07 LC 28
3370
Senate
Bill 105
By:
Senators Shafer of the 48th, Balfour of the 9th, Chapman of the 3rd and Seabaugh
of the 28th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 3 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to electrical service, so as to require that charges by electric suppliers to
communications companies and cable companies for accessing poles, ducts,
conduits, and rights of way shall be uniform; to provide legislative findings;
to provide definitions; to provide procedures and remedies; to provide for
related matters; to provide for a repeal under certain circumstances; to provide
an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
The
General Assembly finds that:
(1)
Eminent domain should not be unnecessarily used to take private
property;
(2)
Telecommunications and cable companies should be encouraged to attach their
facilities to poles already existing in current rights of way rather than
acquiring or condemning additional property to construct duplicative sets of
poles; and
(3)
The pole attachment formula set forth in this Act will encourage colocation of
facilities and discourage the unnecessary use of eminent domain.
SECTION
2.
Chapter
3 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to electrical
service, is amended by revising Code Section 46-3-13, relating to enforcement
of part by commission, as follows:
"46-3-13.
Except
as provided in Code Section 46-3-16, at
At
any time, upon its own complaint or the complaint of any other electric supplier
or any other interested party, the commission shall have the authority and
jurisdiction, after notice to all affected electric suppliers and other
interested parties, and after a hearing, to enforce the provisions of this part
by appropriate orders."
SECTION
3.
Said
chapter is further amended by adding at the end of Part 1 of Article 1 a new
Code Section 46-3-16 to read as follows:
"46-3-16.
(a)
As used in this Code section, the term:
(1)
'Cable company' means a cable television operator as defined in Section 602(5)
of the federal Communications Act of 1934 or any individual or entity that
offers or provides, or intends to offer or provide, cable television service,
including any broadband cable communications services, telephone service,
Internet access service, or any other service similar to such services,
including the transport or delivery of services between or to cable companies or
end users.
(2)
'Communications company' means a telecommunications carrier as defined in
Section 3 of the federal Communications Act of 1934 or any individual or
entity that offers or provides, or intends to offer or provide, any telephone
service, telegraph service, paging service, Internet access service, or any
other service similar to such services, including the transport or delivery of
services between or to communications companies or end users.
(3)
'Electric supplier' shall include electric membership corporations as defined in
Code Section 46-3-171; without limitation, any corporation or utility that is
cooperatively organized; and any public utility that is owned or authorized by
the state or a political subdivision thereof.
(b)(1)
No electric supplier, other than a public utility that is owned or authorized by
the state or a political subdivision thereof as provided in Code Section
46-3-15, shall request or receive from a cable company that is providing cable
television, information, Internet, or voice services more than the rate of cable
services provided by 47 U.S.C. Section 224(d) for accessing any pole, duct,
conduit, or right of way, including transmission poles or towers.
(2)
No electric supplier, other than a public utility that is owned or authorized by
the state or a political subdivision thereof as provided in Code Section
46-3-15, shall request or receive from a communications company providing
telecommunication services more than the rate provided by 47 U.S.C. Section
224(e) for accessing any pole, duct, conduit, or right of way, including
transmission poles or towers.
(c)
No electric supplier shall request or receive from a communications company or a
cable company any in-kind payment in exchange for or as a condition upon a grant
of permission for pole attachments.
(d)
An electric supplier shall provide communications companies and cable companies
with nondiscriminatory access to any pole, duct, conduit, or right of way owned
or controlled by it.
(e)
An electric supplier may deny a communications company or cable company access
to its poles, ducts, conduits, or rights of way on a nondiscriminatory basis
where there is insufficient capacity and for reasons of safety, reliability, and
generally applicable engineering principles. An electric supplier shall
apportion the costs of providing usable space required for each entity, but the
costs of any relocation of existing users shall be borne by the entity or
entities creating the necessity for such relocation including the owner of the
pole, duct, conduit, or right of way. No electric supplier may deny a
communications company or cable company access to its poles, ducts, conduits, or
rights of way, including transmission poles and towers, on the ground that there
is insufficient capacity or for reasons of safety, reliability, and generally
applicable engineering principles if:
(1)
Those limitations can be remedied by rearranging, expanding, or otherwise
reengineering facilities; and
(2)
The communications company or cable company agrees to pay the reasonable, actual
costs to expand an electric supplier´s capacity or to resolve those
capacity, safety, reliability, or engineering issues.
(f)
An electric supplier shall provide communications companies and cable companies
no less than 60 days´ written notice prior to removal of facilities or
termination of any service to those facilities which arises out of a breach of a
rate, term, or condition of a pole attachment agreement.
(g)
An electric supplier shall not require any communications company or cable
company having or seeking pole attachments to dedicate any such communications
company´s or cable company´s current or future facilities or the
capacity thereof to the utility or any other entity as a condition to granting
such communications company or cable company the right to make or maintain pole
attachments.
(h)
Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, an electric supplier shall
not impose requirements or conditions upon overlashing activities of a
communications company or cable company.
(i)
An electric supplier shall approve or deny in writing any pole attachment
application no later than 14 days after the receipt thereof. Any denial shall
include, in sufficient detail, the grounds therefor not inconsistent with the
provisions of this Code section.
(j)
Any communications company or cable company that is aggrieved by conduct of an
electric supplier that is in violation of any provision of this Code section may
bring a suit for declaratory, injunctive, or monetary relief in any court of
competent jurisdiction to determine and enforce its rights under this Code
section. In any suit, the electric supplier, other than a public utility that
is owned or authorized by the state or a political subdivision thereof as
provided in Code Section 46-3-15, must provide information at least sufficient
to perform calculations to compute the applicable pole attachment rate under 47
U.S.C. Section 224(d).
(k)
All other terms and provisions of any agreement with electric suppliers
governing or affecting a communications company´s or cable company´s
pole attachments must be fair, reasonable, and consistent with the provisions in
this Code section.
(l)
This Code section does not constitute certification as defined by federal law.
If a court of competent jurisdiction determines that this Code section is
tantamount to certification, this Code section shall become null and
void.
(m)
This Code section shall not apply to any pole attachment regulated by the
Federal Communications Commission under Section 224 of the federal
Communications Act of 1934, as amended."
SECTION
4.
Said
chapter is further amended by revising paragraph (24) of subsection (b) of Code
Section 46-3-201, relating to the powers of electric membership corporations
generally, as follows:
"(24)
To fix, regulate, and collect rates, fees, rents, or other charges for electric
energy and any other facilities, supplies, equipment, or services furnished by
the electric membership
corporation,
except that all rates, fees, or other charges for cable television operators or
telecommunications carriers to have access to poles, ducts, conduits, or rights
of way shall be consistent with Code Section
46-3-16;".
SECTION
5.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
6.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.