BILL NUMBER: AB 1333 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hagman
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Section 384 of add Section
1103 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to public
utilities energy .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1333, as amended, Hagman. Energy Commission: public
interest research. Electrical transmission lines.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations.
The existing Public Utilities Act prohibits any electrical
corporation from beginning the construction of, among other things, a
line, plant, or system, or of any extension thereof, without having
first obtained from the commission a certificate that the present or
future public convenience and necessity require or will require that
construction (certificate of public convenience and necessity). The
act requires that an electrical corporation proposing to construct an
electrical transmission line to the northwestern United States
provide the commission with sufficient reliable information to enable
the commission to determine that the proposed line, at rates
expected to prevail over the useful life of the line, will be cost
effective and prohibits the commission from issuing a certificate of
public convenience and necessity unless it is satisfied that the
electrical corporation has provided the required information.
This bill would prohibit an electrical corporation from
reconstructing an electrical transmission line that runs through a
residential community so that the towers supporting the lines are
increased in height by more than 33%, unless the commission
determines that (1) reconstructing the electrical transmission line
is needed and no reasonable alternative exists to reconstruction, (2)
the electrical corporation has undertaken, and will continue to
undertake, all reasonable means to eliminate or mitigate risks to the
public safety resulting from the reconstruction, and (3) the
electrical corporation has agreed to provide just compensation to all
residential landowners near the transmission line to compensate them
for any reduction in the value of their property resulting from the
reconstruction.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any
order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission is a crime.
Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act and
because a violation of an order or decision of the commission
implementing its requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose
a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Existing law establishes the Public Interest Research,
Development, and Demonstration Fund in the State Treasury for
purposes of public interest research, development, and demonstration.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these
provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1103 is added to the
Public Utilities Code , to read:
1103. No electrical corporation shall reconstruct an electrical
transmission line that runs through a residential community so that
the towers supporting the lines are increased in height by more than
33 percent of the height of the existing towers, unless the
commission determines that all of the following are true:
(a) Reconstructing the electrical transmission line is needed and
no reasonable alternative exists to reconstruction.
(b) The electrical corporation has undertaken, and will continue
to undertake, all reasonable means to eliminate or mitigate risks to
the public safety resulting from the reconstruction.
(c) The electrical corporation has agreed to provide just
compensation to all residential landowners near the transmission line
to compensate them for any reduction in the value of their property
resulting from the reconstruction.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
SECTION 1. Section 384 of the Public Utilities
Code is amended to read:
384. (a) Funds transferred to the Energy Commission pursuant to
this article for purposes of public interest research, development,
and demonstration shall be transferred to the Public Interest
Research, Development, and Demonstration Fund, which is hereby
created in the State Treasury. The fund is a trust fund and shall
contain money from all interest, repayments, disencumbrances,
royalties, and any other proceeds appropriated, transferred, or
otherwise received for purposes pertaining to public interest
research, development, and demonstration. Any appropriations that are
made from the fund shall have an encumbrance period of not longer
than two years, and a liquidation period of not longer than four
years.
(b) Funds deposited in the Public Interest Research, Development,
and Demonstration Fund may be expended for projects that serve the
energy needs of both stationary and transportation purposes if the
research provides an electricity ratepayer benefit.
(c) The Energy Commission shall report annually to the appropriate
budget committees of the Legislature on any encumbrances or
liquidations that are outstanding at the time the commission's budget
is submitted to the Legislature for review.