H.F. 2581 Section 1. Section 480.1, Code 2024, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsections: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 5A. “Forty-eight-hour period” means a 3 period of forty-eight consecutive hours beginning at 6:00 a.m. 4 the next business day from the day the notification center 5 receives a notice and excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and legal 6 holidays. 7 NEW SUBSECTION . 5B. “Locator” means a person proposing to 8 engage or engaging in the location and marking of underground 9 facilities under contract with an operator. “Locator” does not 10 include a person employed by an operator. 11 Sec. 2. Section 480.3, subsection 1, paragraph a, 12 subparagraph (1), Code 2024, is amended to read as follows: 13 (1) The center shall be governed by a board of directors , 14 which shall represent and be elected by operators, excavators, 15 and other persons who participate in the center. The board 16 shall include two members engaged in the business of land 17 excavating. The board, with input from all interested parties, 18 shall determine the operating procedures and technology needed 19 for a single statewide notification center and establish a 20 notification process. 21 Sec. 3. Section 480.3, Code 2024, is amended by adding the 22 following new subsection: 23 NEW SUBSECTION . 4. The center shall provide records to the 24 utilities board upon request as a part of an investigation on 25 behalf of the attorney general’s office. 26 Sec. 4. Section 480.4, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2024, 27 is amended to read as follows: 28 a. Except as otherwise provided in this section , prior to 29 any excavation, an excavator shall contact the notification 30 center and provide notice of the planned excavation occurring 31 after a forty-eight-hour period . This notice must be given 32 at least forty-eight hours prior to the commencement of the 33 excavation, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. 34 Notices received after 5:00 p.m. shall be processed as if 35 -1- LSB 5443HV (3) 90 lh/js 1/ 6

H.F. 2581 received at 8:00 a.m. the next business day. The notice shall 1 be valid for twenty calendar days from the date beginning on 2 the day the notice was provided to the notification center 3 forty-eight-hour period concludes, unless an excavator, at the 4 time of providing notice to the notification center, agrees 5 to extend the commencement date of the planned excavation 6 beyond the forty-eight-hour period, in which case the 7 twenty-calendar-day period shall begin on the day the excavator 8 selected as the commencement date of the planned excavation . 9 If all locating and marking of underground facilities is 10 completed prior to the expiration of the forty-eight-hour 11 period, the excavator may proceed with excavation upon being 12 notified by the notification center that the locating and 13 marking of all underground facilities is complete. The 14 notification center shall establish a toll-free telephone 15 number to allow excavators to provide the notice required 16 pursuant to this subsection . 17 Sec. 5. Section 480.4, subsection 3, paragraph a, 18 subparagraphs (1) and (3), Code 2024, are amended to read as 19 follows: 20 (1) An operator who receives notice from the notification 21 center shall mark the horizontal location of the operator’s 22 underground facility and the excavator shall use due care in 23 excavating in the marked area to avoid damaging the underground 24 facility. The operator shall complete such locating and 25 marking, and shall notify the notification center that the 26 marking is complete within forty-eight hours after receiving 27 the notice, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, 28 the forty-eight-hour period unless otherwise agreed by the 29 operator and the excavator. No later than the expiration of 30 the forty-eight-hour period, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, 31 and legal holidays, the notification center shall notify the 32 excavator of the underground facility locating and marking 33 status, or the failure of the operator to notify the center 34 that the locating and marking is complete. The locating and 35 -2- LSB 5443HV (3) 90 lh/js 2/ 6

H.F. 2581 marking of the underground facilities shall be completed at no 1 cost to the excavator. If, in the opinion of the operator, the 2 planned excavation requires that the precise location of the 3 underground facilities be determined, the excavator, unless 4 otherwise agreed upon between the excavator and the operator, 5 shall hand dig test holes to determine the location of the 6 facilities unless the operator specifies an alternate method. 7 (3) Unless otherwise agreed by the operator and excavator in 8 writing, no excavation shall be performed within twenty-five 9 feet of an underground natural gas transmission line as defined 10 in 49 C.F.R. §192.3 An excavation shall not be performed 11 within twenty-five feet of an underground natural gas line 12 operating at one hundred fifty pounds per square inch or 13 greater and that is equal to or greater than two inches in 14 diameter without a written agreement between the operator and 15 the excavator unless a representative of the operator of the 16 underground natural gas transmission line is present at the 17 planned excavation area. This requirement shall not apply, 18 however, when a representative of the operator fails to be 19 present at the proposed excavation area at the time work is 20 scheduled to commence or as otherwise agreed by the operator 21 and excavator in writing. In this event, the excavator shall 22 notify the operator that the representative failed to appear, 23 and excavation operations can begin, provided the excavator 24 uses due care to avoid damaging the underground facilities. 25 Sec. 6. Section 480.4, subsection 3, paragraph b, Code 2024, 26 is amended to read as follows: 27 b. An operator who receives notice from the notification 28 center and who determines that the operator does not have 29 any underground facility located within the proposed area of 30 excavation shall notify the notification center concerning 31 this determination within forty-eight hours after receiving 32 the notice, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays 33 the forty-eight-hour period . No later than the expiration of 34 the forty-eight-hour period, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, 35 -3- LSB 5443HV (3) 90 lh/js 3/ 6

