HSB 121 (LSB 1407YC (6) 86)

HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE BILL BY CHAIRPERSON COWNIE)

A BILL FOR

An Act expanding the definition of a public utility for purposes of provisions governing public utility crossings of railroad rights-of-way, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 476.27, subsection 1, Code 2015, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  0d.  “Electric transmission owner” means an individual or entity who owns and maintains electric transmission facilities including transmission lines, wires, or cables that are capable of operating at an electric voltage of thirty-four and one-half kilovolts or greater.
    Sec. 2.  Section 476.27, subsection 1, paragraph e, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   e.   “Public utility” means a public utility as defined in section 476.1, except that, for purposes of this section, “public utility” also includes all mutual telephone companies, municipally owned facilities, unincorporated villages, waterworks, municipally owned waterworks, joint water utilities, rural water districts incorporated under chapter 357A or 504, cooperative water associations, franchise cable television operators, and persons furnishing electricity to five or fewer persons, and electric transmission owners primarily providing service to public utilities as defined in section 476.1.
    Sec. 3.  EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT.  This Act, being deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
    Sec. 4.  RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies retroactively to July 1, 2001.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill expands the definition of “public utility” for purposes of provisions governing public utility crossings of railroad rights-of-way to include electric transmission owners primarily providing service to public utilities as defined in Code section 476.1. The bill defines an “electric transmission owner” to mean an individual or entity who owns and maintains electric transmission facilities including transmission lines, wires, or cables that are capable of operating at an electric voltage of 34.5 kilovolts or greater.
   Provisions governing public utility crossings of railroad rights-of-way, which shall now encompass electronic transmission owners, include rules adopted by the Iowa utilities board in consultation with the department of transportation addressing notification required prior to the commencement of any crossing activity, a requirement that the railroad and the public utility each maintain and repair the person’s own property within the railroad right-of-way and bear responsibility for each person’s own acts and omissions, the amount and scope of insurance or self-insurance required to cover risks associated with a crossing, a procedure to address the payment of costs associated with the relocation of public utility facilities within the railroad right-of-way necessary to accommodate railroad operations, terms and conditions for securing the payment of any damages by the public utility before it proceeds with a crossing, access to a crossing for repair and maintenance of existing facilities in case of emergency, and engineering standards for utility facilities crossing railroad rights-of-way.
   Additionally, unless otherwise agreed by the parties or regarded as a special circumstance entitled to relief, a public utility that locates its facilities within a railroad right-of-way for a crossing, other than a crossing along the public roads of the state pursuant to Code chapter 477, shall pay a railroad a one-time standard crossing fee of $750 in lieu of any license or other fees or charges to reimburse the railroad for the direct expenses incurred by the railroad as a result of the crossing.
   The bill takes effect upon enactment and applies retroactively to July 1, 2001.