required to issue an approved permit related to that work.
18. Section 1 of P.L.1983, c.283 (C.27:7-44.9) is repealed.
19. This act shall take effect immediately but shall remain inoperative for 90 days following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides for reforms to current law in an effort to reduce the costs of transportation projects in this State. The bill requires a reduction in the amount of Transportation Trust Fund Authority (authority) support for the salaries and overhead of the Department of Transportation (department) and the New Jersey Transit Corporation from an amount not to exceed $208,000,000 in fiscal year 2016 to an amount not to exceed 8.66 percent of the total funds appropriated from the revenues of other non-federal funds of the authority by fiscal year 2018 and for each fiscal year thereafter. The bill prohibits an appropriation from the authority's revenues or other funds to purchase or lease certain vehicles.
The bill requires the Commissioner of Transportation (commissioner) to adopt rules, regulations, and specifications allowing that in any contract concerning the undertaking of a highway project, that: 1) the contract contain a provision providing for bonus compensation payment to the contractor, of an amount less than the amount of savings to the department if the contractor completes the project prior to the schedule provided for in the contract; and 2) the contract contain a provision allowing the department to require a contractor to use a limited number of designs and limited types of designs for a highway project and a limited number of materials and limited types of materials used for a highway project which have been pre-approved by the department.
The bill provides that the commissioner, in entering into a cooperative agreement with any county enabling the provision of payments for the cost of labor and materials for road projects deemed necessary for the effectuation of State or federally-financed State transportation aid and related programs, is to negotiate a single cooperative agreement with a county to provide payments for the cost of labor and materials for road projects to that county and to every municipality within that county. The cooperative agreement is to be used as a template for any cooperative agreement the department has with a municipality within the county where the county is not a party to that cooperative agreement.
This bill provides for the accommodation and relocation of public utility and cable television (CATV) company facilities during the course of an infrastructure project undertaken by the State or a county or municipality (contracting entity). The bill improves the process for public utility and CATV company facility accommodation and relocation and requires public utilities and CATV companies to bear the costs for that accommodation or relocation when a contracting entity is undertaking any infrastructure project. In doing so, the bill repeals current law that requires the department to bear those costs.
This bill establishes a framework in which contracting entities, public utilities, and CATV companies have delineated rights and responsibilities during an infrastructure project. A contracting entity is required to:
· Prepare a written draft infrastructure project work plan and construction schedule for any proposed infrastructure project within its jurisdiction, which is to include a description of the infrastructure project and certain other relevant information about the project.
· Provide this notice to any public utility and CATV company which does business or is located within the contracting entity's jurisdiction of any impending infrastructure project within that jurisdiction during the initial planning and design phase of the project and no later than 120 calendar days prior to the solicitation of bids for that infrastructure project.
· Schedule and hold a coordination meeting between the contracting entity and all authorized representatives from any public utility or CATV company provided notice of the infrastructure project to establish the coordination of the infrastructure project and any public utility or CATV company facility protection or relocation work that is required for purposes of the infrastructure project.
· Prepare and distribute a written final infrastructure project work plan and construction schedule for an infrastructure project within its jurisdiction.
· Determine if a public utility or CATV facility, in any manner, will delay or prevent the contracting entity from proceeding in the construction and completion of the infrastructure project, and notify the public utility or CATV company that it has a set amount of time to relocate, remove, shift, alter, or protect, as appropriate, their facility or facilities so as not to interfere in any way with the infrastructure project.
· Determine if the existing public utility or CATV facilities are of a poor and deteriorated condition such that those facilities require replacement and require that the appropriate public utility or CATV company perform this work prior to the completion of the infrastructure project contract.
A public utility or CATV company provided notice under the bill's provisions is required to do the following:
· Undertake all necessary pre-engineering and field location testing, as required, to determine the precise location and extent of their facilities that exist within, and adjacent to, the project area. All costs associated with this pre-engineering are to be borne by the appropriate public utility or the CATV company.
· Provide in writing, an accurate description, characteristic, and location of all of their facilities, and a written determination of every facility that will have an impact on the infrastructure project, including whether the characteristic or location of the facility will adversely impact the infrastructure project.
· Determine whether it will perform all, or any, of the facility ancillary accommodation work in accordance with the final infrastructure project work plan and construction schedule. A public utility or CATV company will be liable to a contracting entity for any impact costs incurred by the contractor as a result of the failure of the public utility or CATV company to complete the ancillary accommodation work in accordance with the final infrastructure project work plan and construction schedule.
· Reimburse a contracting entity for any impact costs associated with ancillary accommodation work when it is determined that, due to circumstances beyond the control of that public utility or CATV company, it cannot complete a portion, or all, of the ancillary accommodation work within, or adjacent to, the project area, and that the contracting entity will be required to perform a portion, or all, of the ancillary accommodation work.
Further, the bill requires a county or municipality to notify all public utility and CATV companies of any planned improvement project on a public highway under its jurisdiction not later than 90 days before the improvement project is to start. A public utility and CATV company then has 14 days to notify the county or municipality of any utility work expected to be conducted in the project area for the next five years. The public utility and CATV company and the county or municipality will determine an adequate number of days during which the public utility and CATV company may conduct utility work in the improvement area before the county or municipality begins the project. A public utility and CATV company are prohibited from engaging in any activity that will result in any opening or alteration to the surface of a highway in the project area for five years beginning on the date an improvement project ends, provided that the required notice was provided to the utility company from the county or municipality. The prohibition does not apply in the case of emergency or to accommodate new construction.
The bill requires that a business needing a permit to conduct work on a public highway is to receive priority status from the department and any other State agency or a local agency required to issue an approved permit related to that work.
