BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 305
Author: Nava (D)
Amended: 5/6/09 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 7/6/09
AYES: Simitian, Corbett, Hancock, Lowenthal, Pavley
NOES: Runner, Ashburn
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 6/2/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Hazardous materials: statute of limitations:
penalties
SOURCE : California District Attorneys Association
DIGEST : This bill extends the statute of limitations for
violations of Hazardous Material Release Response Plans and
authorizes the imposition of a jail sentence for the
violation of oil spill prevention reporting requirements.
ANALYSIS :
Existing Law
1.Requires facilities that store, use or handle hazardous
materials above reportable amounts to prepare and file a
Hazardous Materials Business Plan (HMBP) for the safe
CONTINUED
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storage and use of chemicals and report any release or
threatened release of a hazardous material to the
appropriate agency and the Office of Emergency Services.
2.Provides that violations of hazardous waste and materials
reporting and management requirements are punishable by
criminal and civil penalties, as specified.
3.Establishes a default one-year statute of limitations on
civil actions for violations of HMBP requirements.
4.Establishes a five-year statute of limitations for the
enforcement of enumerated sections of Division 20 of the
Health and Safety code, which addresses other hazardous
materials and wastes.
5.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.
6.Provides that a person who fails to report or who
knowingly makes a false or misleading report concerning
an oil spill occurring in waters of the sate, other than
marine waters, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a
fine of not more than $50,000.
This bill addresses two separate issues involving hazardous
material enforcement by:
1.Making consistent the statute of limitations for taking a
civil action for HMBP violations with other hazardous
waste and material violations by including it in the Code
of Civil Procedure provision specifying the five-year
statute of limitations.
2.Specifying that a knowing failure to report an oil spill
or knowingly making a false or misleading report on an
oil spill occurring in waters of the state is punishable,
upon conviction, by imprisonment in the county jail in
addition to the existing provision providing for a fine.
This bill:
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1.Increases from one to five years the statute of
limitations on civil penalty actions related to Business
Plans.
2.Makes a knowing failure to report an oil spill or
knowingly making a false or misleading report on an oil
spill occurring in waters of the state punishable, upon
conviction, by imprisonment in county jail.
Comments
According to the author's office, this bill aims to address
two deficiencies in current law.
1.The statute of limitations for HMBP 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 the general
public are put at unnecessary risk.
2.By adding jail time for failure to report oil spills or
for making false or misleading reports about spills, this
bill puts pressure on polluters to immediately and
accurately report oil spills occurring in waters of the
state.
According to the Department of Fish and Game's Division 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.
Related Legislation
AB 1950 (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
planning requirements for oil production facilities, to be
administered by the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal
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Resources. The penalties established by AB 1960 did not
specify a jail time option for violations of the oil spill
reporting requirements.
AB 1946 (Nava), 2007-08 Session . Would have extended the
statute of limitations for 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 by Governor Schwarzenegger for
stated reasons unrelated to the statute of limitations on
hazardous materials release response plan violations.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/20/09)
California District Attorneys Association (source)
Solano County Board of Supervisors
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The sponsor contends that the
disparity between the statutes of violations for civil
actions for HMBP violations 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 HMBP statutes. Often,
when the district attorney's office files a HMBP reporting
violation, it does so in conjunction with underground
storage tank or other hazardous waste-related violation(s).
Therefore, despite the fact that a HMBP 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, the sponsor states that without reasonable
enforcement mechanism in place of HMBP violations, it is
arguable that there is very little incentive for businesses
to comply with these laws. The default one-year statute of
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limitations is not nearly enough time to allow for thorough
investigation of the violation(s) or administrative
enforcement procedures that may be attempted b y the
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.
The sponsors add that while AB 1960 (Nava), Chapter 562,
Statutes of 2008, made it a crime to fail to report or make
a false report regarding an oil spill in non-marine waters
of the state, AB 1960 did not qualify the type of offense.
This bill clarifies that these offenses are misdemeanors by
specifying that the offenses are punishable by a county
jail sentence.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A.
Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block
TSM:cm 7/23/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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