H.F. 2581 and legal holidays, the notification center shall notify the 1 excavator that the operator does not have any underground 2 facilities within the proposed area of excavation. 3 Sec. 7. Section 480.6, subsection 1, Code 2024, is amended 4 by adding the following new paragraph: 5 NEW PARAGRAPH . c. If a locator violates a time limit set 6 forth in this chapter or any rule established by the utilities 7 board and a complaint relating to the violation is filed with 8 the utilities board, the locator is subject to a civil penalty 9 in an amount determined by the utilities board. A locator 10 may receive a warning letter from the office of the attorney 11 general in lieu of a penalty for the violation. A civil 12 penalty imposed by the utilities board under this paragraph 13 shall not exceed one hundred dollars for each violation for 14 each day the violation continues, up to a maximum of five 15 thousand dollars. 16 Sec. 8. Section 480.6, subsection 2, Code 2024, is amended 17 to read as follows: 18 2. a. The attorney general, upon the receipt of a 19 complaint, may institute any legal proceedings necessary to 20 enforce the penalty provisions of this chapter . 21 b. At the direction of the attorney general, the utilities 22 board shall investigate a violation of this chapter. Upon 23 completion of the investigation, the utilities board 24 shall submit to the attorney general a written summary of 25 the investigation and all evidence acquired during the 26 investigation, except as set forth in subsection 2, paragraph 27 “c” . 28 c. The utilities board may independently receive, 29 investigate, and enforce complaints alleging a violation of 30 this chapter by a locator. 31 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION . 480.11 Locator enforcement authority. 32 1. A locator who operates in this state and engages in 33 location services under a contract with an operator shall 34 satisfy all of the following requirements: 35 -4- LSB 5443HV (3) 90 lh/js 4/ 6

H.F. 2581 a. Take responsibility for completing location services as 1 required under section 480.4. 2 b. Correctly notify the notification center that a location 3 service could not be completed due to a lack of response by the 4 excavator and include in the notice the date, time, and method 5 of the attempted contact with the excavator, and the name and 6 contact information of any representative of the excavator. 7 2. A locator operating in this state is subject to 8 enforcement requirements as established in chapter 476. Any 9 enforcement action taken for a violation of this chapter by a 10 locator shall be taken solely against the locator and not the 11 operator. 12 EXPLANATION 13 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 14 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 15 This bill relates to required timing for notices regarding 16 underground facility excavations. 17 The bill requires the statewide notification center (center) 18 for underground facilities to include two members engaged in 19 the business of land excavating on the board of directors. 20 The center is required to provide the Iowa utilities board 21 with requested records when the Iowa utilities board is 22 investigating on behalf of the attorney general’s office. 23 The bill modifies the requirement for an excavator or an 24 operator to provide notice to the notification center prior 25 to a planned excavation, after locating and marking the area 26 for excavation, or when no underground facility is located in 27 the proposed area. The bill defines a “locator” as a person 28 who engages in locating and marking underground facilities 29 under contract with but not employed by an operator. A 30 notice for a planned excavation initiates a 48-hour period and 31 other required notices must occur within the 48-hour period. 32 A “forty-eight-hour period” is defined in the bill as 48 33 consecutive hours beginning at 6:00 a.m. the next business day 34 after the notification center receives a notice and excludes 35 -5- LSB 5443HV (3) 90 lh/js 5/ 6

H.F. 2581 Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. The bill strikes 1 language relating to the treatment of notices received by the 2 notification center after 5:00 p.m. being processed as if 3 received at 8:00 a.m. the following day. 4 The bill provides that notice shall be valid for 20 calendar 5 days after the conclusion of the 48-hour period or on the 6 excavation date selected by the excavator. Current law 7 provides that notice is valid for 20 calendar days from the 8 date the notice was provided to the notification center. 9 Current law provides that an excavation shall not be 10 performed within 25 feet of an underground natural gas 11 transmission line, as federally defined, without an agreement 12 in writing by the operator and excavator. The bill refines the 13 prohibition by limiting excavation performed within 25 feet 14 of an underground natural gas line operating at 150 pounds 15 per square inch or greater and that is two inches in diameter 16 without a written agreement. 17 The bill provides penalties for locator violations including 18 a warning letter or a civil penalty not to exceed $100 for 19 each violation up to $5,000. The Iowa utilities board shall 20 investigate violations of Code chapter 480 at the direction 21 of the attorney general. The Iowa utilities board may 22 independently investigate complaints alleging violations 23 by a locator. The bill provides requirements for a locator 24 contracted for location services. 25 -6- LSB 5443HV (3) 90 lh/js 6/ 6