TITLE 56. PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANIES.

§§ 15.2-1500, 56-1, 56-235.5, 56-265.1, 56-265.4:4, 56-458, 56-462, 56-468.1, 56-484.4, 56-484.7:1, 56-484.7:2, 58.1-2660, and 58.1-3813.1 amended; §§ 15.2-2160, 56-479.2, and 56-484.7:4 added; § 56-484.7:3 repealed.
Local communications services. Allows a locality, electric commission or board, industrial development authority, or economic development authority in certain underserved areas to offer qualifying communications services, or enter into public-private partnerships to offer such qualifying communications services. A "qualifying communications service" is defined as a communications service, which shall include but is not limited to, high-speed data service and Internet access service, of general application, but excludes cable television service. Such services may be provided only after approval by the State Corporation Commission. The Commission shall not approve a petition unless it finds that the qualifying communications service, or functional substitutes therefor, is readily and generally available from three or more nonaffiliated companies. The Commission's approval may be revoked not earlier than five years after its approval if it finds that the criteria upon which the approval was granted no longer exist or are no longer being satisfied, and thereafter the entity shall cease to offer the services and shall offer its related assets for sale at fair market value. HB 1021; CH. 489/SB 245; CH. 479.

§§ 56-46.1 and 56-580 amended; § 10.1-1186.2:1 added.
Permits for power plants. Provides that any valid permit or approval required for an electric generating plant and associated facilities issued or granted by federal, state, and local governmental entities charged by law with responsibility for issuing permits or approvals regulating environmental impact and mitigation of adverse environmental impact or for other specific public interest issues such as building codes, transportation plans and public safety, shall be deemed to satisfy requirements for State Corporation Commission (SCC) consideration of the effect of the facility on the environment with respect to matters that are governed by the permit or approval or are within the authority of and were considered in the issuance of the permit or approval. The measure also grants to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Air Pollution Control Board the authority to consider the cumulative impact of new and proposed electric generating facilities on attainment of national ambient air quality standards. The SCC and DEQ are also required to enter into a memorandum of agreement to govern their coordination of reviews of the environmental impacts of such facilities. SB 554; CH. 483.

§ 56-232 amended.
Companies providing sewage services. Provides that any governmental entity established pursuant to the laws of another state or other entity that owns, manages or controls any plant or equipment located within the Commonwealth that is used to provide sewage treatment services to a Virginia public service authority shall be subject to regulation as a public utility. SB 682; CH. 813.

§ 56-234 amended.
Telecommunications services; state agencies. Eliminates State Corporation Commission jurisdiction over rates for services provided pursuant to any contract for telecommunications service provided to the public by virtue of a contract between a public utility and the Commonwealth or a state agency. The measure also requires the Secretary of Public Safety to report on its implementation of outstanding JLARC recommendations regarding inmate telephone calls SB 156; CH. 833.

§§ 56-265.15, 56-265.15:1, 56-265.17, 56-265.18, 56-265.19, 56-265.21, 56-265.22, and 56-265.24 amended; §§ 56-265.17:1, 56-265.17:2, 56-265.17:3, 56-265.20:1, 56-265.22:1, and 56-265.26:1 added.
Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act. Creates a procedure for excavators to request a special project notice from the notification center for the purpose of notifying the operators of the excavator's desire to enter into an agreement for locating and protecting the operator's underground utility lines for a specific, unique or long-term project. The measure also exempts hand digging performed by an operator to locate the operator's utility lines in response to a notice of excavation from the notification center, if all reasonable precaution has been taken to protect the underground utility lines, from the provisions of the Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act. The 48-hour waiting period required before an excavator may commence work starts at 7:00 a.m. on the next working day following notice to the notification center, rather than 48 hours after giving notice to the notification center. The extent of an excavator's proposed work is limited to an area that can be excavated within 15 working days beginning 7:00 a.m. on the next working day following notice to the notification center, and the area covered under each notice is limited to one mile. Additional provisions (i) authorize designers who prepare drawings and plans for projects requiring excavation or demolition work to provide the notification center with underground utility line information; (ii) require project owners to provide copies of those portions of the drawings that affect the respective operator to all operators with underground utility lines in the project area who receive notification from a designer; (iii) establish standards for line locator training; (iv) require operators to make a reasonable attempt to keep records of certain abandoned utility lines; (v) require operators to respond to an emergency notice as soon as possible but no later than three hours from the excavator's call to the notification center; (vi) require plastic or other nonmetallic utility lines to be installed so they can be locatable by the operator; (vii) adopt the American Public Works Association color codes for marking the approximate location of underground utility lines or proposed excavation; (viii) require the notification center to notify excavators of any responses placed on the excavator-operator information exchange system by a locator by use of facsimile or other mutually acceptable means of automatically transmitting and receiving this information; (ix) requiring excavators who cannot provide the notification center with an acceptable means of automatically transmitting and receiving this information to contact the excavator-operator information exchange system in order to determine if any responses to the notice have been recorded; (x) establish procedures for meetings between excavators and operators to discuss the marking of lines; (xi) establish reasonable steps to be taken by persons making excavations not parallel to an existing underground utility line; (xii) require persons performing excavation or demolition to give the operator or the appropriate regulatory authority, upon request, the number issued by the notification center for that site; (xiii) prohibit excavators from removing an abandoned line without first receiving authorization to do so by the operator; (xiv) prohibits persons, other than designers requesting marking of a site, to request marking of a site through a notification center unless excavation commences within 30 days from the date of the original notification to the center; and (xv) require operators to install underground utility lines at depths required by accepted industry standards. Finally, the State Corporation Commission is required to convene a task force to study the operation and effectiveness of certain amendments to the act. The Commission shall report the results of the task force's study to the 2005 Session of the General Assembly. SB 433; CH. 841.

