F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
HB 6045 2022
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to communications services; amending
3 s. 337.401, F.S.; removing certain communications
4 services lines as items over which certain
5 governmental entities are authorized to prescribe and
6 enforce reasonable rules and regulations; removing
7 time restrictions placed upon certain counties and
8 municipalities for processing certain permit
9 applications; removing provisions that specify
10 limitations and prohibitions on municipalities and
11 counties relating to registrations and renewals of
12 communications services providers; removing provisions
13 that authorize municipalities and counties to require
14 certain information as part of a registration;
15 removing provisions that prohibit municipalities and
16 counties from requiring a payment of fees, costs, or
17 charges for provider registration or renewal; removing
18 provisions that prohibit municipalities and counties
19 from adopting or enforcing certain ordinances, rules,
20 or requirements; removing limitations on municipal and
21 county authority to regulate and manage municipal and
22 county roads or rights-of-way; removing provisions
23 that prohibit certain municipalities and counties from
24 imposing permit fees; removing provisions that specify
25 activities for which permit fees may not be imposed;
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26 removing the requirement that enforcement of certain
27 ordinances must be suspended until certain conditions
28 are met; removing a condition for certain in-kind
29 compensation; revising items over which municipalities
30 and counties may exercise regulatory control; removing
31 provisions for requirements relating to right-of-way
32 permits; removing provisions relating to municipal and
33 county authority over pass-through providers; deleting
34 references to, and administration and provisions of,
35 the Advanced Wireless Infrastructure Deployment Act;
36 removing a provision authorizing a civil action for
37 specified violations; removing certain actions a court
38 may take; removing provisions that require that work
39 in certain authority rights-of-way must comply with a
40 specified document; providing an effective date.
41
42 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
43
44 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1), subsections
45 (2) and (3), paragraph (d) of subsection (6), and subsections
46 (7), (8), and (9) of section 337.401, Florida Statutes, are
47 amended to read:
48 337.401 Use of right-of-way for utilities subject to
49 regulation; permit; fees.—
50 (1)(a) The department and local governmental entities,
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51 referred to in this section and in ss. 337.402, 337.403, and
52 337.404 as the "authority," that have jurisdiction and control
53 of public roads or publicly owned rail corridors are authorized
54 to prescribe and enforce reasonable rules or regulations with
55 reference to the placing and maintaining across, on, or within
56 the right-of-way limits of any road or publicly owned rail
57 corridors under their respective jurisdictions any electric
58 transmission, voice, telegraph, data, or other communications
59 services lines or wireless facilities; pole lines; poles;
60 railways; ditches; sewers; water, heat, or gas mains; pipelines;
61 fences; gasoline tanks and pumps; or other structures referred
62 to in this section and in ss. 337.402, 337.403, and 337.404 as
63 the "utility." The department may enter into a permit -delegation
64 agreement with a governmental entity if issuance of a permit is
65 based on requirements that the department finds will ensure the
66 safety and integrity of facilities of the Department of
67 Transportation; however, the permit-delegation agreement does
68 not apply to facilities of electric utilities as defined in s.
69 366.02(2).
70 (2) The authority may grant to any person who is a
71 resident of this state, or to any corporation which is organized
72 under the laws of this state or licensed to do business within
73 this state, the use of a right-of-way for the utility in
74 accordance with such rules or regulations as the authority may
75 adopt. A utility may not be installed, located, or relocated
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76 unless authorized by a written permit issued by the authority.
77 However, for public roads or publicly owned rail corridors under
78 the jurisdiction of the department, a utility relocation
79 schedule and relocation agreement may be executed in lieu of a
80 written permit. The permit must require the permitholder to be
81 responsible for any damage resulting from the issuance of such
82 permit. The authority may initiate injunctive proceedings as
83 provided in s. 120.69 to enforce provisions of this subsection
84 or any rule or order issued or entered into pursuant thereto. A
85 permit application required under this subsection by a county or
86 municipality having jurisdiction and control of the right-of-way
87 of any public road must be processed and acted upon in
88 accordance with the timeframes provided in subparagraphs
89 (7)(d)7., 8., and 9.
