TITLE 56. PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANIES.
§§ 56-123, 56-124, 56-265.10, and 56-435.
See § 1-200; HB 2640.
§ 56-257.2 amended; §§ 56-5.1 and 56-257.3 repealed.
Gas pipeline safety. Authorizes the State Corporation Commission to act for the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to conduct safety inspections pursuant to federal pipeline safety laws with respect to municipal gas systems. Such authority shall be exercised in a manner that is not inconsistent with federal law. An exit interview will be conducted after each inspection. The Commission is not authorized to impose civil penalties or fines on any locality, or to regulate the rates, charges, services, facilities, or service territory of any locality providing gas service, except as otherwise provided. As the Commission's pipeline safety program currently covers investor-owned and master-metered systems and intrastate hazardous liquid pipelines, this measure gives the Commission safety jurisdiction over all intrastate gas and hazardous liquid pipeline facilities. The measure also relocates provisions currently located in other Code sections, that address violations of pipeline safety codes and pipelines that transport landfill gas, into one Code section. SB 987; CH. 35.
§ 56-265.1 amended.
Public utilities; landfill gas. Increases, from one to three, the number of commercial or industrial customers to which a company may sell or deliver landfill gas, or electricity generated from landfill gas, without being subject to regulation as a public utility. SB 798; CH. 22.
§§ 2.2-3705.6, 2.2-3711, 15.2-2160, and 56-265.4:4 amended; § 15.2-2108.18 added.
Telecommunication and cable television service by localities; release of information. Exempts from the mandatory disclosure requirements of the Freedom of Information Act any public record of a local government that contains confidential proprietary information or trade secrets pertaining to its provision of telecommunication services and cable television service. Public bodies may discuss such records in closed meetings. SB 959; CH. 258.
§ 56-265.19 amended.
Underground utility damage prevention; abandoned lines. Requires an operator to respond to the excavator-operator information exchange system when the operator has knowledge that its abandoned utility lines may be present within the area of a proposed excavation. Such information shall be for informational purposes only and shall not make the operator liable to any person, or subject to civil penalties, if the information is incorrect. HB 2053; CH. 395.
§§ 56-484.12, 56-484.14, 56-484.16, and 56-484.17 amended.
Wireless E-911 Services Board. Clarifies that the Wireless E-911 Services Board's obligation to make payments to PSAP operators and CMRS providers is subject to the extent of appropriated funds. The bill also removes the exemptions to E-911 deployment, excludes governments from the surcharge collection, and establishes July 1 as the deadline for late funding requests. In addition, the bill clarifies the appeals process and expands the Board's responsibilities to include development of a single, statewide electronic addressing database. SB 1159; CH. 942.
§§ 56-521 and 56-522.
See § 8.01-2; SB 1118.
§ 56-522.
See § 8.01-607; HB 2583.
§§ 56-557 through 56-561, 56-563 through 56-572, and 56-573.1 amended; §§ 56-566.1, 56-566.2, and 56-567.1 added.
Public-Private Transportation Act. Makes several revisions to the Public Private Transportation Act (PPTA). The bill authorizes the establishment of an interim agreement to provide for partial planning and development activities while other aspects of a qualifying transportation project are being negotiated and analyzed. The bill also (i) authorizes a private entity to request approval of multiple responsible public entities (RPEs) in proposed projects involving multimodal transportation facilities, (ii) authorizes RPEs to enter into comprehensive agreements with multiple private entities, (iii) requires the RPE to protect confidential information submitted by a private entity, and (iv) adds factors that an RPE may consider when selecting proposals. The bill requires the Secretary of Transportation to revise existing state guidelines pertaining to the PPTA by October 1, 2005, and includes a provision allowing application of the revisions made by the legislation to certain existing qualifying transportation facilities. HB 2666; CH. 562/SB 1108; CH. 504.
§ 56-575.1 amended.
Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002; definition of qualifying project. Expands the definition of "qualifying project" to include any improvements necessary or desirable to any unimproved state or locally owned real estate. HB 1945; CH. 618.
§§ 56-575.1 through 56-575.5, 56-575.7 through 56-575.13, and 56-575.16 amended; §§ 56-575.3:1 and 56-575.9:1 added.
Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002. Makes several revisions to the Public Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002 (PPEA).The bill authorizes the establishment of an interim agreement to provide for partial planning and development activities while other aspects of a qualifying project are being negotiated and analyzed. The bill also (i) requires the adoption of formal timelines for the review of proposals and outlining the process for review, (ii) provides for accelerated review for priority projects, and (iii) adds factors that a responsible public entity may consider when selecting proposals. In addition, the bill provides for the Chairs of the Senate and House General Laws Committees to convene a work group to revise the current model guidelines by September 30, 2005. SB 1107; CH. 865.