Connecticut SB 421: AN ACT ESTABLISHING SENIOR SAFETY ZONES.

Bill Text

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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 421
February Session, 2026

AN ACT CONCERNING REPORTING OF DOUBLE UTILITY POLES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) As used in this section 1
and section 2 of this act: 2
(1) "Public utility pole" means a pole, including a portion of a pole, 3
owned by a telephone company or an electric distribution company that 4
is used to support wires for (A) the distribution of electricity, (B) 5
telecommunications services, as defined in section 16-247a of the 6
general statutes, or (C) the lighting of streets or sidewalks; 7
(2) "Double utility poles" means a replacement public utility pole 8
built or installed alongside, or attached to, an existing public utility pole, 9
or a portion of an existing public utility pole, for the purpose of 10
transferring the wires from the existing utility pole to the replacement 11
utility pole, provided the existing public utility pole, including any 12
portion of such utility pole, has not been removed after the installation 13
of the replacement utility pole; 14
(3) "Electric distribution company" has the same meaning as 15
provided in section 16-1 of the general statutes; 16
(4) "Telephone company" has the same meaning as provided in 17

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section 16-1 of the general statutes; and 18
(5) "User" means any person or entity, except for an electric 19
distribution company, a telephone company, a municipality or a 20
political subdivision of a municipality, that maintains equipment of any 21
sort on a public utility pole. 22
(b) The owner of any public utility pole, or the owner's agent, shall 23
deliver written notice of any removal and replacement work concerning 24
such utility pole to each user of such utility pole not less than seventy-25
two hours (1) before the starting date of any such work if such work is 26
planned, or (2) after such work is completed if such work was 27
unplanned and necessary to correct a hazardous condition on an 28
emergency basis. Such notice shall describe the location of the public 29
utility pole, the nature of the work completed or to be completed, the 30
date upon which such work was completed or is to be completed and 31
the date and method of delivery of such notice. 32
(c) Each user of a public utility pole that receives notice of work 33
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall transfer its equipment 34
from the existing public utility pole to the replacement public utility 35
pole not later than fifteen days after receiving such notice. Upon the 36
completion of the work to transfer equipment pursuant to this 37
subsection, the user shall provide written notice to the owner of such 38
utility pole that such work has been completed. 39
(d) If a user fails to complete the work required to transfer the user's 40
equipment in the time required under subsection (c) of this section, the 41
owner of the public utility pole, or the owner's agent, may complete 42
such work on the user's behalf. Such owner or owner's agent may 43
submit a bill to such user based on the prevailing rate of wages 44
established pursuant to section 31-53 of the general statutes for any such 45
work completed on behalf of such user. 46
(e) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, a user 47
that fails to transfer the user's equipment to a replacement public utility 48
pole in compliance with subsection (c) of this section shall be in violation 49

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of this section. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority may impose, 50
by order of the authority, a civil penalty not to exceed one hundred 51
dollars for each violation of subsection (c) of this section, and in the case 52
of a continued violation, each day thereof shall be deemed a separate 53
violation. The authority shall impose any such civil penalty in 54
accordance with the procedure established in section 16-41 of the 55
general statutes. 56
(2) The authority shall impose no penalty on a user pursuant to this 57
subsection if (A) the user of a public utility pole was prevented from 58
completing the transfer of such user's equipment due solely to a 59
municipality's failure to timely remove or transfer any equipment 60
owned by such municipality or a political subdivision of the 61
municipality, or (B) the owner of a public utility pole, or the owner's 62
agent, completes any work required to transfer such user's equipment 63
pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. 64
(f) (1) An electric distribution company or telephone company that 65
removes a public utility pole, including any portion of such a utility 66
pole, and installs a replacement public utility pole shall complete the 67
transfer of any wires or equipment owned by the electric distribution 68
company or telephone company and the removal of the public utility 69
pole that was replaced not later than fifteen d