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HB259 • 2026

UTILITIES: Provides relative to the repair of damaged infrastructure from certain excavators or demolishers (RE1 NO IMPACT See Note)

UTILITIES: Provides relative to the repair of damaged infrastructure from certain excavators or demolishers (RE1 NO IMPACT See Note)

Labor
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Jason Dewitt
Last action
2026-05-29
Official status
Pending in Conference Committee (House)
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary text does not provide specific details about determining fault, only that it involves adherence to notice, marking, and excavation requirements.

Repairing Damaged Underground Utilities from BEAD Program Work

This bill sets rules for excavators and demolishers using BEAD Program funding to repair any damage they cause to underground utilities.

What This Bill Does

  • Defines the 'BEAD Program' as a federal program that provides broadband infrastructure funds.
  • Requires excavators or demolishers funded by the BEAD Program to give one week's notice before starting work.
  • Requiring these workers to coordinate with utility operators about potential conflicts and provide contact information for emergencies.
  • Making sure excavators or demolishers pay for any damage they cause to underground utilities if found at fault.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Excavators and demolishers using BEAD Program funding
  • Operators of underground utilities

Terms To Know

BEAD Program
A federal program that provides funds for broadband infrastructure projects.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if the excavator or demolisher does not follow these rules.
  • It is unclear how this will be enforced and who will oversee compliance.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Filed

Plain English: The amendment changes how excavators and demolishers must handle damaged infrastructure by requiring annual training for excavation and demolition sites, limiting opt-out exemptions for certain municipalities, and setting new rules for marking underground facilities.

  • Requires annual regional notification center training for excavation and demolition site workers, with an exemption for logging operations.
  • Limits the ability of certain home rule municipalities and parish governments to opt out of the Underground Utilities and Facilities Damage Prevention Law after a specific date.
  • Replaces current requirements for operators to mark underground facilities with new rules that require positive responses through a regional notification center before excavation can begin.
  • The amendment text is extensive, and some parts are technical or incomplete, making it hard to explain every detail clearly.
Adopted

Plain English: HFAHB259 4463 3178 FOR OFFICE USE ONLY HOUSE FLOOR AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Representative Dewitt to Engrossed House Bill No.

  • HFAHB259 4463 3178 FOR OFFICE USE ONLY HOUSE FLOOR AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Representative Dewitt to Engrossed House Bill No.
  • 259 by Representative Dewitt 1 AMENDMENT NO.
  • 1 2 On page 3, delete lines 14 and 15 in their entirety 3 AMENDMENT NO.
  • 2 4 On page 3, line 16, change "(2)" to "(1)" 5 AMENDMENT NO.
Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes how certain rules about repairing damaged infrastructure apply to excavators or demolishers.

  • Removes the requirement for excavators or demolishers to follow specific subsection C when performing work with funding.
  • Eliminates a reference to 'Subsection C of' in relation to violations on page 4, line 2.
  • The amendment text does not provide full details about the implications of removing references to Subsection C and how it affects overall compliance for excavators or demolishers.
  • It is unclear what specific rules are being removed from subsection C and their impact on existing law.
Adopted

Plain English: HCAHB259 4463 2785 HOUSE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by House Committee on Commerce to Original House Bill No.

  • HCAHB259 4463 2785 HOUSE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by House Committee on Commerce to Original House Bill No.
  • 259 by Representative Dewitt 1 AMENDMENT NO.
  • 1 2 On page 1, line 3, after "notice;" insert "to provide for coordination; to provide for a point 3 of contact; to provide for fault;" 4 AMENDMENT NO.
  • 2 5 On page 1, between lines 16 and 17, insert the following: 6 "C.(1) Prior to the commencement of any excavation or demolition activity 7 utilizing funding provided by the BEAD Program, the excavator or demolisher who 8 is excavating or demolishing utilizing funding provided by the BEAD Program shall 9 conduct pre-construction coordination with all known operators of underground 10 utilities or facilities within the proposed project area.
Draft

Plain English: The amendment adds requirements for excavators or demolishers using BEAD Program funding to coordinate with utility operators before starting work, designate a point of contact, and address damage responsibility.

