BILL ANALYSIS
AB 305
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 28, 2009
Consultant: Larry Yee
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Jose Solorio, Chair
AB 305 (Nava) - As Introduced: February 17, 2009
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Extends the civil penalties and punitive damages
statute of limitations for violations of Hazardous Material
Release Response Plans (Business Plans) and authorizes the
imposition of a jail sentence for the violation of oil spill
reporting requirements. Specifically, this bill :
1)Increases from one year to five years the statute of
limitation on civil penalty actions related to Business Plans.
2)Provides that a knowing failure by any handler or employee,
authorized representative, agent, or designee of a handler, to
report an oil spill occurring in non-marine California waters
is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not more
than one year.
3)Provides that knowingly making a false or misleading report on
an oil spill occurring in non-marine California waters is
punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not more
than one year
4)Provides that this section does not preclude prosecution or
sentencing under other provisions of law.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires owners or operators of facilities that handle
hazardous materials to develop Business Plans, submit
hazardous material inventories and management information, and
report any release or threatened release of a hazardous
material to the appropriate agency and the Office of Emergency
Services. [Health and Safety Code Sections 25500 to 25546.5.]
a) Establishes a default one-year statute of limitations on
AB 305
Page 2
violations of Chapter 6.95 of the Health and Safety Code,
which requires Business Plans. [Civil Procedure Section
340.]
b) Establishes a five-year statute of limitations for the
enforcement of enumerated sections of Division 20 of the
Health and Safety Code, which addresses hazardous materials
and wastes. The enumerated sections do not include oil
spill reporting violations. [Civil Procedure Section
338.1.]
2)Provides that any handler or employee, authorized
representative, agent, or designee of a handler shall, upon
discovery, immediately report any release or threatened
release of a hazardous material to the appropriate agency.
[Health and Safety Code Section 25507.]
3)Provides that any person with the duty to report, who fails to
report an oil spill occurring in waters of the state, other
than marine waters, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a
fine of not more than $50,000. [Health and Safety Code
Section 25515(b).]
4)Provides that any person who knowingly makes a false or
misleading report on an oil spill occurring in waters of the
state, other than marine waters, shall, upon conviction, be
punished by a fine of not more than $50,000. [Health and
Safety Code Section 25515(c).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "By adding jail
time for failure to report oil spills or for making false or
misleading reports about spills, AB 305 puts serious pressure
on polluters to immediately and accurately report oil spills
occurring in waters of the state.
"Extending the statute of limitation for hazardous material
business plan violations will give prosecutors sufficient time
to go after those who fail to properly maintain their
hazardous material inventories and response plans. When
hazardous material business plans are not properly maintained
and updated first responders, employees of the business, and
AB 305
Page 3
the general public are put at unnecessary risk."
2)Background : According to the background submitted by the
author, "According to the Department of Fish and Game's Office
of Spill Prevention and Response, there are nearly three times
as many inland spills as there are marine spills. Many of
these spills are the result of poor maintenance of old
equipment.
"The disparity between the statutes of limitations for civil
actions under Chapter 6.95 and the other chapters is
significantly prejudicial to the appropriate prosecution and
punishment of owners and operators of hazardous material
facilities who disregard the hazardous material and waste
requirements mandated by Chapter 6.95. Often, when the
district attorney's office files a Chapter 6.95 violation, it
does so in conjunction with underground storage tank or other
hazardous waste-related violation(s). Therefore, despite the
fact that a Chapter 6.95 violation can continue without remedy
for an extended length of time, the default one-year statute
of limitations can unnecessarily preclude the filing of
charges or cause the premature filing of other charges. Having
consistent statutes of limitations for interrelated hazardous
waste violations would allow for more efficient and effective
enforcement of these laws that Californians depend on to
protect their health and the environment.
"Furthermore, without reasonable enforcement mechanisms in place
for Chapter 6.95 violations, it is arguable that there is very
little incentive for businesses to comply with these laws.
The default one-year statute of limitations is not nearly
enough time to allow for thorough investigation of the
violations(s) or administrative enforcement procedures that
may be attempted by the CUPA (Certified Unified Program
Agency) or other administrative agency prior to a formal
prosecution. In some cases, the statute will run before these
administrative processes are complete."
3)Prior Legislation :
a) AB 1960 (Nava), Chapter 562, Statutes of 2008, increased
the penalties for failing to report or making a false or
misleading report regarding an oil spill in non-marine
waters of California, and established new maintenance
standards, enforcement authority, and spill contingency
AB 305
Page 4
planning requirements for oil production facilities, to be
administered by the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal
Resources. The penalties established by AB 1960 did not
specify a jail time option for violations of the oil spill
reporting requirements.
b) AB 1946 (Nava), of the 2007-08 Legislative Session,
would have extended the statute of limitations for a
certain actions relating to hazardous materials release
response plans and inventory to five years after discovery
by the agency bringing the action. AB 1946 was vetoed for
stated reasons unrelated to the statute of limitations on
hazardous materials release response plan violations.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California District Attorneys Association (Sponsor)
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Larry Yee / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744