§ 56-265.32 amended.
Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act. Authorizes the State Corporation Commission to impose civil penalties against persons who violate the provisions of the Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act that require operators to join notification centers. The bill contains an emergency clause. HB 1326; CH. 348 (effective 4/1/02).

§§ 56-484.12, 56-484.17, and 58.1-3812 amended.
Local tax on mobile telecommunications services. Incorporates uniform federal sourcing laws that determine which jurisdictions may impose taxes on local mobile telecommunications services. Beginning August 1, 2002, federal law provides that taxes on mobile telecommunications services may be imposed by a jurisdiction only if the customer's place of primary use is within the jurisdiction. The "place of primary use" is defined as the street address representative of where the customer's use of the mobile telecommunications service primarily occurs, which must be the residential street address or the primary business street address of the customer and within the licensed service area of the provider of the telecommunications service. SB 122; CH. 68 (effective - see bill).

§§ 56-557, 56-565, and 56-573.1 amended.
Public-Private Transportation Act. Authorizes the operator to impose tolls for the use of Interstate 81 by vehicles other than passenger cars, pickup or panel trucks, and motorcycles, in connection with a facility operated under the Public-Private Transportation Act (PPTA) of 1995. The bill also allows a responsible public entity to enter into a comprehensive agreement in accordance with procedures consistent with procurement through "competitive sealed bidding" as defined in the Public Procurement Act . Currently, a responsible public entity may enter in to a comprehensive agreement only in accordance with procedures that are consistent with the procurement of "other than professional services" through competitive negotiation. The bill also supplies definitions of "asset management" and "maintenance" as used in the PPTA. HB 1373; CH. 593.

§§ 56-557 and 56-573.1. See § 33.1-23.02; SB 674.

§ 2.2-3705 amended; §§ 56-575.1 through 56-575.16 added.
The Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002. Authorizes private entities to acquire, design, construct, improve, renovate, expand, equip, maintain or operate qualifying projects after obtaining approval of a public entity that has the power to take such actions with respect to such projects. A "qualifying project" is (i) any facility that is operated as part of the public school system or as an institution of higher education; (ii) any building for principal use by any public entity; (iii) any equipment or improvements necessary to enhance public safety and security of buildings to be principally used by a public entity; (iv) utility and telecommunications and other communications infrastructure; or (v) a recreational facility. A responsible public entity may approve such a facility if it determines that (a) there is a public need for or benefit derived from the qualifying project of the type proposed by the private entity; (b) the estimated cost of the qualifying project is reasonable in relation to similar facilities; (c) the private entity's plans will result in the timely acquisition, design, construction, improvement, renovation, expansion, equipping, maintenance, or operation of the qualifying project. Prior to commencing the qualifying project, the private entity shall enter into a comprehensive agreement with the responsible public entity. The bill exempts such projects from the Virginia Public Procurement Act. The provisions for the approval and operation of such projects are similar to those in the Public-Private Transportation Act of 1995. SB 681; CH. 571.

§ 56-586.1 added.
Electric utility restructuring; electric energy emergencies. Authorizes the Governor to declare an electric energy emergency upon finding that an unplanned interruption in the generation or transmission of electricity, resulting from a hurricane, ice storm, windstorm, earthquake or similar natural phenomena, or from a criminal act affecting generation or transmission, act of war or act of terrorism, so imminently and substantially threatens the health, safety or welfare of residents of this Commonwealth that immediate action of state government is necessary to prevent loss of life, protect the public health or safety, and prevent unnecessary or avoidable damage to property. Upon declaring an emergency, the Governor may require a generator or municipal electric utility to generate, dispatch or sell to the Commonwealth electricity from a facility that it operates within the Commonwealth, for distribution within the areas of the Commonwealth designated in the declaration. The Commonwealth shall compensate generators, dispatchers or sellers of electricity. The Governor is also authorized to request the Secretary of the United States Department of Energy to invoke section 202(C) of the Federal Power Act. SB 257; CH. 609.

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