  • Excavators or demolishers must conduct pre-construction coordination with utility operators to verify facility locations and identify potential conflicts.
  • A primary point of contact must be designated for each parish or municipality where work is performed, available during business hours and authorized to handle issues related to underground utilities.
  • The amendment specifies that excavators or demolishers are responsible for repairing damage if they are found at fault based on compliance with notice, marking, and excavation requirements.
  • Some parts of the amendment text may be too technical for a full explanation without additional context.
  • The exact rules or guidance that the office of broadband development and connectivity will establish to implement these provisions are not detailed in this amendment.
Filed

Plain English: The amendment rejects all changes made by the Senate to House Bill 259, which relates to repairing damaged infrastructure caused by excavators or demolishers.

  • Rejects all amendments proposed by the Senate to HB 259.
  • The specific details of the Senate's amendments are not provided in the given text.
Adopted

Plain English: SCAHB259 2810 3740 SENATE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs to Reengrossed House Bill No.

  • SCAHB259 2810 3740 SENATE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs to Reengrossed House Bill No.
  • 259 by Representative Dewitt 1 AMENDMENT NO.
  • 1 2 On page 1, line 2, after "To" delete the remainder of the line 3 AMENDMENT NO.
  • 2 4 On page 1 delete lines 3 through 6 and insert: 5 "amend and reenact R.S.
Draft

Plain English: The amendment changes and adds definitions related to excavation and demolition activities under Louisiana's Underground Utilities and Facilities Damage Prevention Law.

  • Removes specific lines from the original bill text and replaces them with new language that amends existing laws and introduces new sections regarding regional notification centers, enforcement of excavation or demolition, notices, exemptions, terms, conditions, and definitions.
  • Updates and renumbers several definitions in R.S. 40:1749.12 to clarify the roles of agricultural excavators, forestry excavators, marine excavators, and other relevant parties involved in excavation activities.
  • The amendment text is incomplete and does not provide full details on all changes, making it difficult to summarize every specific change.
  • Some sections are truncated or missing, which limits a complete understanding of the full impact of the amendments.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-29 H

    Notice of Senate conferees appointed.

  2. 2026-05-29 S

    Notice House Conference Committee members appointed.

  3. 2026-05-29 H

    House conferees appointed: Dewitt, Deshotel, and LaFleur.

  4. 2026-05-29 S

    Senate conference committee members appointed: Reese, Abraham, and Mizell.

  5. 2026-05-29 S

    Notice House rejected the Senate amendments.

  6. 2026-05-29 H

    Read by title, roll called, yeas 98, nays 0, Senate amendments rejected, conference committee appointment pending.

  7. 2026-05-29 H

    Scheduled for concurrence on 05/29/2026.

  8. 2026-05-28 H

    Received from the Senate with amendments.

  9. 2026-05-27 S

    The amended bill was read by title, passed by a vote of 37 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

  10. 2026-05-27 S

    Called from the Calendar.

  11. 2026-05-21 S

    Read by title and returned to the Calendar, subject to call.

  12. 2026-05-21 S

    Rules suspended.

  13. 2026-05-18 S

    Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.

  14. 2026-05-14 S

    Committee amendments read and adopted. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.

  15. 2026-05-13 S

    Reported with amendments.

  16. 2026-04-13 S

    Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs.

  17. 2026-04-08 S

    Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.

  18. 2026-04-07 H

    Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 99, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

  19. 2026-04-01 H

    Scheduled for floor debate on 04/07/2026.

  20. 2026-03-31 H

    Read by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.

  21. 2026-03-30 H

    Reported with amendments (16-0).

  22. 2026-03-09 H

    Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Commerce.

  23. 2026-02-27 H

    First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.

  24. 2026-02-23 H

    Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Commerce.

