BILL NUMBER: S9551

SPONSOR: COONEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the transportation law and the public service law, in
relation to requiring highway projects that receive state funding to
include the installation of broadband conduits and providing for access
to such conduits

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To require any highway project that receives state funding to include
the installation of conduits suitable for fiber optic cables or wireless
facilities that support broadband services.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one of this legislation would add a new section 23 to the Trans-
portation Law, to state that any highway project which receives state
funding shall include the installation of conduits suitable for fiber
optic cables or wireless facilities that support broadband services.
              

Section two adds a new section 119-d to the Public Service Law, to state
that access to these broadband conduits shall be competitively neutral
and nondiscriminatory, for a charge not to exceed a cost-based rate.

Section three provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

According to the Federal Communications Commission, the largest cost for
deploying broadband is burying fiber optic cables and conduit under-
ground. The Federal Highway Administration has indicated that 90% of the
cost of deploying broadband is incurred when the work requires signif-
icant excavation of the roadway. Coordinating highway construction
projects with the installation of broadband facilities has the potential
to save on costs incurred by repeated excavation.  This coordination can
also help to reduce.deployment time by preventing the need to acquire
duplicative reviews and permits for work done at the same location.

This legislation would establish a Dig Once policy for road projects
here in New York State. The definition of Dig Once being used is "poli-
cies and practices that minimize the number and scale of excavations
when installing telecommunication infrastructure in a highway right-of-
way.(1)

This legislation mandates the inclusion of broadband conduit-plastic
pipes which house fiber-optic communication cables during the
construction of any road receiving state funding. As the demand for
high-quality, affordable broadband only increases throughout Nev York
and technology continues to advance, it is incumbent upon New York to
maximize the use of our right of ways. This legislation will not only
provide long term cost savings and aid in economic development but by
implementing this policy New York can continue its work toward closing
the digital divide especially in more rural areas.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.1631: Referred to Transportation

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall become
law
1 FHWA, Office of Transportation Policy Studies. Policy Brief:  Minimiz-
ing Excavation Through Coordination. (2013, October).  Retrieved from
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ policy/otps/policy_briefdig_once.pdf