ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
utility relocation
reimbursement; transportation projects
Entitles a utility company
to reimbursement of utility relocation costs in federal transportation
projects.
Relocation of utility
facilities is currently governed by case law.
The general rule is that a utility company maintains its structure and
rights in a public street subject to the right of the state or political
subdivision to use its streets for governmental purposes. A permit,
franchise, easement or other right accorded to a utility company by
public authority to maintain structures in public streets requires the utility
company, at its own expense, to remove, relocate and maintain a structure, when
necessary for the state or political subdivision to carry out a function in the
interest of public health, safety or welfare, whether the city has fee title or
a mere easement in the street.
According to the Federal
Highway Administration, a utility company must have prior rights in the
right-of-way to qualify for federal funding of relocation costs. Prior rights must be based on an agreement
with the original land owner or public agency regarding the utilities’ right to
be on the property.
The
Federal Highway Relocation Act authorizes a state to pay for the cost of
relocation of utility facilities necessitated by the construction of a project
on any federal-aid system. Federal
funds may be used to reimburse the state for such cost in the same proportion
as Federal funds are expended on the project.
However, the act prohibits the payment to the utility if the
reimbursement is in violation of state law or violates a legal contract between
the utility and the state.
When federal funds are
involved in a project, the federal funding law may spell out how and if the
monies can be used to pay costs of utility relocation. This legislation has an unknown fiscal
impact to any federal funds associated with federal transportation projects due
to the unpredictability of the amount of federal funding and the cost of
utility relocation. The Arizona
Department of Transportation (ADOT) anticipates an administrative cost for
implementation of this legislation.
1. Requires the owner or operator of a utility to relocate any utility facility or equipment if construction of a federal interstate highway system project located in an urban area requires the relocation of the utility.
2. Requires the state to determine the cost of the relocation and pay the utility company if the proportionate part of the cost may be paid from federal monies that the state is entitled to use for reimbursement of utility relocation.
3. Permits the utility company reasonable time to relocate the utility facility and equipment.
4. Contains definitions.
5. Provides for a general effective date.
Amendments
Adopted by Transportation Committee
1. Requires the State, ADOT, another state entity or political subdivision to apply for federal monies to reimburse the utility company for relocation costs.
2. Limits the reimbursement for federal mass transit projects up to 80 percent.
3. Prohibits the use of state and local monies for the reimbursement of relocation costs to the utility company.
Amendments
Adopted by Committee of the Whole
1. Removes the requirement that cities reimburse utility companies for relocation costs associated with federal transit projects.
2. Limits the relocation reimbursement to urban areas of the federal highway system.
3. Requires ADOT to determine the cost of the relocation.
Senate Action
TRANS 2/8/00 DPA 7-1-0
3rd Read 3/14/00 25-3-1
Prepared by Senate Staff
March 15, 2001