All subways, conduits, manholes, and overhead lines constructed or erected under the provisions of this subchapter shall be subject to such reasonable regulations as the Council of the District of Columbia may from time to time prescribe as to inspection, location, character of conduit construction, and height of poles and wires; provided, that in all conduits so constructed, such space shall be furnished to the District government as may be necessary for purposes related exclusively to the government and public safety, free of charge; provided further, that the number of ducts so reserved in any one conduit shall not be more than 2.
(June 20, 1902, 32 Stat. 395, ch. 1136, § 5; Apr. 12, 2005, D.C. Law 15-342,§ 305, 52 DCR 2346.)
1981 Ed., § 43-1406.
1973 Ed., § 43-1406.
D.C. Law 15-342 rewrote this section which had read as follows: “All subways, conduits, manholes, and overhead lines constructed or erected under the provisions of this subchapter shall be subject to such reasonable regulations as the Council of the District of Columbia may from time to time prescribe as to inspection, location, character of conduit construction, and height of poles and wires; provided, that in all conduits so constructed such space shall be furnished to the District of Columbia as may be necessary for its fire alarm or police patrol wires or cables, carrying low potential currents of electricity, free of charge; and provided further, that the number of ducts so reserved in any 1 conduit shall not be more than 3.”
This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 402(321) of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to the District of Columbia Council, subject to the right of the Commissioner as provided in § 406 of the Plan. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.