00                             HOUSE BILL NO. 8                                                                           
01 "An Act relating to the liability of an excavator for damaging an underground facility."                                
02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
03    * Section 1. AS 42.30.410(h) is amended to read:                                                                   
04 (h)  If an excavator discovers an underground facility that was not field marked                                        
05 or was inaccurately field marked, the excavator shall immediately stop excavating in                                    
06 the vicinity of the facility and shall notify the operator of the discovery. The excavator                              
07 may notify the operator by means of a notification center. The operator shall treat the                                 
08 notification as a request to locate in an emergency and shall respond accordingly. If an                            
09 excavator has taken all reasonable steps under AS 42.30.400 - 42.30.490 to locate                                   
10 an underground facility and to contact the underground facility operator,                                           
11 including giving notice to a notification center, the [AN] excavator is not subject                             
12 to a civil penalty under AS 42.30.440(a) or any other applicable state civil penalty                                
13 and may not be held liable for civil damages for inadvertent damage that is caused to                       
14 an unmarked or an inaccurately marked underground facility or that arises out of                                    
15 inadvertently damaging the unmarked or inaccurately marked underground                                              

01       facility. In this subsection, "civil damages" does not include damages for                                    
02       personal injury.                                                                                              
03    * Sec. 2. AS 42.30.440(a) is amended to read:                                                                      
04 (a)  In addition to all other remedies provided by law, except as provided by                                       
05 AS 42.30.410(h), a person who violates a provision of AS 42.30.400 - 42.30.490 is                                   
06 subject to a civil penalty of not less than $50 nor more than $1,000 for each offense if                                
07 the violation results in or significantly contributes to damage to an underground                                       
08       facility.