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H 7244Roads & Highways

Highways - Relocation of Utility Services

The state will now pay the full cost for municipalities and public agencies to move utilities during highway construction projects.

Held for study
Population
Affected
35
Email Legislator
Introduced Jan 21, 2026Committee House Finance

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the state laws regarding the relocation of utility facilities during highway construction projects. Currently, both private and public utility owners are reimbursed 50% of the cost to move their facilities when necessitated by a federal-aid highway project. This bill separates public entities from private ones. While private corporations will continue to receive only 50% reimbursement, public entities—such as municipalities, political subdivisions, and state agencies—will now have the full cost of relocating their utilities paid for by the state as part of the project expenses.

For younger readers

When the state builds or fixes big highways, they sometimes have to move pipes and wires, like water pipes or electric lines, that are in the way. Right now, the owners of those pipes have to pay for half of the cost to move them. This new law changes the rules for towns and the government. If a town or a public agency owns the pipes, the state will now pay for the whole cost of moving them. Private companies will still have to pay for half of their own costs.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
MunicipalitiesState AgenciesPublic Utility AuthoritiesPrivate Utility CompaniesTaxpayers
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Relieves financial burdens on local municipalities and public authorities, allowing them to redirect local funds toward other community needs rather than utility relocation.
  • Strengthens the public sector by providing preferential financial treatment to government-owned utilities compared to private corporations.
  • Ensures that essential infrastructure upgrades in lower-income municipalities are not delayed or cancelled due to a lack of local matching funds for utility relocation.
  • Continues to subsidize private corporations with public funds by maintaining the 50% reimbursement rate for their operational adjustments.
  • Prioritizes spending on highway infrastructure rather than investing those funds into public transit or pedestrian-friendly initiatives.
  • Could reduce the total number of improvement projects the state can afford to execute by increasing the cost per project, potentially delaying safety improvements.
For Conservatives
  • Protects local property taxpayers by shifting the burden of major infrastructure costs to the state and federal highway budget.
  • Maintains the requirement for private businesses to share the cost of their operations, preventing a total government bailout of private corporate expenses.
  • Clarifies financial responsibilities between levels of government, potentially streamlining construction timelines and reducing bureaucratic disputes.
  • Increases state government spending by assuming 100% of the costs for public utility relocation, which was previously shared.
  • Removes the financial incentive for local governments to find the most cost-effective solutions for utility placement, potentially leading to waste.
  • Expands the scope of government funding responsibilities, moving away from a user-fee or shared-cost model for infrastructure.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 18 additions · 6 deletions

SECTION 1. Section 24-8.1-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 24-8.1 entitled "Relocation of Utility Services" is hereby amended to read as follows: 24-8.1-2. Relocation of utility facilities necessitated by highway construction.

(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law or of any charter or statute, general or special, to the contrary, whenever state-initiated relocation of utility facilities in the state, owned by private corporations or, private companies, municipalities, political subdivisions, authorities, or agencies of the state, whether within or without the limits of public ways, shall become necessary in connection with a highway project on the federal aid primary or secondary systems or on the national system of interstate and defense highways, including extensions thereof, for which the state shall be entitled under any law of the United States to reimbursement from federal funds for any portion of the cost of the project, then the state may order the relocation of the utility facilities, and the private corporation, or private company, municipality, political subdivision, agencies of the state, or authority owning or operating the facilities shall promptly relocate the facilities in accordance with the order and the state shall reimburse the owner of the utility or utility facility for the cost of relocation subject to the following limitations and in accordance with the following formula: for any utility facility that is to be reimbursed federally, in whole or in part, and for any utility facility that does not qualify for federal reimbursement, the division shall reimburse the owner fifty percent (50%) of the costs of relocating the utility facility; in no case shall a utility be reimbursed for any type of betterment; reimbursement is for relocation costs only; the state shall pay the cost of the relocation to the utility as part of the cost of the federally aided highway project. A utility relocation shall be eligible for reimbursement pursuant to this section only if it is completed to the satisfaction of the state within target dates established by the state and in accordance with design criteria set forth by the state for the relocation in a manner that facilitates the timely completion of the affected project. Upon compliance and satisfaction of the conditions of this subsection, the The state shall pay a fifty percent (50%) of the reasonable amount to private corporations and private companies for the relocation of utilities commencing with highway projects that are authorized for construction after March 1, 1976.

(b) Notwithstanding any provision of law or of any charter or statute, general or special, to the contrary, whenever state initiated relocation of utility facilities in the state, owned by municipalities, political subdivisions, authorities, or agencies of the state, whether within or without the limits of public ways, shall become necessary in connection with a highway project on the federal aid primary or secondary systems or on the national system of interstate and defense highways, including extensions thereof, for which the state shall be entitled under any law of the United States to reimbursement from federal funds for any portion of the cost of the project, then the state may order the relocation of the utility facilities, and the municipality, political subdivision, agencies of the state, or authority owning or operating the facilities shall promptly relocate the facilities in accordance with the order and the state shall pay the cost of the relocation to the utility as part of the cost of the federally aided highway project.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.