This bill mandates that public utilities are responsible for reimbursing the State or local governments for costs incurred in securing potentially dangerous conditions on properties they control. Specifically, if a public utility's property poses a risk to public safety, and the State or local government must deploy personnel to address the situation, they can file a claim for reimbursement. The public utility is required to pay the incurred costs unless they respond within one hour of being notified of the dangerous condition by deploying their own personnel to manage the situation. The bill also establishes that these provisions do not apply during declared states of emergency.

Additionally, the bill outlines specific conditions for filing a reimbursement claim, including the requirement for the State or local government to notify the public utility of the dangerous condition and to secure the scene. It directs the Commissioner of Community Affairs to create a fee schedule for claims based on federal guidelines and requires the Board of Public Utilities to maintain and disseminate updated emergency contact information for public utilities. Importantly, any amounts paid by public utilities under this bill will not be considered in their base rate cases before the Board of Public Utilities.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 2A:62A-21