Bill > HB1278

This bill clarifies that investor-owned electric utilities, which are companies providing retail electricity service regulated by the Public Utilities Commission, must obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity (a permit confirming a project is needed and beneficial) from the commission and secure all necessary land use approvals and permits from local governments (counties, cities, and towns) *before* they can initiate condemnation proceedings, which is the legal process of taking private property for public use. The bill defines "transmission infrastructure" as high-voltage power lines exceeding one hundred kilovolts owned by these utilities, and it emphasizes that this new requirement does not alter existing processes for developing transmission projects already established by the commission or local governments.