  25. 2026-02-23 H

    Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

UTILITIES: Provides relative to the repair of damaged infrastructure from certain excavators or demolishers (RE1 NO IMPACT See Note)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HLS 26RS-537 REENGROSSED
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 259
BY REPRESENTATIVE DEWITT
UTILITIES: Provides relative to the repair of damaged infrastructure from certain
excavators or demolishers
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 40:1749.28, relative to the repair of damaged infrastructure from certain
3 excavators or demolishers; to provide for definitions; to provide for notice; to
4 provide for coordination; to provide for a point of contact; to provide for fault; to
5 provide for the repair of damage; to provide for the reimbursement of funds; and to
6 provide for related matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 40:1749.28 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
9 §1749.28. BEAD excavations; requirements for repair
10 A. For the purpose of this Section, "BEAD Program" means the Broadband
11 Equity, Access, and Deployment Program administered by the National
12 Telecommunications and Information administration of the United States
13 Department of Commerce.
14 B. Notwithstanding the notice requirements outlined in R.S. 40:1749.13, an
15 excavator or demolisher who is excavating or demolishing utilizing funding provided
16 by the BEAD Program shall be required to give notice at least one calendar week in
17 advance of the commencement of any excavation or demolition activity.
18 C.(1) Prior to the commencement of any excavation or demolition activity
19 utilizing funding provided by the BEAD Program, the excavator or demolisher who
20 is excavating or demolishing utilizing funding provided by the BEAD Program shall
Page 1 of 5
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HLS 26RS-537 REENGROSSED
HB NO. 259
1 conduct pre-construction coordination with all known operators of underground
2 utilities or facilities within the proposed project area.
3 (2) Coordination shall include, at a minimum, all of the following:
4 (a) Verification of the location of underground facilities through available
5 records and field markings.
6 (b) Identification of potential conflicts between proposed excavation and
7 existing facilities.
8 (c) Communication of construction methods, timelines, and areas of planned
9 excavation.
10 (3) Operators of underground utilities or facilities shall cooperate in good
11 faith in such coordination and provide available information regarding the location
12 of their facilities.
13 (4) The office of broadband development and connectivity may establish
14 rules or guidance to implement the provisions of this Subsection.
15 (5) The excavator or demolisher who is excavating or demolishing utilizing
16 funding provided by the BEAD Program shall maintain documentation of such
17 coordination and make the documentation available to the office of broadband
18 development and connectivity upon request.
19 D.(1) Each excavator or demolisher performing work utilizing funding
20 provided by the BEAD Program shall designate a primary point of contact
21 responsible for coordination and communication regarding construction activities
22 within each parish or municipality in which work is performed.
23 (2) The designated point of contact shall do both of the following:
24 (a) Be available during normal business hours and reasonably available
25 during active construction operations.
26 (b) Be authorized to respond to issues related to underground utility
27 conflicts, damages, and coordination with local officials.
28 (3) The name and contact information of the designated point of contact shall
29 be provided prior to the commencement of construction to all of the following:
Page 2 of 5
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HLS 26RS-537 REENGROSSED
HB NO. 259
1 (a) The governing authority of each affected parish or municipality.
2 (b) The office of broadband development and connectivity.
3 (4) The excavator or demolisher who is excavating or demolishing utilizing
4 funding provided by the BEAD Program shall update the contact information as
5 necessary to ensure accuracy throughout the duration of the project.
6 (5) The designated point of contact shall be capable of responding to
7 emergency situations within a reasonable timeframe, including coordination of
8 immediate corrective actions in the event of damage to underground utilities.
9 E. An excavator or demolisher who is excavating or demolishing utilizing
10 funding provided by the BEAD Program that damages an underground utility or
11 facility shall be responsible for all of the following:
12 (1) Notifying the relevant parties pursuant to this Chapter immediately.
13 (2) Repairing the damage or paying the cost to repair the damage, if the
14 excavator or demolisher who is excavating or demolishing utilizing funding provided
15 by the BEAD Program is determined to be at fault for such damage in accordance
