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SB 2493

Civil actions; increase the noneconomic damages limitation other than medical malpractice.

2025 Regular Session

Authorizes grant-funded electric cooperatives to deploy broadband inside their service areas using easements, with owner notice, compensation rights, and required permits.

Died In Committee
#judiciary #divisiona
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Bill Summary · SB 2493

Summary — SB 2493 (Public Act 104‑0426)

Status: Enacted as Public Act 104‑0426; Governor approved June 30 / August 15, 2025 (effective August 15, 2025).
Note: the packet includes conflicting metadata (an unrelated short‑title about noneconomic damages and an earlier “Died in Committee” entry). The legislative record and enrolled text show SB 2493 as enacted, primarily amending the Electric Supplier Act to add a new “Electrical Service Broadband Deployment and Access Law,” and also making changes to the Regulatory Sunset Act and the Professional Geologist Licensing Act.

Purpose

Authorize certain electric cooperatives that receive state or federal broadband grant funding to deploy broadband infrastructure and to provide broadband service within their service territories, by clarifying definitions, easement/access rights, notice/compensation rules, and procedural protections.

Key provisions — Broadband Deployment (Electric Supplier Act, new Sections 17–17.8)

  • Short title: “Electrical Service Broadband Deployment and Access Law.”
  • Scope: Applies to “broadband grant recipients” (electric cooperatives that receive state or federal grants to expand broadband).
  • Definitions: Establishes terms such as “broadband infrastructure,” “deploy,” “electric easement,” and “grant service area.”
  • Easement/access rights:
    • Within a grant service area, a broadband grant recipient may access and use electric easements it holds or (with an agreement) other electric easements to deploy broadband infrastructure.
    • If required state/local permits are obtained, property owners in the grant service area may not forbid entry or deployment of broadband infrastructure over, under, or on their property.
  • Notice and compensation:
    • Broadband grant recipients must notify property owners in writing (address per county assessor records) at least 14 but not more than 60 days before entering property. Acceptable delivery: certified mail, designated private delivery service, or personal service.
    • Notice must include property address, provider contact info, anticipated dates and duration, detailed plans/methods and path of facilities, compliance with National Electric Safety Code for overhead installations, and a statement absolving property owner from liability for normal-use damages to underground facilities (including normal farming operations).
    • Property owners who believe the expanded easement use diminishes property value must serve written notice to the provider within 45 days after the anticipated deployment date to preserve a claim for “just compensation.”
    • A property owner with timely notice may sue in circuit court (jury determination) for diminution in value; suit must be commenced within 6 months of the provider’s original notice. Failure to give timely notice bars compensation claims.
    • Property owners may be entitled to just compensation as determined by the court, and providers must indemnify owners for physical damage caused by deployment.
  • Legal effect: The property owner’s pursuit of compensation does not delay or prevent deployment by the broadband grant recipient (i.e., providers can proceed while compensation claims are adjudicated).
  • Additional sections (17.5–17.8) address rights‑of‑way, permitting, and other operational details (full text truncated in source).

Other provisions included in the enrolled bill

  • Regulatory Sunset Act: changes the scheduled repeal date for the Professional Geologist Licensing Act from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2031.
  • Professional Geologist Licensing Act amendments: add “address of record” and “email address of record” requirements; add administrative provisions on applications, inclusion of SSN/ITIN on applications, placing licenses on inactive status, and other administrative and disciplinary adjustments (details in the full enrolled text).

Who is affected

  • Electric cooperatives that are broadband grant recipients (primary beneficiaries).
  • Property owners within grant service areas (subject to new access rules but protected by notice and a defined process to seek compensation).
  • State and local permitting authorities (permits still required).
  • Potentially broadband consumers (residential and business locations within cooperative territories) — expected to increase broadband availability.
  • Licensed professional geologists and the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (by licensing‑law amendments).

Timeline and procedural notes

  • Notice timing to property owners: 14–60 days before entry.
  • Property owners must notify provider within 45 days after anticipated deployment to preserve compensation claims.
  • Legal actions for compensation must start within 6 months of the provider’s original notice.
  • Enacted as Public Act 104‑0426; effective August 15, 2025.

Potential impacts / considerations

  • Facilitates and accelerates broadband deployment by allowing grant‑funded electric cooperatives to use electric easements and access property within grant areas, subject to permits and notice rules.
  • Balances deployment with property‑owner protections (detailed notice, indemnity for physical damage, and a defined compensation remedy), while preserving providers’ ability to deploy without delay.
  • May reduce barriers to rural and underserved broadband expansion, but raises questions about interactions with private easement terms, local land‑use practices (e.g., farming), and the valuation process for asserted diminution claims — matters likely to generate litigation or administrative guidance.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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