CS/HB 703 2025
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to utility relocation; amending s. 2
337.403, F.S.; revising the timeframe within which 3
certain utility owners must initiate work; requiring a 4
communications service provider to perform work under 5
specific circumstances; requiring specified utility 6
owners to provide a certain authority with utility 7
relocation schedules within a certain timeframe to 8
expedite work; requiring the authority to pay 9
relocation expenses in certain instances; amending s. 10
125.42, F.S.; conforming a cross -reference; providing 11
a finding and declaration of important state interest; 12
providing an effective date. 13
14
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
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Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 337.403, Florida 17
Statutes, is amended to read: 18
337.403 Interference caused by utility; expenses. — 19
(1) If a utility that is placed upon, under, over, or 20
within the right-of-way limits of any public road or publicly 21
owned rail corridor is found by the authority to be unreasonably 22
interfering in any way with the convenient, safe, or continuous 23
use, or the maintenance, improvement, extension, or expansion, 24
of such public road or publicly owned rail corridor, the utilit y 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
owner shall, within 30 days after upon 30 days' written notice 26
to the utility or its agent by the authority, initiate the work 27
necessary to alleviate the interference at its own expense 28
except as provided in paragraphs (a)-(k) (a)-(j). The work must 29
be completed within such reasonable time as stated in the notice 30
or such time as agreed to by the authority and the utility 31
owner. 32
(a) If the relocation of utility facilities, as referred 33
to in s. 111 of the Federal -Aid Highway Act of 1956, Pub. L. No. 34
84-627, is necessitated by the construction of a project on the 35
federal-aid interstate system, including extensions thereof 36
within urban areas, and the cost of the project is eligible and 37
approved for reimbursement by the Federal Government to the 38
extent of 90 percent or more under the Federal -Aid Highway Act, 39
or any amendment thereof, then in that event the utility owning 40
or operating such facilities shall perform any necessary work 41
upon notice from the department, and the state shall pay the 42
entire expense properly attributable to such work after 43
deducting therefrom any increase in the value of a new facility 44
and any salvage value derived from an old facility. 45
(b) When a joint agreement between the department and the 46
utility is executed for utility work to be accomplished as part 47
of a contract for construction of a transportation facility, the 48
department may participate in those utility work costs that 49
exceed the department's official estimate of the cost of the 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
work by more than 10 percent. The amount of such participation 51
is limited to the difference between the official estimate of 52
all the work in the joint agreement plus 10 percent and the 53
amount awarded for this work in the construction contract for 54
such work. The department may not participate in any util ity 55
work costs that occur as a result of changes or additions during 56
the course of the contract. 57
(c) When an agreement between the department and utility 58
is executed for utility work to be accomplished in advance of a 59
contract for construction of a trans portation facility, the 60
department may participate in the cost of clearing and grubbing 61
necessary to perform such work. 62
(d) If the utility facility was initially installed to 63
exclusively serve the authority or its tenants, or both, the 64
authority shall bear the costs of the utility work. However, the 65
authority is not responsible for the cost of utility work 66
related to any subsequent additions to that facility for the 67
purpose of serving others. For a county or municipality, if such 68
utility facility was inst alled in the right-of-way as a means to 69
serve a county or municipal facility on a parcel of property 70
adjacent to the right -of-way and if the intended use of the 71
county or municipal facility is for a use other than 72
transportation purposes, the obligation of the county or 73
municipality to bear the costs of the utility work shall extend 74
only to utility work on the parcel of property on which the 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
facility of the county or municipality originally served by the 76
utility facility is located. 77
(e) If, under an agree ment between a utility and the 78
authority entered into after July 1, 2009, the utility conveys, 79
subordinates, or relinquishes a compensable property right to 80
the authority for the purpose of accommodating the acquisition 81
or use of the right-of-way by the authority, without the 82
agreement expressly addressing future responsibility for the 83
cost of necessary utility work, the authority shall bear the 84
cost of removal or relocation. This paragraph does not impair or 85
restrict, and may not be used to interpret, the terms of any 86
