HB 1666: Public health and safety; Underground Facilities Damage Preventions Act; modifying definition of excavate; effective date. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to transition from a House floor version to a Senate floor version, incorporating changes made during the legislative process. The substantive content remains focused on amending definitions within the Oklahoma Underground Facilities Damage Preventions Act, specifically clarifying what constitutes excavation, certified projects, and permitted projects.

Scope change

No change in the bill's scope or applicability; the amendments are primarily formatting and versioning updates reflecting the bill's progression through the legislative chambers.

TECHNICAL

Header and versioning information were updated to reflect the Senate floor version dated April 24, 2025, replacing the House floor version.

The bill text was reorganized to show Senate amendments, with original House text marked as deletions and new Senate text marked as additions.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Certified project' was updated to clarify that certification involves notifying the statewide one-call notification center that the right-of-way is clear of underground facilities.

The definition of 'Excavate' was refined to explicitly exclude certain activities like human-powered earth moving, agricultural cultivation, and routine maintenance from being considered excavation under the act.

The definition of 'Preengineered project' was updated to require a public meeting where underground facility owners are invited to verify the location of their facilities before construction begins.

Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 → House Committee Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to streamline its title and remove unnecessary committee designation language. The substantive content remains focused on underground facility damage prevention, with minor formatting adjustments to the committee substitute designation and page numbering updates.

TECHNICAL

Removed 'PROPOSED POLICY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE' title designation and replaced with 'COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE'

Condensed the bill summary by removing the specific exception for grading county roads from the legislative description

Updated page reference numbers from 12544 to 12965 throughout the document

Enrolled (final version) → Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was completely rewritten from its final enrolled version to a committee substitute version that adds new provisions and modifies existing definitions. The most significant change is the addition of a new section requiring the use of powered or mechanized equipment for certain excavation activities, and an exception for grading county roads that does not change existing road grades or ditch flow lines. The title was also updated to reflect these additional amendments.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include requirements for powered or mechanized equipment use and exceptions for county road grading that were not present in the original version.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new section requiring the use of powered or mechanized equipment for excavation activities

SCOPE

Added an exception for grading county roads that does not change existing road grades or ditch flow lines

DEFINITION

Modified the title to reflect additional amendments regarding powered equipment and county road grading exceptions

TECHNICAL

Removed original enrolled bill formatting and replaced with committee substitute formatting

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 5 edits · May 12, 2025

MODERATE

This bill amends the Oklahoma Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Act by updating definitions related to excavation, demolition, and project types. The changes clarify what activities count as excavation, expand exemptions for certain agricultural and maintenance work, and introduce new terms like 'design or survey' and 'watch and protect' to improve coordination between construction projects and utility operators.

DEFINITION

Updated the definition of 'Certified project' to clarify that public agencies must certify either that the right-of-way is clear of underground facilities or that all known facilities are located on engineering drawings.

Added new definitions for 'Design or survey' (notifying operators during design phase) and 'Watch and protect' (operator presence during excavation within 10 feet of marked facilities).

Modified the 'Excavate' definition to maintain existing exemptions for agricultural work, routine maintenance, and individual non-commercial excavators, while clarifying that grading county roads without changing grade or ditch flow does not count as excavation.

Added definition for 'Large projects' to identify excavation projects requiring special coordination, though the specific criteria for large projects were cut off in the provided text.

Removed the definition of 'Preengineered project' which previously required a meeting prior to construction to verify underground facility locations.

Introduced → Engrossed · 1 edit · May 8, 2025

MINOR

The bill was formatted and renumbered from 'Introduced' to 'Engrossed' status, with no substantive policy changes to the text of the law itself. All definitions and requirements for underground facility protection remain identical to the original version.

TECHNICAL

Document formatting and line numbering were updated to reflect engrossed status, but all substantive legal text, definitions, and requirements remain unchanged.

Public health and safety; Underground Facilities Damage Preventions Act; modifying definition of excavate; effective date.

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