16 with the provisions of this Chapter.
17 F.(1) For purposes of this Section, fault shall be determined based on
18 compliance with all applicable notice, marking, and excavation requirements set
19 forth in this Chapter, including but not limited to the accuracy of utility location
20 markings and adherence to safe digging practices.
21 (2) An excavator or demolisher who is excavating or demolishing utilizing
22 funding provided by the BEAD Program shall not be considered at fault where
23 damage results from inaccurate, incomplete, or untimely facility location markings
24 provided by an operator.
25 G. An excavator or demolisher who is excavating or demolishing utilizing
26 funding provided by the BEAD Program who is in violation of this Section shall not
27 receive its final reimbursement from the office of broadband development and
28 connectivity pursuant to R.S. 51:2370.32 until it is in compliance with this Section.
Page 3 of 5
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HLS 26RS-537 REENGROSSED
HB NO. 259
1 H. Except as outlined in this Section, excavators or demolishers who are
2 excavating or demolishing utilizing funding provided by the BEAD Program shall
3 be subject to the provisions of this Chapter.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 259 Reengrossed 2026 Regular Session Dewitt
Abstract: Provides relative to the repair of damaged infrastructure from certain excavators
or demolishers.
Present law provides for the La. Underground Utilities and Facilities Damage Prevention
Law.
Proposed law retains proposed law and provides for excavation and demolition regarding
BEAD Program funding.
Proposed law defines "BEAD Program".
Proposed law provides that certain excavators or demolishers are required to give notice at
least one calendar week in advance of the commencement of any excavation or demolition
activity.
Proposed law provides that prior to the commencement of any excavation or demolition
activity utilizing funding provided by the BEAD Program, the excavator or demolisher who
is excavating or demolishing utilizing funding provided by the BEAD Program shall conduct
pre-construction coordination with all known operators of underground utilities or facilities
within the proposed project area.
Proposed law further provides for requirements relative to coordination.
Proposed law provides that an excavator or demolisher performing work utilizing funding
provided by the BEAD Program shall designate a primary point of contact responsible for
coordination and communication regarding construction activities within each parish or
municipality in which work is performed.
Proposed law further provides for requirements relative to the point of contact.
Proposed law provides that an excavator or demolisher who is excavating or demolishing
utilizing funding provided by the BEAD Program that damages an underground utility or
facility shall be responsible for all of the following:
(1) Notifying the relevant parties pursuant to present law immediately.
(2) Repairing the damage or paying the cost to repair the damage, if the excavator or
demolisher who is excavating or demolishing utilizing funding provided by the
BEAD Program is determined to be at fault for such damage in accordance with the
provisions of present and proposed law.
Proposed law provides for how fault is determined.
Page 4 of 5
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HLS 26RS-537 REENGROSSED
HB NO. 259
Proposed law provides for the requirements for certain excavators or demolishers to receive
final reimbursement of funds from the office of broadband development and connectivity.
Proposed law provides for applicability.
(Adds R.S. 40:1749.28)
Summary of Amendments Adopted by House
The Committee Amendments Proposed by House Committee on Commerce to the
original bill:
1. Make technical changes.
2. Require preconstruction coordination.
3. Require a point of contact for a project.
4. Amend proposed law regarding requirements to repair so that an excavator or
demolisher utilizing BEAD funding is responsible for repairing the damage or
paying the cost to repair the damage, if the excavator or demolisher who is
excavating or demolishing utilizing funding provided by the BEAD Program is
determined to be at fault.
5. Add how fault is determined.
The House Floor Amendments to the engrossed bill:
1. Make technical changes.
2. Remove that an excavator or demolisher who is excavating or demolishing
utilizing funding provided by the BEAD Program that damages an underground
utility or facility is responsible for providing immediate measures to prevent
further damage and to stop any leakage.
3. Remove repetitive language.
4. Provide that an excavator or demolisher who is excavating or demolishing
utilizing funding provided by the BEAD Program who is in violation of any
provision of proposed law shall not receive its final reimbursement from the
office until its compliance with proposed law.
Page 5 of 5
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.