The bill amends provisions related to the notification process for excavators before beginning excavation work. It stipulates that excavators must notify the one-call notification center at least forty-eight hours prior to the start of excavation, with the notification period beginning at 12:01 a.m. the day after the notice is submitted. The bill also allows the board to establish rules to reduce this notification period for emergency situations or subsequent inquiries and to extend it for non-excavation requests. Additionally, the bill clarifies that the forty-eight-hour period does not include Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays.

Furthermore, the bill outlines the responsibilities of operators upon receiving notice from excavators. Operators must mark the location of underground facilities within eighteen inches of the facilities and must respond within specified timeframes, which include a forty-eight-hour period starting at 12:01 a.m. the day after notice is received or the time provided by the excavator for the start of excavation. The response time may vary based on the nature of the request, and excavators are required to maintain a minimum clearance from marked facilities and use hand tools for excavation within that clearance.

Statutes affected:
Introduced, 12/19/2025: 49-7A-5, 49-7A-8