SPONSOR: Fitzwater
This bill creates the "Electrical Corporation Broadband Authorization Act", which allows broadband services providers to use certain electrical corporation broadband infrastructure to provide broadband services. The bill modifies the definition of "electric plant" to include broadband infrastructure operated, controlled, owned, used or to be used for or in connection with or to facilitate the provision of electric service, broadband operations, or broadband service. An electrical corporation can not provide broadband services to end-use customers. An electrical corporation's investment in such broadband infrastructure must be included in the electrical corporation's rate base used to set the revenue requirement upon which the electrical corporation's base rates are set. The Public Service Commission does not have jurisdiction over the terms, conditions, charges, contracts, leases, licenses, or other agreements of an electrical corporation for the corporation's broadband operations or provision of broadband services through a broadband services provider. The rates and charges that an electrical corporation assess upon a broadband services provider must be standardized for all such providers. The bill also allows an electrical corporation to condemn land for the purpose of broadband infrastructure services. The bill specifies that any cause of action for inverse condemnation or trespass against certain electric utilities must be started within two years after the cause of action accrued, and no statute of limitations can extend the period for starting the action. If the plaintiff prevails in a cause of action for inverse condemnation, then the damage or taking is deemed permanent, the injury to the plaintiff can not be deemed to continue, accumulate, or to accrue, and the damages are fixed and determined as of the date the cause of action accrued. In a cause of action for trespass, a defendant is entitled to a determination by the court as to whether the use by the defendant or its assignees, alleged by the plaintiff to be an expanded use that increases the burden of the defendant's easement or to exceed the scope of the defendant's easement rights, is a public use. If the court finds that the use is a public use, and if the plaintiff prevails on the claim for trespass, then certain provisions specified in the bill apply. Damages for prevailing claims of inverse condemnation or trespass are specified in the bill. No cause of action for trespass or inverse condemnation may be brought as an action on behalf of a class. In a cause of action for trespass or inverse condemnation, certain specified evidence is not admissible for purposes of determining plaintiff's damages or any other purposes.
This bill is the similar to SB 848 (2022).
Statutes affected: