S2182

An Act concerning the removal and marking of certain lines and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

“Abandoned” means any line that : (1) is not terminated at both ends to equipment or to a customer’s premises; (2) is not maintained in a safe condition; (3) is not intended for future use; or (4) has not been in operation for a period of at least 24 consecutive months, and the owner of a structure to which the line is attached has submitted a request for removal of the line pursuant to section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The term “abandoned” shall not include any line that is overlashed.

“Board” means the Board of Public Utilities or any successor agency.

“Cable television service” means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1972, c.186 (C.48:5A-3).

“Entity” means a person, municipality, utility, or corporation having ownership of a line in this State, including ownership acquired by sale or corporate merger.

“Line” means an above-ground cable or wire attached to a pole, building, or other structure, used or useful for the provision of any telecommunications service or cable television service, including, but not limited to, a copper telephone line, and shall include any equipment or facility associated with that line attached to that pole, building, or other structure.

“Maintained in a safe condition” means any time in which the state of a line is in compliance with any applicable rules and regulations adopted by the board concerning plant and facility construction, which regulations shall include N.J.A.C.14:5-2.1, N.J.A.C.14:10-1A.12, and N.J.A.C.14:18-2.1, as applicable, as well as any other successor regulations.

“Telecommunications service” means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1972, c.186 (C.48:5A-3).

“Utility” means any “public utility” as defined in R.S.48:2-13, or “local utility” as defined in section 3.1 of P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-4).

2. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation, or order to the contrary, and in accordance with federal law, if applicable, an entity owning a line that is abandoned shall either correct the condition causing the line to be abandoned or remove that line from all points of attachment, as provided under subsection d. of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

b. Notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation, or order to the contrary, when an entity that owns one or more lines in the State ceases to do business in the State, the entity shall remove the lines from all points of attachment, except not including any line for which the ownership is transferred to another entity and the line is not otherwise deemed to be abandoned.

c. (1) Following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and in accordance with federal law, if applicable, an entity that installs a new line, which line is attached to a building or structure and owned by the entity , shall mark the end of the line attached to the building or structure with the initials of the entity’s name, abbreviation of the entity’s name, corporate symbol, or other distinguishing mark or code by which ownership may be readily and definitely ascertained.

(2) When an entity owns or maintains a line that is attached to a building or structure, which line was installed before the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and the entity discovers that the line does not contain the markings specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the entity shall mark the end of the line attached to the building or structure with the initials of the entity’s name, abbreviation of the entity’s name, corporate symbol, or other distinguishing mark or code by which ownership may be readily and definitely ascertained. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require an entity to affirmatively search for any unmarked lines.

3. a. Beginning 12months after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), in accordance with federal law, if applicable, and to the extent permitted under any applicable pole attachment agreement, the owner of a pole, building, or other structure to which a suspected abandoned line is attached may send a request, in accordance with subsection c. of this section, to the entity owning that line to request removal if the line is found to be abandoned by the entity.

b. Beginning 12 months after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), any person, municipality, utility, or corporation in the State may submit a request, in accordance with subsection c. of this section, to the board for the removal of any suspected abandoned line, provided that the line is found to be abandoned by the entity owning the line. Within five business days after receiving the request, the board shall transmit a written copy of the request to the entity that owns the line. Nothing in this section shall prevent or prohibit a person, municipality, utility, or corporation from directly notifying an entity of a suspected abandoned line.

c. (1) Within 10 months after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the board shall prescribe the form and manner in which the owner of a pole, building, or structure may submit a request, pursuant to subsection a. of this section, for the removal of a suspected abandoned line. In addition to any other information that the board deems necessary, the form shall require the requestor to provide the pole number, address, or latitude and longitude of the associated pole, and a photograph of the abandoned line. At a minimum, the board shall allow these requests to be submitted through the official Internet website of the entity.

(2) Within 10 months after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the board shall prescribe the form and manner in which a person, municipality, utility, or corporation may submit a request, pursuant to subsection b. of this section, for the removal of a suspected abandoned line. In addition to any other information that the board deems necessary, the form shall require the requestor to provide the pole number, address, or latitude and longitude of the associated pole, and a photograph of the abandoned line, if available. At a minimum, the board shall allow these requests to be submitted through the official Internet website of the board.