such agreement entered into before July 1, 2009. 87
(f) If the utility is an electric facility being relocated 88
underground in order to enhance vehicular, bicycle, and 89
pedestrian safety and in which ownership of the electric 90
facility to be place d underground has been transferred from a 91
private to a public utility within the past 5 years, the 92
department shall incur all costs of the necessary utility work. 93
(g) An authority may bear the costs of utility work 94
required to eliminate an unreasonable i nterference when the 95
utility is not able to establish that it has a compensable 96
property right in the particular property where the utility is 97
located if: 98
1. The utility was physically located on the particular 99
property before the authority acquired righ ts in the property; 100
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2. The utility demonstrates that it has a compensable 101
property right in adjacent properties along the alignment of the 102
utility or, after due diligence, certifies that the utility does 103
not have evidence to prove or disprove that it has a compensable 104
property right in the particular property where the utility is 105
located; and 106
3. The information available to the authority does not 107
establish the relative priorities of the authority's and the 108
utility's interests in the particular property. 109
(h) If a municipally owned utility or county -owned utility 110
is located in a rural area of opportunity, as defined in s. 111
288.0656(2), and the department determines that the utility is 112
unable, and will not be able within the next 10 years, to pay 113
for the cost of utility work necessitated by a department 114
project on the State Highway System, the department may pay, in 115
whole or in part, the cost of such utility work performed by the 116
department or its contractor. 117
(i) If the relocation of utility facilities is 118
necessitated by the construction of a commuter rail service 119
project or an intercity passenger rail service project and the 120
cost of the project is eligible and approved for reimbursement 121
by the Federal Government, then in that event the utility owning 122
or operating such facilities located by permit on a department -123
owned rail corridor shall perform any necessary utility 124
relocation work upon notice from the department, and the 125
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department shall pay the expense properly attributable to such 126
utility relocation wo rk in the same proportion as federal funds 127
are expended on the commuter rail service project or an 128
intercity passenger rail service project after deducting 129
therefrom any increase in the value of a new facility and any 130
salvage value derived from an old faci lity. In no event shall 131
the state be required to use state dollars for such utility 132
relocation work. This paragraph does not apply to any phase of 133
the Central Florida Commuter Rail project, known as SunRail. 134
(j) If a utility is lawfully located within an existing 135
and valid utility easement granted by recorded plat, regardless 136
of whether such land was subsequently acquired by the authority 137
by dedication, transfer of fee, or otherwise, the authority must 138
bear the cost of the utility work required to elimina te an 139
unreasonable interference. The authority shall pay the entire 140
expense properly attributable to such work after deducting any 141
increase in the value of a new facility and any salvage value 142
derived from an old facility. 143
(k) If the authority requires a provider of communications 144
services that is subject to the Communications Services Tax 145
Simplification Law of chapter 202 to relocate a facility used to 146
provide such communications services, upon written notice by the 147
authority of such a need to relocate t he facility, the 148
communications service provider owning or operating such 149
facility shall provide the authority a reasonable utility 150
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
relocation schedule to expedite the completion of the 151
authority's construction or maintenance project identified in 152
the notice, and, within 60 days after the written notice from 153
the authority, initiate any necessary work. The authority 154
requiring such relocation shall pay the entire expense properly 155
attributable to such work. 156
Section 2. Subsection (5) of section 125.42, Flor ida 157
Statutes, is amended to read: 158
125.42 Water, sewage, gas, power, telephone, other 159
utility, and television lines within the right -of-way limits of 160
county roads and highways. — 161
(5) In the event of widening, repair, or reconstruction of 162
any such road, the licensee shall move or remove such water, 163
sewage, gas, power, telephone, and other utility lines and 164
television lines at no cost to the county should they be found 165
by the county to be unreasonably interfering, except as provided 166
in s. 337.403(1)(d)-(k) s. 337.403(1)(d)-(j). 167
Section 3. The Legislature finds and declares that this 168
act fulfills an important state interest. 169
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 170