S 3216

SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3216
     Senate, July 23, 2026 -- Text of amendment (277) (offered by Senator Gómez) to the Ways and
     Means amendment (Senate, No. 3178) to the House Bill relative to economic development in the
     commonwealth.
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  _______________
  In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
  (2025-2026)
  _______________
1by inserting the following sections:-
2"SECTION X. Section 25A of Chapter 166 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022
3 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding at the end of the eighth paragraph, after the words
4 “used principally for the supply of electricity in bulk”, the following new sentence:-
5“Notwithstanding the foregoing, attachments may be made pursuant to 25B of this
6 chapter, or pursuant to order or regulation of the department.”
7SECTION X. Said Chapter 166 is hereby further amended by adding after Section 25A
8 the following new section:-
9Section 25B. One Touch Make Ready Applications
10(a) The following terms as used in this section shall have the following meanings:
11(1) “Abandoned Joint-Use Utility Pole”, means a joint-use utility pole from which all
12 attachments have been removed.
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13(2) "Assigned space", means the space on a utility pole assigned by this Statute for the
14 attachments of conductors or circuitry by joint-use entities, consistent with the provisions of the
15 National Electrical Safety Code, Blue Book, or other reasonable practices. Assigned space does
16 not include common space, including the communications worker safety zone. Space which may
17 be available on a joint-use utility pole for an additional attaching entity must not be considered
18 assigned space until an additional attachment is made, but must instead be considered common
19 space.
20(3) "Attaching entity", means a joint-use entity with an attachment to a joint-use utility
21 pole.
22(4) "Blue Book", means the "SR-1421, Blue Book – Manual of Construction Procedures"
23 as published by Telcordia.
24(5) "Common Space", means space of a joint-use utility pole used by all joint users in
25 common and consists of the portion of a pole beneath ground level, the portion from ground
26 level to the lowest place on the pole at which a telecommunications circuit may be attached, plus
27 all but 6 inches of the telecommunications worker safety zone. The common space is equal to the
28 length of the pole minus the assigned spaces for each attaching entity. In addition, for the
29 purpose of assigning and allocating space and costs on a joint-use utility pole, space which may
30 be available for an additional attachment, and which would become assigned space if an
31 additional attachment were made, must be considered common space until such an attachment is
32 made.
33(6) "Complex make-ready", means any make ready work above the communications
34 space; transfers and work within the communications space that would be reasonably likely to
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35 cause a service outage or facility damage, including the splicing of any communication
36 attachment or relocation of an existing wireless attachment; and the replacement of a joint-use
37 utility pole. Any and all wireless activities, including those involving mobile, fixed, and point-to-
38 point wireless communications and wireless.
39(7) "Communications space", means the portion on a joint-use utility pole that begins at
40 the bottom of the communications worker safety zone and ends at the lowest point above grade
41 to which a horizontal communications wire can be attached consistent with the National
42 Electrical Safety Code.
43(8) "Communication worker safety zone", means a 40-inch vertical space, or other
44 amount as required by the National Electrical Safety Code for the purpose of safety, on which no
45 electric or communications circuitry may be attached. The zone is located between the areas to
46 which electric conductors and communication circuitry may be attached. All but six inches of the
47 "communications worker safety zone" must be considered part of the common space of a utility
48 pole.
49(9) “Information service provider”, means a provider of “information service” as defined
50 in Title 47 of the United States Code.
51(10) “Joint-use entity”, means a utility, licensee, or wireless provider.
52(11) "Joint-use utility pole" is a utility pole on which there are circuit or electric
53 conductor attachments by an electric utility and attachments by one or more joint-use entities.
54 Joint-use utility poles do not include poles whose sole purpose is supporting electrical
55 transmission conductors as defined by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. However, if
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56 an electric utility under-builds a transmission line with distribution, those poles are considered
57 joint-use utility poles.
58(12) ''Licensee'', means any person, firm or corporation other than a utility, which is
59 authorized to construct lines or cables upon, along, under and across the public ways. For the
60 purposes of this section, the term shall also include a municipal lighting plant or cooperative that
61 operates a telecommunications system outside the limits of its service territory pursuant to
62 section 47E of chapter 164, but only for those attachments that are outside its service territory.
63(13) "Make-ready work" or "make-ready", means the modification or replacement of a
64 joint-use utility pole, or of the lines or equipment on the joint-use utility pole, to accommodate
65 additional facilities on the joint-use utility pole.
66(14) "National Electric Safety Code" or "NESC", means published by the Institute of
67 Electrical and Electronics Engineers and approved by the American National Standards Institute
68 Code C2.
69(15) "Overlash", means the tying or lashing of additional communications wires, cables,
70 and facilities to existing communications wires, cables, or supporting strand already attached to
71 poles.
72(16) "Pole attachment" or "attachment", means the physical connection of a facility that a
73 joint-use entity uses to provide communications or electric service.
74(17) "Pole owner", means an entity that owns or jointly owns a joint-use utility pole, or
75 controls usable space on a joint-use utility pole.
