FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUTÂ POLITICAL SIGNS AND THE 811 PROCESS
Q. Do political signs really pose a threat to underground utilities?
A. Yes they do. Utility providers have installed thousands of miles of underground pipelines, wires, cables and other equipment that are key parts of the critical infrastructure enabling Arizona’s economy and quality of life to thrive. These underground facilities can be at any depth, from very shallow to very deep. To protect the safety of the public and the integrity of the underground facilities, the Arizona Underground Facilities Law requires underground utilities to be located and marked before any type of “excavation” or “digging” begins. The installation (or driving in) of rebar, T-posts or any other type of post for political signs using any type of tool is considered excavation under the law.
Q. What penalties exist if our campaign doesn’t participate in the Pledge of Safety program?
A. There are no penalties for not taking the Pledge of Safety. The intent of the streamlined process created by Arizona 811 – specifically for political sign installation – is to make it very easy for candidates and campaigns to comply with the law, but more importantly to install their signs safely.
Q. What penalties exist if our campaign installs political signs at locations that have not been marked with the location of underground utilities?
A. The Underground Facilities Law requirements are enforced by the Arizona Corporation Commission. For information about the Arizona Underground Facilities Protection Law, including the process of enforcing its requirements, call the Arizona Corporation Commission Pipeline Safety Division at 602-262-5601 or email Safety@azcc.gov.
Q. How long will it take for the locations where our campaign plans to install signs to be marked with the location of underground utilities?
A. The Arizona Underground Facilities Law requires that underground facilities’ operators be given at least two (2) full working days to respond to requests by marking the location of their underground facilities, or by providing notice that they have no underground facilities in conflict within the area where excavation will occur.
The farther in advance of your sign-installation date that you select the intersection corners where you will install signs, the better! Once they are selected, Arizona 811 will track the utility marking responses and let you know when the locations are ready for your signs to be installed.
Getting Utilities Located
Q. Once we select the intersection corners where we will install signs, how much of the corner will be marked up by the underground utility operators?
A. The same amount of area will be requested at all intersection corners with the measurements counted from the back of the curb or road edge:  A 25-foot-wide path for 100 feet in two directions based on the intersection location; for example, at a northeast corner, the area marked would be a 25-foot path for 100 feet north and 100 feet east.
Click on image to enlarge
Below are examples of how each ticket will be written based upon specific location:
- NE CORNER: FROM THE N/E CORNER OF THE INTER LOCATE N/FOR 100FT & E/FOR 100FT FOR 25FT BACK OF CURB/ROAD EDGE. PLEASE MARK ONLY IN THE DIRT AND/OR LANDSCAPED AREAS AS NO SIGN INSTALLATIONS WILL OCCUR ON ANY PERMANENT SURFACES.
- NW CORNER: FROM THE N/W CORNER OF THE INTER LOCATE N/FOR 100FT & W/FOR 100FT FOR 25FT BACK OF CURB/ROAD EDGE. PLEASE MARK ONLY IN THE DIRT AND/OR LANDSCAPED AREAS AS NO SIGN INSTALLATIONS WILL OCCUR ON ANY PERMANENT SURFACES.
- SE CORNER: FROM THE S/E CORNER OF THE INTER LOCATE S/FOR 100FT & E/FOR 100FT FOR 25FT BACK OF CURB/ROAD EDGE. PLEASE MARK ONLY IN THE DIRT AND/OR LANDSCAPED AREAS AS NO SIGN INSTALLATIONS WILL OCCUR ON ANY PERMANENT SURFACES.
- SW CORNER: FROM THE S/W CORNER OF THE INTER LOCATE S/FOR 100FT & W/FOR 100FT FOR 25FT BACK OF CURB/ROAD EDGE. PLEASE MARK ONLY IN THE DIRT AND/OR LANDSCAPED AREAS AS NO SIGN INSTALLATIONS WILL OCCUR ON ANY PERMANENT SURFACES.
Utility-location markings, such as paint or flags on the ground, will appear only within this described area. Sign installations should not occur outside of these ticket boundaries. Rebar, T-posts or other signs posts should not be installed within two (2) feet of any paint mark or flag on the ground. If you have any questions regarding markings on the ground, do not hesitate to contact Arizona 811.
