HB461 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Ron Johnson

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

Utilities, underground facilities, excavations or demolitions, excavator required to notify "One-Call Notification System" or in-house program of utility, operation of system further provided for, damages limited under certain conditions, design and survey locate requests provided for, civil penalties increased, criminal penalties for destruction of line markers, Sec. 37-15-4.1 added; Secs. 37-15-2, 37-15-4 to 37-15-10, inclusive, am'd.

Description

Under existing law, a person conducting excavation on property, or demolition near property, where a public easement exists, or where an underground facility operator such as a utility has an easement, is required to notify the underground facility operator so that the underground facility operator can mark the location of its underground facilities. To facilitate notification, the law has authorized the formation of a "One-Call Notification System" which receives and processes the notices, but participation in the designated "one-call" system is optional with an underground facility operator who elects to conduct its own "in-house" program for notification. Thus, a person excavating in an area may be required to determine which underground facility operators are operating in the area and to notify an underground facility operator separately if it does not participate in the one-call system.

This bill would provide for definitions and for the operational provisions of the underground damage prevention process to be clarified and updated with current technologies. The bill would provide that an operator who does not participate in the "One-Call Notification System" may under certain conditions waive the right to recover the costs of damages to the operator's facilities by an excavator. The bill would provide for notifications to underground facility operators regarding design or survey locate requests. The bill also provides for additional civil penalty provisions for violations of this act and would make it a Class C misdemeanor to intentionally destroy markers of underground facilities.

Amendment 621 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, prohibits a general law whose purpose or effect would be to require a new or increased expenditure of local funds from becoming effective with regard to a local governmental entity without enactment by a 2/3 vote unless: it comes within one of a number of specified exceptions; it is approved by the affected entity; or the Legislature appropriates funds, or provides a local source of revenue, to the entity for the purpose.

The purpose or effect of this bill would be to require a new or increased expenditure of local funds within the meaning of the amendment. However, the bill does not require approval of a local governmental entity or enactment by a 2/3 vote to become effective because it comes within one of the specified exceptions contained in the amendment.

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Subjects

Utilities