House File 2581 H-8094 Amend House File 2581 as follows: 1 1. By striking everything after the enacting clause and 2 inserting: 3 < Section 1. Section 480.1, Code 2024, is amended by adding 4 the following new subsections: 5 NEW SUBSECTION . 5A. “Forty-eight-hour period” means a 6 period of forty-eight consecutive hours beginning at 6:00 a.m. 7 the next business day from the day the notification center 8 receives a notice and excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and legal 9 holidays. 10 NEW SUBSECTION . 5B. “Locator” means a person proposing to 11 engage or engaging in the location and marking of underground 12 facilities under contract with or employed by an operator. 13 Sec. 2. Section 480.3, subsection 1, paragraph a, 14 subparagraph (1), Code 2024, is amended to read as follows: 15 (1) The center shall be governed by a board of directors , 16 which shall represent and be elected by operators, excavators, 17 and other persons who participate in the center. The board 18 shall include two locators and two excavators to serve as 19 nonvoting members. The board, with input from all interested 20 parties, shall determine the operating procedures and 21 technology needed for a single statewide notification center 22 and establish a notification process. 23 Sec. 3. Section 480.3, subsection 2, Code 2024, is amended 24 to read as follows: 25 2. a. The board shall implement the latest and most 26 cost-effective technological improvements for the center 27 in order to provide operators and excavators with the most 28 accurate data available and in a timely manner to allow 29 operators and excavators to perform their responsibilities with 30 the minimum amount of interruptions. 31 b. The center shall establish a communication system to 32 facilitate the provision of notice by operators, locators, and 33 excavators. 34 Sec. 4. Section 480.3, Code 2024, is amended by adding the 35 -1- HF 2581.3327 (1) 90 lh/js 1/ 5 #1.

following new subsection: 1 NEW SUBSECTION . 4. The center shall provide records to the 2 utilities board upon request as a part of an investigation on 3 behalf of the attorney general’s office. 4 Sec. 5. Section 480.4, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2024, 5 is amended to read as follows: 6 a. Except as otherwise provided in this section , prior to 7 any excavation, an excavator shall contact the notification 8 center and provide notice of the planned excavation occurring 9 after a forty-eight-hour period . This notice must be given 10 at least forty-eight hours prior to the commencement of the 11 excavation, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. 12 Notices received after 5:00 p.m. shall be processed as if 13 received at 8:00 a.m. the next business day. The notice 14 shall be valid for twenty twenty-five calendar days from the 15 date beginning on the day the notice was provided to the 16 notification center forty-eight-hour period concludes . If all 17 locating and marking of underground facilities is completed 18 prior to the expiration of the forty-eight-hour period, the 19 excavator may proceed with excavation upon being notified 20 by the notification center that the locating and marking of 21 all underground facilities is complete. The notification 22 center shall establish a toll-free telephone number to allow 23 excavators to provide the notice required pursuant to this 24 subsection . 25 Sec. 6. Section 480.4, subsection 3, paragraph a, 26 subparagraphs (1), (2), and (3), Code 2024, are amended to read 27 as follows: 28 (1) An operator who receives notice from the notification 29 center shall mark the horizontal location of the operator’s 30 underground facility and the excavator shall use due care in 31 excavating in the marked area to avoid damaging the underground 32 facility. The operator shall complete such locating and 33 marking, and shall notify the notification center that the 34 marking is complete within forty-eight hours after receiving 35 -2- HF 2581.3327 (1) 90 lh/js 2/ 5

