The Florida Senate

If the relocation of utility facilities, as referred to in s. 111 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, Pub. L. No. 627 of the 84th Congress, is necessitated by the construction of a project on the federal-aid interstate system, including extensions thereof within urban areas, and the cost of the project is eligible and approved for reimbursement by the Federal Government to the extent of 90 percent or more under the Federal Aid Highway Act, or any amendment thereof, then in that event the utility owning or operating such facilities shall relocate the facilities upon order of the department, and the state shall pay the entire expense properly attributable to such relocation after deducting therefrom any increase in the value of the new facility and any salvage value derived from the old facility.

When a joint agreement between the department and the utility is executed for utility improvement, relocation, or removal work to be accomplished as part of a contract for construction of a transportation facility, the department may participate in those utility improvement, relocation, or removal costs that exceed the department’s official estimate of the cost of the work by more than 10 percent. The amount of such participation shall be limited to the difference between the official estimate of all the work in the joint agreement plus 10 percent and the amount awarded for this work in the construction contract for such work. The department may not participate in any utility improvement, relocation, or removal costs that occur as a result of changes or additions during the course of the contract.

When an agreement between the department and utility is executed for utility improvement, relocation, or removal work to be accomplished in advance of a contract for construction of a transportation facility, the department may participate in the cost of clearing and grubbing necessary to perform such work.

If the utility facility being removed or relocated was initially installed to exclusively serve the department, its tenants, or both, the department shall bear the costs of removing or relocating that utility facility. However, the department is not responsible for bearing the cost of removing or relocating any subsequent additions to that facility for the purpose of serving others.

If, under an agreement between a utility and the authority entered into after July 1, 2009, the utility conveys, subordinates, or relinquishes a compensable property right to the authority for the purpose of accommodating the acquisition or use of the right-of-way by the authority, without the agreement expressly addressing future responsibility for the cost of removing or relocating the utility, the authority shall bear the cost of removal or relocation. This paragraph does not impair or restrict, and may not be used to interpret, the terms of any such agreement entered into before July 1, 2009.

If the utility is an electric facility being relocated underground in order to enhance vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian safety and in which ownership of the electric facility to be placed underground has been transferred from a private to a public utility within the past 5 years, the department shall incur all costs of the relocation.