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JJR S05884'25_SB0933_INTR_1 jrbp95
SENATE BILL NO. 933
A bill to amend 1925 PA 368, entitled
"An act to prohibit obstructions and encroachments on public
highways; to provide for the removal of obstructions and
encroachments on public highways; to prescribe the conditions under
which telegraph, telephone, power, and other public utility
companies, cable television companies, broadband companies, and
municipalities may enter upon, construct, and maintain telegraph,
telephone, power, cable television, or broadband lines, pipe lines,
wires, cables, poles, conduits, sewers, and like structures upon,
over, across, or under public roads, bridges, streets, and waters;
and to prescribe penalties and provide remedies,"
by amending section 13 (MCL 247.183), as amended by 2018 PA 565,
and by adding section 13a.
April 23, 2026, Introduced by Senator BAYER and referred to Committee on Energy and
Environment.
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THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 13. (1) Except as otherwise provided under subsection 1
(2), telegraph, telephone, power, and other public utility 2
companies, cable television companies, broadband companies, and 3
municipalities may enter upon, construct, and maintain telegraph, 4
telephone, or power lines, pipelines, wires, cables, poles, 5
conduits, sewers or similar structures upon, over, across, or under 6
any public road, bridge, street, or public place, including, 7
longitudinally within limited access highway rights-of-way, and 8
across or under any of the waters in this state, with all necessary 9
erections and fixtures for that purpose. A telegraph, telephone, 10
power, and other public utility company, cable television company, 11
broadband company, and municipality, before any of this work is 12
commenced, shall first obtain the consent of the governing body of 13
the city, village, or township through or along which these lines 14
and poles are to be constructed and maintained. 15
(2) A utility as defined in 23 CFR 645.105 may enter upon, 16
construct, and maintain utility lines and structures, including 17
pipelines, longitudinally within limited access highway rights-of-18
way and under any public road, street, or other subsurface that 19
intersects any limited access highway at a different grade, in 20
accordance with standards approved by the state transportation 21
commission and the Michigan public service commission that conform 22
to governing federal laws and regulations and is not required to 23
obtain the consent of the governing body of the city, village, or 24
township as required under subsection (1). Subject to section 13a, 25
the standards must allow for the collocation of projects, including 26
aboveground lines and structures, in limited access highway rights-27
of-way. The standards must require that the lines and structures be 28
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underground and be placed in a manner that will not increase 1
highway maintenance costs for the state transportation department. 2
The standards may provide for the imposition of a reasonable charge 3
for longitudinal use of limited access highway rights-of-way. The 4
imposition of a reasonable charge is a governmental function, 5
offsetting a portion of the capital, maintenance, and permitting 6
expense of the limited access highway, and is not a proprietary 7
function. The charge must be calculated to reflect a 1-time 8
installation permit fee that does not exceed $1,000.00 per mile of 9
longitudinal use of limited access highway rights-of-way with a 10
minimum fee of $5,000.00 per permit. If the 1-time installation 11
permit fee does not cover the reasonable and actual costs to the 12
department in issuing the permit, the department may assess the 13
utility for the remaining balance. All revenue received under this 14
subsection must be used for capital and maintenance expenses 15
incurred for limited access highways, including the cost of issuing 16
the permit. 17
(3) If a city, village, township, county, or county road 18
commission or the state transportation department requests or 19
requires an entity holding a license under the Michigan 20
telecommunications act, 1991 PA 179, MCL 484.2101 to 484.2603, or 21
holding a franchise under the uniform video services local 22
franchise act, 2006 PA 480, MCL 484.3301 to 484.3315, to relocate 23
facilities, the city, village, township, county, or county road 24
commission or the state transportation department may require the 25
entity to obtain a permit for the relocation of the facilities but 26
shall waive any permit fees including, but not limited to, any 27
permit fee under subsection (2). This subsection does not apply if 28
the request to relocate facilities was due to an entity placing 29
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facilities in a location not authorized by a current or previous 1
permit. 2
(4) A person engaged in the collection of traffic data or the 3
provision of travel-related information or assistance may enter 4
upon, construct, and maintain electronic devices and related 5
structures within limited access and other highway rights-of-way in 6
accordance with standards approved by the state transportation 7
commission that conform to governing federal laws and regulations. 8
The standards must require that the devices and structures be 9
placed in a manner that will not impede traffic and will not 10
increase maintenance costs for the state transportation department. 11
The state transportation department may enter into agreements to 12
authorize the use of property acquired for or designated as a 13
highway or acquired for or designated for ancillary purposes for 14
the installation, operation, and maintenance of commercial or 15
noncommercial electronic devices and related structures for the 16
collection of traffic data or to assist in providing travel-related 17
information or assistance to motorists who subscribe to travel-18
related services, the public, or the department. Any revenue 19
generated by the agreements must be deposited in the state trunk 20
line fund established under section 11 of 1951 PA 51, MCL 247.661. 21
The department may accept facilities or in-kind services to be used 22
for public purposes in lieu of, or in addition to, monetary 23
compensation. 24
Sec. 13a. (1) On the written request of a utility or 25
transmission line developer, the state transportation department 26
shall coordinate with that utility or transmission line developer 27
to review requested highway corridors for permittable locations for 28
transmission lines. 29
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(2) The state transportation department shall share all known 1
plans with a utility regarding potential future projects that may 2
impact the placement of a transmission line by that utility. 3
(3) If a permittable route along a highway corridor has been 4
identified by the state transportation department and the utility 5
or transmission line developer, the state transportation department 6
must consult with the utility or transmission line developer to 7
prepare a constructability report to be utilized by the state 8
transportation department and the utility or transmission line 9
developer when collocation projects are being planned and approved. 10
The report must be approved by both the state transportation 11
department and the utility or transmission line developer before 12
the state transportation department issues a permit for use of the 13
highway right-of-way. 14
(4) The constructability report described in subsection (3) 15
must include the terms and conditions for building the collocation 16
project, including an agreed-on time frame during which the state 17
transportation department shall not request the relocation of the 18
transmission line. 19
(5) If state transportation department must relocate a 20
transmission line in a highway right-of-way, the state 21
transportation department must give the utility notice not less 22
than 5 years before the relocation project begins. 23
(6) As used in this section, "transmission line" means a high-24
voltage transmission line. 25