556.101  Short title; legislative intent.--

(1)  This act may be cited as the "Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety Act."

(2)  It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a single toll-free telephone number for excavating contractors and the general public to call for notification of their intent to engage in excavation or demolition. This notification system shall provide the member operators an opportunity to identify and locate their underground facilities.

(3)  It is the purpose of this act to:

(a)  Aid the public by preventing injury to persons or property and the interruption of services resulting from damage to an underground facility caused by excavation or demolition operations.

(b)  Create a not-for-profit corporation comprised of operators of underground facilities in this state to administer the provisions of this act.

(c)  Fund the cost of administration entirely and exclusively by assessed contributions from the member operators.

It is not the purpose of this act to create liability for negligence on the part of any municipality or county operator of an underground facility which elects to not participate in the one-call notification system created by this act.