Bill > H2885

This bill aims to regulate the presence of "double utility poles," which are defined as a new pole installed next to an existing one to support it and facilitate the transfer of wires and attachments. It establishes a "Pole Lifecycle Management System" (PLM), a web-based database accessible to relevant parties, to track and manage double poles and notify users when it's time to transfer attachments based on a set priority. The bill mandates that utilities are jointly responsible for this statewide PLM system, with funding allocated by both the Department of Telecommunications and Cable (DTC) and the Department of Public Utilities (DPU). Utilities and those attaching equipment to poles must participate in and have access to the PLM system, and complaints can be filed with the DTC if they fail to do so, with the DPU having the right to intervene. Within a year of the bill's enactment, the DTC and DPU will hold a public hearing and create rules to reduce double poles, considering recommendations from a newly formed "double pole remediation advisory council." This council, composed of representatives from various utility sectors, municipalities, and government agencies, will analyze measures to accelerate double pole removal, including ensuring the PLM system's accuracy and accessibility, requiring semi-annual reports from pole owners to municipalities, mandating meetings between pole owners and municipalities, and potentially imposing fines on pole owners who fail to remove double poles within reasonable timeframes. The council must submit its recommendations by December 31, 2015, or the DTC and DPU will proceed with rulemaking without them, and both departments will also submit annual reports to the legislature on the progress of double pole remediation.