H-1459.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 1932
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 54th Legislature 1995 Regular Session
By Representatives Mielke, Patterson, Casada and Appelwick
Read first time 02/15/95. Referred to Committee on Energy & Utilities.
AN ACT Relating to the delivery of telecommunications services; amending RCW 80.54.010; adding a new section to chapter 54.04 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature has declared under chapter 80.36 RCW that the policy of the state of Washington is to promote diversity and competition among telecommunication service and product providers. The legislature finds that certain units of local government that own transmission facilities and are exempt from the attachment provisions under chapter 80.54 RCW have sought to limit telecommunications attachments to one attachment per pole, have invited bids for the right to have exclusive use of poles for telecommunication transmission cable, and have offered to delegate to the successful bidder the right to determine if other competing uses will be permitted over that cable. The legislature further finds that the attachment charges imposed by these agencies are not consistent with the provisions of RCW 80.54.040 and federal communications commission regulations for pole attachments. The legislature finds that these actions are inconsistent with the policy of the state to encourage competition and are not in the public interest.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 54.04 RCW to read as follows:
No public utility district may impose terms and conditions for use of a utility pole or right of way to a telecommunications company, as defined by RCW 80.04.010, that are more burdensome or less favorable than those currently imposed on other telecommunications companies, cable systems, or other providers of telecommunications companies or services for similar uses, regardless of differences between companies regarding overall service areas, kinds of services provided, or ownership or co-ownership of utility poles. No public utility district may limit or otherwise restrict use of utility poles or rights of way for the purpose of limiting or inhibiting competition from telecommunications companies, cable systems, or other providers of telecommunication services.
Sec. 3. RCW 80.54.010 and 1985 c 450 s 40 are each amended to read as follows:
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
(1) "Attachment" means any wire or cable for the transmission of intelligence by telecommunications or television, including cable television, light waves, or other phenomena, or for the transmission of electricity for light, heat, or power, and any related device, apparatus, or auxiliary equipment, installed upon any pole or in any telecommunications, electrical, cable television, or communications right of way, duct, conduit, manhole or handhole, or other similar facilities owned or controlled, in whole or in part, by one or more utilities, where the installation has been made with the consent of the one or more utilities.
(2) "Licensee" means any person, firm, corporation, partnership, company, association, joint stock association, or cooperatively organized association, other than a utility, which is authorized to construct attachments upon, along, under, or across the public ways.
(3) "Utility" means any electrical company or telecommunications company as defined in RCW 80.04.010, and does not include any entity cooperatively organized, or owned by federal, state, or local government, or a subdivision of state or local government, unless the entity owns any poles within its service area and that service area is served by one or more telecommunications companies as defined in RCW 80.04.010.
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