BILL NUMBER: AB 2522 CHAPTERED 08/26/02 CHAPTER 243 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 26, 2002 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 24, 2002 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 12, 2002 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY MAY 28, 2002 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 23, 2002 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2002 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Dutra FEBRUARY 21, 2002 An act to add Section 8588.4 to the Government Code, relating to transportation, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2522, Dutra. California Highway Patrol: transportation system. Existing law creates the Office of Emergency Services within the Governor's office that, among other matters, coordinates the activities of state agencies in responding to an emergency. This bill would make various findings relating to the effect of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on the United States. The bill would require the California Highway Patrol, in cooperation with the Office of Emergency Services and other specified federal, state, and local agencies, to perform a risk assessment of the state' s transportation system and to submit a confidential report of its findings to the Governor and the Legislature's leadership prior to January 1, 2003. The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares the following: (a) Transportation providers in California have had a long history of preparing for, and dealing with, natural and man-made disasters including earthquakes, fires, floods, and civil unrest. (b) Nevertheless, the events of September 11, 2001, have resulted in a heightened awareness of the vulnerabilities not only of air travel, but of virtually all modes of transportation. (c) On November 20, 2001, the Assembly Committee on Transportation held a special hearing in Oakland, California, to explore the readiness of transportation providers to protect against, and respond to, acts of terrorism that might be contemplated against their facilities and their clients. (d) While the information garnered at that hearing revealed that an extensive amount of preparation and planning had taken place both prior and subsequent to September 11, 2001, many agencies were not fully comfortable with their ability to assess all potential threats against them. Additionally, most agencies expressed a desire to take additional preventive actions but were unable to, due either to a lack of funding or an inability to identify feasible measures. (e) It is therefore incumbent upon the Legislature to provide the means for comprehensive risk assessments to be undertaken for all segments of the transportation sector and to identify those measures that are necessary and feasible to prevent or respond to terrorist acts that may be taken against transportation facilities, services, and users. SEC. 2. Section 8588.4 is added to the Government Code, to read: 8588.4. (a) The California Highway Patrol in cooperation with the Office of Emergency Services and the California National Guard and in consultation with the United States Coast Guard and all relevant federal, state, and local transportation and law enforcement agencies, shall perform a risk assessment of California's transportation system. The scope of this assessment shall include, but not be limited to, the transportation infrastructure within the scope of the California Highway Patrol's responsibilities. The assessment may not necessarily involve an inspection or examination of each individual facility and service but rather an overview of any risk that may exist within California's transportation system. For each potential threat or security deficiency identified in the risk assessment, there shall be included one or more recommended measures to mitigate those risks. (b) The California Highway Patrol shall submit a confidential report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, the President pro Tempore of the Senate, the minority leader of the Assembly, and the minority leader of the Senate not later than January 1, 2003. SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: Forces hostile to the United States pose an immediate and continuing threat to all Americans. Because transportation facilities offer a potential target for terrorist actions, it is necessary that suggested preventive measures emanating from this act be adopted at the earliest possible date.