AN ACT CONCERNING REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN EXCAVATION PROJECTS.

Substitute Senate Bill No. 321

Public Act No. 26-20

AN ACT CONCERNING REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN
EXCAVATION PROJECTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 16-330g of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026):
[(a) On or before January 1, 2022, the Public Utilities Regulatory
Authority shall initiate an uncontested proceeding to develop a process
for the construction of facilities in the public highways, streets or other
public rights -of-way to ensure timely and n ondiscriminatory
procedures that accomplish conduit excavations for
telecommunications service providers and broadband Internet access
service providers. Upon application by the broadband Internet access
service providers for the construction of underground facilities that will
contain conduit for telecommunications service providers or broadband
Internet access service providers, the Public Utilities Regulatory
Authority shall condition any approval of such application on the
following:
(1) The size of such conduit shall be consistent with industry best
practices and sufficient to accommodate potential demand;
(2) Any handholes and manholes for fiber optic cable access and
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pulling with respect to each such practice shall be placed at intervals
consistent with industry best practices;
(3) Such conduit shall be installed with a pull tape and capabilities of
supporting additional fiber optic cable;
(4) The applicant shall notify telecommunications service providers
and broadband Internet access service providers of the proposed
excavation to reduce the potential for future street excavations in the
same location;
(5) Any requesting telecommunications service provider or
broadband Internet access service provider shall be able to access such
conduit on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis and for
a charge not to exceed a cost-based rate;
(6) The applicant shall report to the authority upon completion of any
approved construction verifying that it has complied with the
provisions of this subsection; and
(7) Any other condition deemed prudent and reasonable by the
authority.]
(a) (1) Not less than thirty days before beginning construction of any
underground facility in the state that exceeds five hundred feet in length
and that is located in the public highways, streets or other public rights-
of-way, a telecommunications service provider or a broadband Internet
access service provider, as applicable, shall submit to the Public Utilities
Regulatory Authority a notice that includes a description and location
of the proposed facility. Such notice shall be submitted to the authority
not less than five days before beginning construction of any other such
underground facility.
(2) In addition to the notice required under subdivision (1) of this
section, for any excavation work undertaken with the construction of
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any underground facility in the state highway rights -of-way, the
provider shall submit notice to the Department of Transportation that
includes a description of the proposed underground facility, the
location of such proposed facility and a list of any oth er service
providers that will utilize such proposed facility at the time of
construction.
(b) The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority shall publish
information submitted to the authority concerning a proposed
underground facility pursuant to subsection (a) of this section in a
manner determined by the authority to be accessible to any person or
entity that may be interested in installing an underground facility in the
area of the proposed underground facility.
[(b)] (c) For excavations in the state highway rights -of-way, the
[applicant] provider shall comply with the Department of
Transportation's encroachment permit process, including the payment
of any applicable fees. Any application for construction in the public
highways, streets or other public rights -of-way shall require the
applicant to i nstall a conduit for the benefit of the Department of
Transportation, as required by section 16 -233. Such conduit shall be
installed with one pull tape per inch of diameter of such conduit and be
capable of accommodating additional fiber optic cable installed for such
purpose.
[(c)] (d) The Commissioner of Transportation is authorized to lease
space, or enter into any other contract or agreement to permit access to
such space, in any conduit installed by the Department of
Transportation in the public highways, streets or other public rights-of-
way on such terms and conditions, and for any purpose, deemed to be
in the public interest by said commissioner.
[(d)] (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the use of
conduit by the Department of Transportation on public highways,
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streets or other public rights -of-way as otherwise permitted by law or
prevent a telecommunications service provider or broadband Internet
access service provider from constructing an underground facility if
such service provider receives any applicable permit required for such
construction under any applicable provision of law.
[(e)] (f) All telecommunications service providers and broadband
Internet access service providers that are authorized by the authority to
install facilities in, under or over the public highways, streets or other
public rights-of-way shall obey, observe and comply with this section
and each applicable order made by the authority with respect to
underground conduit. Failure to comply with this section or applicable
orders of the authority may result in a civil penalty levied by the
authority in accordance w ith section 16-41. Any such fines shall not be
recoverable costs in any rate proceeding conducted by the authority.