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Bill

S 4872

Provides notice of health insurance contracts for retired officers, employees, and their families

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Pat Fahy

The bill creates a targeted process for removing double utility poles and their attachments, with strict 10-day/5-day timelines and Board-regulated procedures.

COMMITTED TO RULES
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · S 4872

Summary of Bill S 4872 (New Jersey)

Note on title vs. content: The bill’s title in the brief list reads “Provides notice of health insurance contracts for retired officers, employees, and their families,” but the introduced text and provisions of the bill concern utility pole removal and pole attachments. This summary follows the introduced version’s substantive provisions related to utility pole management.

Overview

  • Status: COMMITTED TO RULES
  • Introduced: November 13, 2025
  • Sponsor: Patricia Fahy
  • Jurisdiction: New Jersey
  • Primary policy focus: Establishing a process for removing pole attachments from “double utility poles” and for removing the double poles themselves, with regulatory rules to implement the process.

What the bill would do (Key Provisions)

  • Defines key terms:
    • Board: New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (or successor).
    • Double utility pole: A damaged or outmoded pole that remains in service with pole attachments after a replacement pole is installed.
    • Electric public utility (utility): An electric public utility as defined in state law.
  • Attachment removal timeline:
    • Within 10 business days after the utility informs the pole attachment owner(s) of the existence of a double pole, the attachment owner(s) must remove their attachments from the double pole.
    • After removal, the attachment owner(s) must notify the double-pole owner(s) that all attachments have been removed.
  • Double pole removal timeline:
    • Within 5 business days after receiving notice that attachments have been removed, the double-pole owner(s) must remove the double pole.
  • Regulatory framework:
    • The Board must adopt rules and regulations (under the Administrative Procedure Act) as needed to implement the bill, including rules about transferring pole attachments from double poles.
  • Effective date:
    • The act would take effect on the first day of the sixth month after enactment.

Who is affected

  • Electric public utilities: Responsible for notifying attachment owners and for the timing around double-pole removal.
  • Owners of pole attachments (e.g., cable, telecom, or other entities that attach equipment to utility poles): Required to remove their attachments within the specified timelines and to notify when removal is complete.
  • Owners of double utility poles: Responsible for removing the double pole within five business days of attachment removal notice.
  • The Board of Public Utilities: Charged with adopting implementing rules and regulations.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • The bill outlines precise business-day deadlines (10 days for attachment removal; 5 days for double-pole removal) following notifications.
  • The Board is directed to establish regulatory procedures, including how to transfer attachments off double poles.
  • Effective date is six months after enactment, giving time for regulatory development and compliance planning.

Legislative context

  • Referred to Senate Economic Growth Committee after introduction.
  • Related or prior-session bills (S 2448, S 3687, S 4324, S 5930, S 7074, S 2690) are listed as related in the bill materials.

Notable considerations

  • The bill focuses on pole management and coordination between utility operators and attachment owners, aiming to streamline the removal of obsolete or damaged poles and related equipment.
  • The language emphasizes notification and adherence to timelines to minimize construction delays and safety concerns.

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

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