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76(18) "Replaced joint-use utility pole", means a joint-use utility pole that has been
77 replaced by a new joint-use utility pole. Once the last attachment has been removed from the
78 pole, the pole becomes an abandoned joint-use utility pole.
79(19) "Requesting party”, means a utility or joint-use entity that is seeking to place
80 attachments on joint-use utility poles.
81(20) "Simple make-ready", means make-ready work where existing attachments in the
82 communications space of a joint-use utility pole can be transferred without any reasonable
83 expectation of a service outage or facility damage and where the transfer does not require
84 splicing of any existing communication attachment or relocation of an existing wireless
85 attachment. Simple make ready does not apply to attachments above the communications space
86 or pole replacements.
87(21) "Usable Space", means the space on a joint-use utility pole above the minimum
88 grade level which can be used for the attachment of wires, cables, and associated equipment.
89(22) ''Utility'', means any person, firm, corporation or municipal lighting plant that owns
90 or controls or shares ownership or control of poles, ducts, conduits or rights of way used or
91 useful, in whole or in part, for supporting or enclosing wires or cables for the transmission of
92 intelligence by telegraph, telephone or television or for the transmission of electricity for light,
93 heat or power.
94(23) ''Wireless provider'', means any city or town incorporated in the commonwealth,
95 person, firm, or corporation which provides telecommunications service. A utility shall not be
96 considered a wireless provider for the purposes of this section.
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97(b) Qualified Contractors:
98(1) A pole owner may make available a list of contractors it authorizes to perform
99 surveys and make-ready in the communications space on its utility poles in cases involving One
100 Touch Make-Ready under Subsection (c) of this Section. Listed contractors must be trained to
101 work with coaxial and fiber optic cable and be reasonably insured or bonded.
102(2) If a requesting party hires a contractor for purposes specified in Subsection (c) of this
103 Section, the requesting party may choose from the pole owner's list of authorized contractors or
104 request the addition to the pole owner’s authorized contractor list any contractor that meets the
105 minimum qualifications in Subsection (b)(5) of this Section, and the pole owner may not
106 unreasonably deny such a request.
107(3) If a pole owner does not provide a list of approved contractors for surveys or simple
108 make-ready or no contractor on the pole owner’s contractor list is available within a reasonable
109 time period then the requesting party may choose its own qualified contractor that meets the
110 requirements in Subsection (b)(5) of this Section. When choosing a contractor that is not on the
111 pole owner’s list, the requesting party must certify to pole owner that its contractor meets the
112 minimum qualifications described in Subsection (b)(5) of this Section when providing notices
113 required by Subsection (c) of this Section.
114(4) A pole owner may disqualify any contractor chosen by a requesting party that is not
115 on the pole owner’s contractor list, but such disqualification must be based on reasonable safety
116 or reliability concerns related to the contractor’s failure to meet any of the minimum
117 qualifications described in Subsection (b)(5) of this Section or to meet the pole owner’s publicly
118 available and commercially reasonable safety or reliability standards. The pole owner must
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119 provide notice of its contractor objection within the notice requirements of Subsection (c) of this
120 Section and in its objection must identify at least one available qualified contractor.
121(5) In addition to the requirements in Subsection (b)(1) of this Section, pole owners must
122 ensure that contractors on their lists as described in this Section, and requesting parties must
123 ensure that contractors they select pursuant to Subsection (b)(3) of this Section, meet the
124 following minimum requirements:
125(6) The contractor has agreed to follow published safety and operational guidelines of the
126 pole owner, if available, but if unavailable, the contractor shall agree to follow National
127 Electrical Safety Code guidelines;
128(7) The contractor has acknowledged that it knows how to read and follow licensed-
129 engineered pole designs for make-ready, if required by the pole owner;
130(8) The contractor has agreed to follow all local, state, and federal laws and regulations
131 including, but not limited to, the rules regarding Qualified and Competent Persons under the
132 requirements of the Occupational and Safety Health Administration rules; and
133(9) The contractor has agreed to meet or exceed any uniformly applied and reasonable
134 safety and reliability thresholds set by the pole owner, if made available.
135(10) A requesting party that hires a contractor for survey or make-ready work must
136 provide a pole owner or affected attaching entity with a reasonable opportunity for a
137 representative to accompany and consult with the authorized contractor and the requesting party.
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138(11) The consulting representative of an electric utility may make determinations, on a
139 nondiscriminatory basis, where there is insufficient capacity and for reasons of safety, reliability,
140 and generally applicable engineering purposes.
141(c) One touch make ready application process
142(1) One Touch Make-Ready Option for Simple Make-Ready: For attachments involving
143 simple make-ready, a requesting party may elect to proceed with the process described in this
144 Subsection. It is the responsibility of the requesting party to ensure that its contractor determines
145 whether the make-ready requested in an attachment application is simple make-ready.
146(i) An application for attachment must be submitted in writing and must provide the pole
147 owner with the information necessary to grant or deny the application.
148(ii) A requesting party electing the one touch make-ready option must indicate that it
149 intends to perform one-touch make-ready in its attachment application and must identify the
150 simple make-ready it will perform.