the notice, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, 1 the forty-eight-hour period unless otherwise agreed by the 2 operator and the excavator. No later than the expiration of 3 the forty-eight-hour period, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, 4 and legal holidays, the notification center shall notify the 5 excavator of the underground facility locating and marking 6 status, or the failure of the operator to notify the center 7 that the locating and marking is complete. The locating and 8 marking of the underground facilities shall be completed at no 9 cost to the excavator. If, in the opinion of the operator, the 10 planned excavation requires that the precise location of the 11 underground facilities be determined, the excavator, unless 12 otherwise agreed upon between the excavator and the operator, 13 shall hand dig test holes or use nondestructive methods to 14 determine the location of the facilities unless the operator 15 specifies an alternate method. 16 (2) (a) The marking required under this subsection shall 17 be done in a manner that will last for a minimum of five 18 working days on any nonpermanent surface, or a minimum of ten 19 working days on any permanent surface. If the excavation will 20 continue for any period longer than such periods, the operator 21 shall remark the location of the underground facility upon the 22 request of the excavator. The request shall be made through 23 the notification center. 24 (b) A locator shall use for marking a flag that includes the 25 name of the operator and a contact phone number. 26 (3) Unless otherwise agreed by the operator and excavator in 27 writing, no excavation shall be performed within twenty-five 28 feet of an underground natural gas transmission line as defined 29 in 49 C.F.R. §192.3 pipeline operating at one hundred fifty 30 pounds per square inch or greater and that is equal to or 31 greater than two inches in diameter unless a representative 32 of the operator of the underground natural gas transmission 33 line pipeline is present at the planned excavation area. This 34 requirement shall not apply, however, when a representative of 35 -3- HF 2581.3327 (1) 90 lh/js 3/ 5

the operator fails to be present at the proposed excavation 1 area at the time work is scheduled to commence or as otherwise 2 agreed by the operator and excavator in writing. In this 3 event, the excavator shall notify the operator that the 4 representative failed to appear, and excavation operations can 5 begin, provided the excavator uses due care to avoid damaging 6 the underground facilities. 7 Sec. 7. Section 480.4, subsection 3, paragraph b, Code 2024, 8 is amended to read as follows: 9 b. An operator who receives notice from the notification 10 center and who determines that the operator does not have 11 any underground facility located within the proposed area of 12 excavation shall notify the notification center concerning 13 this determination within forty-eight hours after receiving 14 the notice, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays 15 the forty-eight-hour period . No later than the expiration of 16 the forty-eight-hour period, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, 17 and legal holidays, the notification center shall notify the 18 excavator that the operator does not have any underground 19 facilities within the proposed area of excavation. 20 Sec. 8. Section 480.6, subsection 1, Code 2024, is amended 21 by adding the following new paragraph: 22 NEW PARAGRAPH . c. If a locator violates a time limit set 23 forth in this chapter and a complaint relating to the violation 24 is filed with the utilities board, the locator is subject 25 to a civil penalty in an amount determined by the attorney 26 general. A civil penalty imposed by the attorney general under 27 this paragraph shall not exceed one hundred dollars for each 28 violation for each day the violation continues, up to a maximum 29 of five thousand dollars. 30 Sec. 9. Section 480.6, subsection 2, Code 2024, is amended 31 to read as follows: 32 2. a. The attorney general, upon the receipt of a 33 complaint, may institute any legal proceedings necessary to 34 enforce the penalty provisions of this chapter . 35 -4- HF 2581.3327 (1) 90 lh/js 4/ 5

b. At the direction of the attorney general, the utilities 1 board shall investigate a violation of this chapter. Upon 2 completion of the investigation, the utilities board 3 shall submit to the attorney general a written summary of 4 the investigation and all evidence acquired during the 5 investigation, except as set forth in subsection 2, paragraph 6 “c” . 7 c. The utilities board may independently receive and 8 investigate complaints alleging a violation of this chapter by 9 a locator. 10 Sec. 10. NEW SECTION . 480.11 Locator enforcement authority. 11 1. A locator who operates in this state and engages in 12 location services under a contract with an operator shall 13 satisfy all of the following requirements: 14 a. Take responsibility for completing location services as 15 required under section 480.4. 16 b. Correctly notify the notification center that a location 17 service could not be completed due to a lack of response by the 18 excavator and include in the notice the date, time, and method 19 of the attempted contact with the excavator, and the name and 20 contact information of any representative of the excavator. 21 2. A locator operating in this state is subject to 22 enforcement requirements as established in chapter 476. Any 23 enforcement action taken for a violation of this chapter by a 24 locator shall be taken solely against the locator and not the 25 operator. 26 Sec. 11. UNDERGROUND FACILITY EXCAVATION MEETING. The Iowa 27 utilities board shall convene interested stakeholders before 28 December 31, 2024, to discuss underground facility excavations, 29 including subjects relating to forecasting and future projects, 30 and operational challenges. > 31 ______________________________ KNIFF MCCULLA of Marion -5- HF 2581.3327 (1) 90 lh/js 5/ 5