§31G-6-2. Pre-Emption in Favor of Broadband Service in Pole Attachments; Construction of Language in Pole Attachment Agreements
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the West Virginia Code or the West Virginia Code of State Rules to the contrary, any ordinance of any political subdivision regarding pole attachment spacing, positioning, or order by or between any Investor Owned Utility (“IOU”) and any Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (“ILEC”) and/or Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (“CLEC”) […]
§31G-5-1. Short Title
This article shall be known and cited as the Vertical Real Estate Management and Availability Act.
§31G-5-2. Definitions
For the purposes of this article unless the context otherwise requires: “Ground facilities” means any shed, buildings, server rooms, or other ancillary structure providing essential services to a tower, including, but not limited to, distributing power, providing communications backhaul, or other service necessary to carry out the purposes of the tower. “Tower” means a structure […]
§31G-5-3. Management of Vertical Real Estate
(a) Beginning on July 1, 2020, the Department of Administration shall coordinate with the executive to issue a request for proposals to manage state-owned vertical real estate. This request for proposals shall contain at a minimum the following information from each prospective manager: (1) A standard method for valuation of space on each tower that […]
§31G-5-4. Exceptions to the Management of Vertical Real Estate
Any vertical real estate shall be exempted from management if: (A) The rental of that vertical real estate would potentially affect the operations of any public safety, emergency management or homeland security operations: Provided, That if there is a showing that a reasonable, technically feasible, nondiscriminatory design can prevent such adverse effect on any public […]
§31G-6-1. Pre-Emption in Favor of Broadband Services; Construction of Language in Agreements
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the West Virginia Code or the West Virginia Code of State Rules to the contrary, any ordinance of any political subdivision relating to broadband service is hereby pre-empted to the extent necessary in favor of such broadband installation. (b) No corporate policy, organizational policy, institutional policy, agreement, contract, or […]
§31G-4-4. Public Service Commission Jurisdiction; Rulemaking; Enforcement
(a) The Public Service Commission shall possess and exercise regulatory jurisdiction over the provisions of this article. The commission shall administer and adjudicate disputes relating to the issues and procedures provided for under this article. (b) The commission shall adopt the rates, terms, and conditions of access to and use of poles, ducts, conduits, and […]
§31G-4-5. Electric Power Utilities; Feasibility Study for Providing Broadband Services; Public Service Commission to Assist; Proposed Legislation to Be Developed; Report
(a) For purposes of this section: (1) “Commission” shall mean the West Virginia Public Service Commission.
§31G-4-5a. Electric Cooperative Providing Broadband Services
An electric cooperative organized pursuant to state and federal law, including the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, may utilize its distribution system, poles, or rights of way to provide for critical infrastructure, which may include the construction or operation, or both, of a broadband infrastructure project consisting of middle mile or last mile services, or […]
§31G-4-6. Severability
Pursuant to §2-2-10 of this code, if any provision of this article or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held unconstitutional or invalid, such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the article, and to this end the provisions of this article are declared to be severable.