General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5551
February Session, 2012 LCO No. 2619
*02619_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on Judiciary
Introduced by:
(JUD)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 5551
February Session, 2012
LCO No. 2619
*02619_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on Judiciary
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF POWER AND TELEPHONE LINES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 16-234 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2012):
(a) No telegraph, telephone or electric light company or association, nor any company or association engaged in distributing electricity by wires or similar conductors or in using an electric wire or conductor for any purpose, shall exercise any powers which may have been conferred upon it to change the location of, or to erect or place, wires, conductors, fixtures, structures or apparatus of any kind over, on or under any highway or public ground, without the consent of the adjoining proprietors, or, if such company or association is unable to obtain such consent, without the approval of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, which shall be given only after a hearing upon notice to such proprietors, [; or] except that the authority may, if it finds that public convenience and necessity require, authorize the changing of the location of, or the erection or placing of, such wires, conductors, fixtures, structures or apparatus over, on or under such highway or public ground.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, no telegraph, telephone or electric light company or association, nor any company or association engaged in distributing electricity by wires or similar conductors or in using an electric wire or conductor for any purpose, shall exercise any powers which may have been conferred upon it to cut or trim any tree on or overhanging any highway or public ground, without the consent of the owner thereof, or, if such company or association is unable to obtain such consent, without the approval of the tree warden or the consent of the authority, which consent shall be given only after a hearing upon notice to such owner, [; but the authority may, if it finds that public convenience and necessity require, authorize the changing of the location of, or the erection or placing of, such wires, conductors, fixtures, structures or apparatus over, on or under such highway or public ground; and] except that the tree warden in any town or the authority may, if [he or it] the tree warden, town or authority finds that public convenience and necessity require, authorize the cutting and trimming and the keeping trimmed of any brush or tree in such town on or overhanging such highway or public ground, which action shall be taken only after such notice and hearing, [as aforesaid,] which hearing shall be held within a reasonable time after the application therefor.
(c) A telegraph, telephone or electric light company or association, or any company or association engaged in distributing electricity by wires or similar conductors or in using an electric wire or conductor for any purpose, may acquire by eminent domain any tree or shrub or portion of such tree or shrub that is on or abuts a right-of-way or easement held by such company or association if the company or association finds a reasonable probability that such tree or shrub or portion of such tree or shrub would constitute an immediate public hazard to such electric wire or conductor or otherwise cause an interruption in the delivery of electric or telephone service (1) because of the condition of the tree or shrub, or (2) in the event of a storm accompanied by winds of hurricane force, snow or ice. If such company or association cannot agree with the owner of such tree or shrub upon the amount to be paid to the owner for such tree or shrub, or portion of such tree or shrub, the company or association shall proceed in the same manner specified for redevelopment agencies in accordance with sections 8-128, 8-129, 8-129a, 8-130, 8-131, 8-132, 8-132a and 8-133. For the purposes of this section, a portion of such tree or shrub includes the limbs, roots or other parts of such tree or shrub.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2012 16-234
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2012
16-234
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) allow companies that provide electric or telephone services to acquire by eminent domain a tree or shrub that is on or adjacent to an existing right-of-way or easement held by the company if the company determines that such tree or shrub would cause an interruption in the delivery of such service due to the condition of the tree or in the event of a storm accompanied by winds of hurricane force, snow or ice, and (2) make technical changes.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]