HB2596 Summary

• Expands Arizona Department of Transportation authority to install and manage telecommunication facilities along state highways, changing the focus from "broadband conduit" to broader "telecommunication facilities"

• Authorizes private providers to install telecommunication facilities with department permission and allows longitudinal access agreements for up to 30 years with fair, competitively neutral compensation

• Establishes "smart highway corridor trust fund" to collect revenues from provider compensation and compensation from private telecommunication facility installations

• Provides property owners with right to seek just compensation in superior court if expanded use of existing easements diminishes property value, with 18-month deadline for claims

• Requires providers to give property owners written notice before excavation for underground fiber optic cable installation and establishes procedures for facility relocation or removal