HB 1029-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2026 SESSION
26-2465
06/05
HOUSE BILL 1029-FN
AN ACT relative to the definition of excavation under underground utility damage prevention laws.
SPONSORS: Rep. Labrie, Hills. 2; Rep. B. Boyd, Hills. 12; Rep. Drago, Rock. 4; Rep. Dupont, Hills. 20; Rep. Farrington, Straf. 8; Rep. Gorski, Hills. 2; Rep. Notter, Hills. 12; Rep. Peternel, Carr. 6; Rep. Schneller, Hills. 2; Sen. Innis, Dist 7
COMMITTEE: Science, Technology and Energy
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ANALYSIS
This bill changes the definition of "excavate" to clarify that hand planting of flowers, small shrubs and bushes not exceeding 3-gallon pots, and shallow irrigation repairs dug by hand, are not considered excavation for purposes of underground utility damage prevention laws.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
26-2465
06/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six
AN ACT relative to the definition of excavation under underground utility damage prevention laws.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Underground Facility Damage Prevention System Definitions. Amend RSA 374:48, III to read as follows:
III. "Excavate", "excavating", or "excavation" means any operation conducted on private property or in a public way, right-of-way, easement, public street, or other public place, in which earth, rock, or other material in the ground is moved, removed, or otherwise displaced by means of any tools, equipment, or explosive, and includes but is not limited to drilling, grading, boring, milling, trenching, tunneling, scraping, tree and root removal, cable or pipe plowing, fence or sign post installation, pile driving, wrecking, razing, rending, or moving any structure or mass material, but shall not include planting by hand of perennial or annual flowers, small shrubs and bushes not to exceed 3 gallon pots, and also shall not include shallow irrigation repairs dug by hand, [but does not include] nor the tilling of soil for agricultural purposes, landscaping and maintenance of residential property performed with non-mechanized equipment, landscaping activities performed with mechanized equipment that are intended to cut vegetation, including lawn edging, aeration, and de-thatching, excavations permitted or grandfathered under RSA 155-E, or replacement of department-of-transportation-installed delineator posts in the same location.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
26-2465
Revised 12/5/25
HB 1029-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to the definition of excavation under underground utility damage prevention laws.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Office of Legislative Budget Assistant states this bill has no fiscal impact on state, county and local expenditures or revenue.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
None
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 20, 2026 | House | Hearing |
Jan. 8, 2026: Public Hearing: 01/20/2026 09:30 am GP 229
Nov. 7, 2025: Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Science, Technology and Energy HJ 1