151(iii) A pole owner must review the requesting party's attachment application for
152 completeness before reviewing the application on its merits. An attachment application is
153 considered complete if it provides the pole owner with the information necessary under its
154 procedures, as specified in a master service agreement or in publicly-released requirements at the
155 time of submission of the application, to make an informed decision on the application.
156(iv) A pole owner must complete its review for completeness within 10 business days of
157 receipt of the application and notify the requesting party of that decision. If the pole owner does
158 not respond within 10 business days after receipt of the application, or if the pole owner rejects
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159 the application as incomplete but fails to specify any reasons in the application, then the
160 application is deemed complete.
161(v) If the pole owner timely notifies the requesting party that its attachment application is
162 not complete, then the pole owner must specify all reasons for finding it incomplete. Any
163 resubmitted application need only address the pole owner's reasons for finding the application
164 incomplete and must be deemed complete within 5 business days after its resubmission, unless
165 the pole owner specifies to the requesting party which reasons were not addressed and how the
166 resubmitted application did not sufficiently address the reasons. The requesting party may follow
167 the resubmission procedure in this paragraph as many times as it chooses so long as in each case
168 it makes a bona fide attempt to correct the reasons identified by the pole owner, and in each case
169 the deadline set forth in this paragraph shall apply to the utility's review.
170(vi) The pole owner shall review on the merits a complete application requesting one-
171 touch make-ready and respond to the requesting party either granting or denying an application
172 within 30 days of the pole owner's receipt of a complete application.
173(vii) If the pole owner denies the application on its merits, then its decision shall be
174 specific, shall include all relevant evidence and information supporting its decision, and shall
175 explain how such evidence and information relate to a denial of access for reasons of lack of
176 capacity, safety, reliability, or engineering standards.
177(viii) Within the 30–day application review period, a pole owner may object to the
178 designation by the requesting party's contractor that certain make-ready is simple. If the pole
179 owner objects to the contractor's determination that make-ready is simple, then it is deemed
180 complex. The pole owner's objection is final and determinative so long as it is specific and in
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181 writing, includes all relevant evidence and information supporting its decision, made in good
182 faith, and explains how such evidence and information relate to a determination that the make-
183 ready is not simple.
184(2) Surveys. The requesting party is responsible for all surveys required as part of the
185 one-touch make-ready process and must use a contractor that is appropriately trained and
186 licensed as well as reasonably insured or bonded and otherwise meets the requirements of
187 Subsection (b)(5) of this Section.
188(i) A requesting party may need to perform a survey to determine whether the necessary
189 make-ready work is simple or complex before filing an application for one-touch make-ready.
190(ii) The requesting party must permit the pole owner and any affected attaching entity to
191 be present for any field inspection conducted as part of the requesting party's surveys. The
192 requesting party must use commercially reasonable efforts to notify the pole owner and any
193 affected attaching entities three business days before a field inspection as part of any survey and
194 must provide the date, time, and location of the surveys, and the name of the contractor
195 performing the surveys.
196(3) Make-Ready. If the pole owner approves the requesting party's attachment application
197 and if the requesting party has provided 15 calendar days’ prior written notice of the make-ready
198 to the pole owner and affected attaching entities, the requesting party may proceed with make-
199 ready using a contractor that is appropriately trained and licensed as well as reasonably insured
200 or bonded and otherwise meets the requirements of Subsection (b)(5)of this Section.
201(i) The prior written notice must include the date and time of the make-ready work, a
202 description of the work involved, and the name of the contractor being used by the requesting
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203 party and must provide the pole owner and any affected attaching entities a reasonable
204 opportunity to be present for any make-ready work.
205(ii) The requesting party must immediately notify a pole owner or affected attaching
206 entity if the make-ready work damages any equipment or causes an outage that is reasonably
207 likely to interrupt service. Upon receiving notice from the requesting party, the pole owner or
208 affected attaching entity may either: Complete any necessary remedial work and bill the
209 requesting party for the reasonable costs related to fixing the damage or require the requesting
210 party to fix the damage at its expense immediately following notice from the pole owner or
211 affected attaching entity.
212(iii) In performing make-ready work, if the requesting party, the pole owner, or an
213 affected attaching entity determines that any work classified as simple make-ready is actually
214 complex make-ready, then that specific make-ready work must be halted, and the determining
215 party must provide immediate notice to the other parties of its determination and the affected
216 poles. The affected make-ready will then be completed by the responsible party as soon as
217 reasonably practicable.
218(4) Post-Make-Ready Timeline. A requesting party must notify the pole owner and any
219 affected attaching entities with notice of the completion of the make-ready work within 15
220 calendar days of completion. Such notice must provide the pole owner and any affected attaching
221 entities 90 calendar days from receipt of the notice to inspect the make-ready work, and that the
222 pole owner and any affected attaching entities have 14 calendar days from the completion of
223 their inspection to notify the requesting party of any damage or code violation resulting from the
224 make-ready work. The pole owner or affected attaching entity may either complete any
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225 necessary remedial work and bill the requesting party for reasonable costs associate with the
226 remediation or require the requesting party to perform the remediation at the requesting party's
227 expense within 14 calendar days of notification."
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