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S 2105Roads & Highways

Highways - Relocation of Utility Services

This bill requires the state to pay the full cost, rather than half, to move town-owned utilities during highway construction.

Held for study
Population
Affected
35
Email Legislator
Introduced Jan 16, 2026Committee Senate Finance

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the General Laws regarding the relocation of utility facilities during highway construction projects. Specifically, it separates the reimbursement rules for private utility companies and public entities (like municipalities and state agencies). While private companies will continue to receive a 50% reimbursement from the state for relocation costs necessitated by federal-aid highway projects, the bill mandates that the state pay the full cost for relocating utilities owned by municipalities, political subdivisions, or state agencies. This effectively shifts the financial burden for moving public utility infrastructure from local towns to the state during these projects.

For younger readers

Sometimes, the state government needs to fix or build big highways. When they do this, they often have to move pipes and wires that bring water or electricity to people's houses. Right now, if a town owns those pipes, the town has to pay for half of the cost to move them. This new law changes the rules so that the state government has to pay for the whole cost of moving the town's pipes. This helps towns save money when the state is doing construction work on the roads.

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
  • Reduces financial strain on municipalities, allowing local funds to be preserved for community services like schools and social programs rather than being spent on forced infrastructure relocation.
  • Prevents potential increases in local property taxes or utility rates that would disproportionately affect low-income residents by shifting the cost burden to the state level.
  • Strengthens public infrastructure by ensuring that essential utility relocations are fully funded, preventing project delays that could negatively impact public safety and access.
  • Allocates more state transportation funds to highway construction support, potentially diverting resources away from mass transit or green infrastructure projects.
  • Continues to subsidize private utility corporations at fifty percent, rather than requiring profitable companies to bear the full cost of their infrastructure adjustments.
  • Facilitates highway expansion projects that may increase vehicle reliance and carbon emissions, rather than prioritizing sustainable transportation alternatives.
For Conservatives
  • Protects local taxpayers from bearing the financial burden of state-mandated construction projects, ensuring costs are absorbed by the entity initiating the work.
  • Clarifies the financial responsibilities between state and local governments, reducing bureaucratic disputes and streamlining infrastructure project timelines.
  • Maintains the existing cost-sharing requirement for private corporations, ensuring that businesses continue to contribute to infrastructure adjustments rather than receiving a full government handout.
  • Increases state government spending by assuming one hundred percent of relocation costs for public utilities, potentially leading to higher state taxes or fees.
  • Removes the financial "skin in the game" for municipalities, potentially reducing their incentive to seek the most cost-effective relocation solutions.
  • Expands the size and scope of state financial obligations, contributing to a larger state budget and increased government centralization.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

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

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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.