90 (3)(a) Because of the unique circumstances applicable to
91 providers of communications services, including, but not limited
92 to, the circumstances described in paragraph (e) and the fact
93 that federal and state law require the nondiscriminatory
94 treatment of providers of telecommunications services, and
95 because of the desire to promote competition among providers of
96 communications services, it is the intent of the Legislature
97 that municipalities and counties treat providers of
98 communications services in a nondiscriminatory and competitively
99 neutral manner when imposing rules or regulations governing the
100 placement or maintenance of communications facilities in the
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101 public roads or rights-of-way. Rules or regulations imposed by a
102 municipality or county relating to providers of communications
103 services placing or maintaining communications facilities in its
104 roads or rights-of-way must be generally applicable to all
105 providers of communications services, taking into account the
106 distinct engineering, construction, operation, maintenance,
107 public works, and safety requirements of the provider's
108 facilities, and, notwithstanding any other law, may not require
109 a provider of communications services to apply for or enter into
110 an individual license, franchise, or other agreement with the
111 municipality or county as a condition of placing or maintaining
112 communications facilities in its roads or rights-of-way. In
113 addition to other reasonable rules or regulations that a
114 municipality or county may adopt relating to the placement or
115 maintenance of communications facilities in its roads or rights -
116 of-way under this subsection or subsection (7), a municipality
117 or county may require a provider of communications services that
118 places or seeks to place facilities in its roads or rights -of-
119 way to register with the municipality or county. To register, a
120 provider of communications services may be required only to
121 provide its name; the name, address, and telephone number of a
122 contact person for the registrant; the number of the
123 registrant's current certificate of authorization issued by the
124 Florida Public Service Commission, the Federal Communications
125 Commission, or the Department of State; a statement of whether
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126 the registrant is a pass-through provider as defined in
127 subparagraph (6)(a)1.; the registrant's federal employer
128 identification number; and any required proof of insurance or
129 self-insuring status adequate to defend and cover claims. A
130 municipality or county may not require a registrant to renew a
131 registration more frequently than every 5 years but may require
132 during this period that a registrant update the registration
133 information provided under this subsection within 90 days after
134 a change in such information. A municipality or county may not
135 require the registrant to provide an inventory of communications
136 facilities, maps, locations of such facilities, or other
137 information by a registrant as a condition of registration,
138 renewal, or for any other purpose; provided, however, that a
139 municipality or county may require as part of a permit
140 application that the applicant identify at-grade communications
141 facilities within 50 feet of the proposed installation location
142 for the placement of at-grade communications facilities. A
143 municipality or county may not require a provider to pay any
144 fee, cost, or other charge for registration or renewal thereof.
145 It is the intent of the Legislature that the placement,
146 operation, maintenance, upgrading, and extension of
147 communications facilities not be unreasonably interrupted or
148 delayed through the permitting or other local regulatory
149 process. Except as provided in this chapter or otherwise
150 expressly authorized by chapter 202, chapter 364, or chapter
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151 610, a municipality or county may not adopt or enforce any
152 ordinance, regulation, or requirement as to the placement or
153 operation of communications facilities in a right-of-way by a
154 communications services provider authorized by state or local
155 law to operate in a right-of-way; regulate any communications
156 services; or impose or collect any tax, fee, cost, charge, or
157 exaction for the provision of communications services over the
158 communications services provider's communications facilities in
159 a right-of-way.
160 (b) Registration described in paragraph (a) does not
161 establish a right to place or maintain, or priority for the
162 placement or maintenance of, a communications facility in roads
163 or rights-of-way of a municipality or county. Each municipality
164 and county retains the authority to regulate and manage
165 municipal and county roads or rights-of-way in exercising its
166 police power, subject to the limitations imposed in this section
167 and chapters 202 and 610. Any rules or regulations adopted by a
168 municipality or county which govern the occupation of its roads
169 or rights-of-way by providers of communications services must be
170 related to the placement or maintenance of facilities in such
171 roads or rights-of-way, must be reasonable and
172 nondiscriminatory, and may include only those matters necessary
173 to manage the roads or rights-of-way of the municipality or
174 county.
175 (c) Any municipality or county that, as of January 1,
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176 2019, elected to require permit fees from any provider of
177 communications services that uses or occupies municipal or
178 county roads or rights-of-way pursuant to former paragraph (c)
179 or former paragraph (j), Florida Statutes 2018, may continue to
180 require and collect such fees. A municipality or county that
181 elected as of January 1, 2019, to require permit fees may elect
182 to forego such fees as provided herein. A municipality or county
183 that elected as of January 1, 2019, not to require permit fees
184 may not elect to impose permit fees. All fees authorized under
185 this paragraph must be reasonable and commensurate with the
186 direct and actual cost of the regulatory activity, including
187 issuing and processing permits, plan reviews, physical
188 inspection, and direct administrative costs; must be
189 demonstrable; and must be equitable among users of the roads or
190 rights-of-way. A fee authorized under this paragraph may not be
191 offset against the tax imposed under chapter 202; include the
192 costs of roads or rights-of-way acquisition or roads or rights-
193 of-way rental; include any general administrative, managemen t,
194 or maintenance costs of the roads or rights-of-way; or be based
195 on a percentage of the value or costs associated with the work
196 to be performed on the roads or rights-of-way. In an action to
197 recover amounts due for a fee not authorized under this
198 paragraph, the prevailing party may recover court costs and
199 attorney fees at trial and on appeal. In addition to the
200 limitations set forth in this section, a fee levied by a
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201 municipality or charter county under this paragraph may not
202 exceed $100. However, permit fees may not be imposed with
203 respect to permits that may be required for service drop lines
204 not required to be noticed under s. 556.108(5) or for any
205 activity that does not require the physical disturbance of the
206 roads or rights-of-way or does not impair access to or full use
207 of the roads or rights-of-way, including,