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General Assembly Approves Utility Fair Share Roadway Repair Act

Signed by the governor and enacted on July 15, 2019.
Posted on: October 10, 2019 - 9:24am

STATE HOUSE — The General Assembly has passed the Rhode Island Utility Fair Share Roadway Repair Act, which requires utility companies’ repairs to roads they perform underground work on to meet the standards of the state and/or the municipality affected.

The bill, (2019-H 5028A, 2019-S 189A),  was introduced by Rep. Joseph M. McNamara (D-Dist. 19, Warwick, Cranston) and Senate Majority Leader Michael J. McCaffrey (D-Dist. 29, Warwick). The measure was signed by the governor and enacted on July 15, 2019.

“Rhode Island roads have become a tapestry of potholes and patch jobs,” said Representative McNamara, who serves as chairman of the House Health, Education and Welfare Committee. “Too often, when a utility company tears up a road to do underground work, they repair the area with a shoddy patch job. These patchwork roads can have a profound effect on automobile maintenance and at times even be dangerous to drivers.”

Repaving and repair of the roadway would be to the satisfaction of the state or municipality controlling the road. The legislation also provides for a complaint procedure for defective or incomplete repairs by public utilities.