(3) Within 11 months after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the official Internet website of the board and each entity owning one or more lines in the State shall provide instructions, in a clear and conspicuous manner, concerning the submission of the requests to remove suspected abandoned lines

and the rights of customers under P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

d. Within 30 calendar days after the date on which an entity receives a request to remove a suspected abandoned line, submitted pursuant to this section, the entity shall investigate and determine whether the line is abandoned. If the line is deemed to be abandoned, within 30 calendar days after the date of such determination, the entity shall either correct the condition causing the line to be abandoned or remove the line.

e. Within 90 calendar days after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and every 90 calendar days thereafter, the entity shall submit a written report to the board, which report shall include a description of all notifications, complaints, and requests received by the entity, including all reports and notifications received pursuant to section 5 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), concerning a suspected abandoned line since the date on which the entity submitted its most recent report pursuant to this subsection. For each notification, complaint, or request, the report shall include:

(1) the date on which the entity received the notification, complaint, or request;

(2) the manner in which the notification, complaint, or request was received;

(3) the basis of the entity’s determination of whether the line is abandoned;

(4) a description of all actions undertaken by the entity with respect to the line, including any actions to remove, overlash, or mark the line, and the dates on which such actions were taken; and

(5) any other information that may be required by the board.

f. Beginning 12 months after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and every 12 months thereafter, each entity shall provide written notice to each customer of the entity, which notice shall inform the customer, in clear and conspicuous language, that the rights of the customer under P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) can be found on the entity’s official Internet website. The written notice shall be provided in a form and manner approved by the board, except that the notice shall be provided to each customer using the same method as the entity provides a bill to the customer and in the same language as the bill is provided to the customer, and the notice may be included as a part of the customer’s bill or as an additional notice to the customer.

4. a. If an entity fails to comply with any requirements of section 2 or 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the entity may be subject to a fine, as set forth in this section, which fine shall be enforced by the board.

b. Before an entity may be subject to a fine under this section, the board shall provide the entity with written notice of the alleged violation. Within 30 calendar days of receiving the notice, the entity shall be permitted to cure the alleged violation or demonstrate that the entity has not violated the requirements of section 2 or 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

c. If within 30 calendar days of receiving the notice, the entity fails to cure the alleged violation or fails to demonstrate that the entity has not violated the requirements of section 2 or 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the board may impose a maximum aggregate fine of $500 for each day in which the violation exists, beginning on the 31st calendar day after the submission of the written notice. In determining whether to impose a fine and, if appropriate, in determining the amount of the fine, the board may consider the following factors:

(1) the nature, circumstances, and magnitude of the violations;

(2) the entity’s history of prior violations during the prior three-year period;

(3) any good faith efforts by the entity to cure the violation within a reasonable time period following notice; and

(4) any other considerations that the board may deem appropriate.

5. During the course of the employee’s employment, each employee of an entity, or subcontractor of an entity, who is responsible for installing lines or responding to service calls shall have an affirmative duty to report any line that the employee reasonably believes to be under the ownership of the employer, or in the case of the employee of a subcontractor, under the ownership of the entity for whom the subcontractor is engaged in work, and that the employee reasonably suspects to be abandoned, which line is attached to a pole or structure which the employee encounters during the normal course of installing lines or responding to service calls. If the employee of an entity who is responsible for installing lines or responding to service calls discovers an abandoned line during the normal course of the employee’s work, the employee shall have an affirmative duty to either remove the abandoned line, if authorized by the entity, or report the abandoned line to the entity for further action.

6. The board may promulgate rules and regulations, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to implement the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) for entities under its jurisdiction, as applicable. The board may be assisted, as appropriate, by other participating agencies, departments, boards, and authorities, including the Office of Information Technology, in the promulgation of such rules and regulations as the board deems necessary.

7. This act shall take effect immediately, but shall remain inoperative for 90 days from the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes several requirements concerning the maintenance and removal of certain telecommunications and cable lines, including the removal or correction of abandoned lines, the removal of copper telephone lines, and the marking of new and existing lines.