Q. What if our campaign plans to install signs at additional locations other than intersection corners?
A. If your campaign plans to install signs in areas outside of 100 feet in both directions at an intersection corner, please contact Arizona 811 separately to request markings at these additional locations. You can do so by contacting Jason Koopman, Arizona 811’s Political Sign Ticket Coordinator, at 602-659-7523, or by emailing PoliticalSigns@Arizona811.com to indicate you have additional locations to submit and we will contact you.
Q. Can I remove signs that have been improperly installed, including those of the opposition?
A. No. State law prohibits the removal of signs by those not working on behalf of the campaign that installed them.
Q. Will locations be marked in advance, even before I enter locations where our campaign plans to install signs?
A. Yes. In some cases, Arizona 811 has been able to proactively request markings for several of the most commonly used intersection corners where signs are installed. Additional locations will be requested by some campaigns before other campaigns are even ready to install their signs. By the time most campaigns and candidates even take the Pledge of Safety, thousands of locations will have already been marked, making it that much easier to participate in the effort.
Installing Signs Safely
Q. Once I receive the list of ticket numbers associated with all of the intersection locations our campaign selected, what do I do?
A. First, use the list to confirm that you have received a ticket number for every intersection corner that was submitted by your campaign. Second, check that the status of marking responses by the underground utility operators at each location is showing as completed. Finally, when installing the sign posts at each intersection, use caution. To avoid striking a buried utility, do not install signs closer than two (2) feet from paint or flags you see on the ground.
Q. What will the utility marks look like?
A. The location of underground utilities are marked with different colors of paint or flags on the ground depending on the utility type.  The photo below is an example of utility marks at an excavation site. The colors tell you which type of utility is buried at the site, in accordance with the Uniform Color Code for Utility Markings.
The Pledge Of Safety ProgramÂ
Q. Are there fees to participate in the Arizona 811 Pledge of Safety program?
A. No, it is absolutely free.
Q. Our campaign signs are installed by a vendor. Can our vendor take the Pledge of Safety on behalf of our campaign and complete the entry of locations?
A. Yes. In fact, some vendors have already entered locations in anticipation of the upcoming campaign season as a service to their campaign clients.
Q. Once our campaign submits intersection locations on the Arizona 811 Political Sign Intersection Selection Tool, will my opponents or other campaigns have access to our list of locations?
A. No. The locations selected by each campaign will remain confidential from other campaigns. While the locations themselves will be marked, and therefore obvious that a campaign initiated the effort, it will not be known which campaign did so.
Q. How will I know if our opposition has taken the Pledge of Safety and is participating in the program? Will our opposition know if our campaign has taken the Pledge of Safety?
A. Participating candidates and campaigns will ultimately be made public via a list of participating campaigns on the Arizona 811 website. Once listed, the media and general public will have the opportunity to see just who has taken the Pledge of Safety to protect the safety of their campaign workers, the public and the underground utilities.
Q. Our signs are already printed or we are using signs from our last campaign, so we can’t print the Pledge of Safety logo on them. How do we let voters know our campaign has taken the Pledge of Safety and is participating in the program?
A. You’re in luck! Arizona 811 can provide the Pledge of Safety logo in sticker form at no cost. Simply email PoliticalSigns@Arizona811.com to request the quantity of stickers you expect to use. The stickers will be mailed to you at the address you specify.
Q. Do we need to use the “Pledge of Safety” logo on our signs in order to participate in the program?
A. No. Use of the logo is voluntary. But why not let voters know your campaign is committed to the safety of your campaign workers, the public and underground facilities by following the law?
Q. Do we need to select intersection locations in order to receive recognition for taking the “Pledge of Safety”?
A. Yes. Taking the “Pledge of Safety” includes demonstrating that your campaign is embracing the safety practice of having the location of underground utilities marked in advance of installing your political signs, then by installing the signs safely at least two (2) feet from any mark or flag on the ground.
Q. Do we need to “Take the Pledge” on the Arizona 811 web site to be able to use the web tool to select intersection corners where our campaign will install signs?
A. No. The intersection selection tool can be used by any campaign to identify where political signs will be installed so the campaign can have underground utilities marked in advance. The “Pledge of Safety” is a program to provide a mechanism to thank and recognize campaigns that have embraced these safety practices when installing their signs.