ASSEMBLY TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND UTILITIES COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 2101

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  FEBRUARY 20, 2020

      The Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 2101.

      As amended and reported, this bill provides that a public utility regulated by the Board of Public Utilities, a “local unit,” and a “local utility,” as those terms are defined in the bill, are to notify each other within 180 days of the start of an infrastructure project the public utility, local unit, or local utility plans to undertake.  The notice is to include a summary of the purpose and scope of the infrastructure project, the infrastructure project schedule, and a map of the infrastructure project location.

      Within 60 days of the receipt of the required notice, the public utility, local unit, and local utility are to examine any underground utility facility within the borders of the infrastructure project to the extent feasible and notify each other whether an underground utility facility needs repair or replacement and if any of them intend to undertake an infrastructure project within the scope of the other’s infrastructure project.  The bill requires the public utility, local unit, and local utility to coordinate to provide timely notification of any changes to their respective project plans or schedule and, when feasible, to jointly establish a timeframe for scheduled work.

      This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the 2020-2021 session pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review, which has been performed.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to remove the requirement that, upon completing a project that requires road, street, or highway excavation work in a local unit, a public utility is to restore the road, street, or highway to the condition that is required pursuant to an ordinance of that local unit or to a condition which has been agreed upon by the public utility, local unit, and local utility.