The bill requires certain entities, including utilities, corporations, municipalities, and persons that own above-ground telecommunications, cable lines, and copper telephone lines that are found to be abandoned, to either correct the condition that causes the line to be abandoned or remove the abandoned line from all points of attachment after receiving a request for removal submitted in accordance with this bill. The bill also provides that when an entity ceases to do business in this State, the entity would be required to remove its lines from all points of attachment, except for any lines for which ownership was transferred to another entity and which is not otherwise deemed to be abandoned.

Under the bill, the owner of a pole, building, or other structure to which a suspected abandoned line is attached may submit a request for removal to the entity owning the line. The bill also permits any person, municipality, utility, or corporation to submit a request for removal of a suspected abandoned line to the Board of Public Utilities (BPU), which request would be transmitted to the entity that owns the line within five business days. Any forms would be required to provide the pole numbers, address, or latitude and longitude of the associated pole, and photograph of the abandoned line. In either case, the bill requires the BPU to prescribe the form and manner for the submission of these requests, except that the bill requires the BPU to allow these requests to be submitted through the official Internet websites of the entities and BPU, respectively.

Within 30 calendar days after receiving a request to remove a suspected abandoned line, the bill requires each entity to investigate and determine whether the line is abandoned. If the line is deemed to be abandoned, the bill requires the entity to either correct the condition causing the line to be abandoned or remove the line from all points of attachment within 30 calendar days. Under the bill, an abandoned line would include any above-ground telecommunications or cable line that: (1) is not terminated at both ends to equipment or to a customer’s premises; (2) is not maintained in a safe condition; (3) is not intended for future use; or (4) has not been in operation for a period of at least 24 consecutive months, and the owner of a structure to which the line is attached has submitted a request for removal of the line. However, the bill provides that any line that is overlashed would not be deemed to be abandoned.

Additionally, the bill requires each entity to submit a written report to the BPU every 90 calendar days beginning after the effective date of the bill, which report is required to describe all notifications, complaints, and requests received by the entity concerning a suspected abandoned line. The report would be required to include a description of all reports and notifications received from an employee of the entity or an employee of the subcontractor of the entity. The bill also requires each entity to provide annual written notice to its customers concerning the provisions of the bill and including an explanation of the processes through which the customer may submit a request for removal of a suspected abandoned line. The bill requires the BPU to prescribe a form and manner for the provision of this notice, except that the notice would be provided to each customer using the same method as the entity provides a bill to the customer, and the notice would be made available in both English and Spanish.

This bill also provides that during the course of the employee’s employment, each employee of an entity who is responsible for installing lines or responding to service calls would have an affirmative duty to report any line that the employee reasonable believes to be under the ownership of the employer or, in the case of an employee of a subcontractor, those lines are under the ownership of the entity for whom the subcontractor is engaged to work abandoned. If the employee of an entity discovers an abandoned line during the course of the employee’s employment, the employee would be required to either remove the abandoned line, if authorized by the entity, or report the abandoned line to the entity for further action. Within 90 calendar days of receiving the report, the entity would be required to transmit a copy of the report to the BPU.

The bill provides that when an entity installs certain new lines, which lines are attached to a building or structure and owned by the entity, the entity would be required to mark certain information on the end of the line that is attached to the building or structure. This information would include the initials of the entity’s name, abbreviation of the entity’s name, corporate symbol, or other distinguishing mark or code by which ownership may be readily and definitely ascertained. The bill also provides that when an entity owns or maintains an existing line that is attached to a building or structure, which line was installed before the effective date of the bill and does not contain the marking required under the bill, the entity would be required to mark this information on the end of the line that is attached to the building or structure after the entity discovers that the line does not contain the markings.

Under the bill, an entity that fails to comply with the requirements of the bill concerning the removal of abandoned lines or the marking of lines may be subject to a fine after the BPU has submitted a written notice of an alleged violation to the entity. Specifically, the bill provides that if the entity fails to cure the alleged violation within 30 calendar days after receiving the notice, the BPU may impose a fine of $500 for each day in which the violation exists, beginning on the 31st calendar day after the submission of the notice. The bill also sets forth various factors that the BPU may consider when determining whether to impose a fine, and if appropriate, the amount of the fine.