A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning utilities.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not specify the exact time frame within which operators must respond with required information.

Changes to Indiana's Underground Utility Law

This bill allows excavators to hire third-party locators if utility companies do not provide required information about underground facilities within the specified time.

What This Bill Does

• Allows an excavator to hire a third-party locator if the operator of underground facilities does not provide required information within the specified time.
• Requires the excavator to notify the Indiana Underground Plant Protection Service about the hired locator's work and costs.
• Requires the utility company to pay three times what the excavator paid for the locator services.
• Requires each operator to give notice by June 1, 2026, authorizing locators to act on their behalf.
• Requires the Indiana Underground Plant Protection Service to compile a list of authorized locators and provide it to those who need it.

Who It Names or Affects

• Excavators planning digging or demolition projects
• Operators of underground utility facilities
• Third-party utility locators
• The Indiana Underground Plant Protection Service

Terms To Know

excavator

A person responsible for excavation or demolition work.

operator

The company that owns and manages underground utility facilities.

third-party locator

An independent service provider hired to find and mark underground utilities.

Limits and Unknowns

• It is not clear what happens if the operator does not provide required information after June 30, 2026.
• The bill does not specify how much time operators have to respond with required information.
• There are no details on penalties for non-compliance by excavators or utility companies.

Official Summary Text

A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning utilities.
Underground utility facilities.

Current Bill Text

A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning utilities.

Underground utility facilities.

Amends Indiana's 811 law, which requires the location and marking of underground utility facilities (facilities) before planned excavation or demolition projects, to provide that if the operator of a facility (operator) fails to: (1) provide to the person responsible for an excavation or demolition (excavator) required information as to the location of the operator's facilities; or (2) provide to the association known as the Indiana Underground Plant Protection Service (association) an electronic positive response indicating that the operator either has provided the required notice to the excavator or has no facilities in the location of the proposed project; within the time specified in the law, the excavator may engage the services of a third party utility locator (locator) to determine whether the operator has underground facilities in the location of the proposed project and, if applicable, provide the marking information for those facilities. Provides that an excavator that elects to engage the services of a locator must: (1) select a locator that is authorized by the operator to act on the operator's behalf; and (2) notify the association of the locator's completion of the services for which the locator was engaged, along with the amount paid by the excavator to the locator for those services. Requires the operator on whose behalf the services were performed to submit to the excavator payment in an amount equal to three times the amount paid by the excavator for the services. Provides that not later than June 1, 2026, each operator subject to the 811 law must provide to the association a notice that authorizes one or more locators to act on the operator's behalf for purposes of these provisions. Provides that upon receiving the required notices, the association shall compile a listing of the authorized locators for each operator. Provides that after June 30, 2026, upon receiving a notice of a planned project, the association shall immediately provide the listing to the person that submitted the notice. Requires the association to develop and adopt policies and procedures to implement these provisions.