BILL NUMBER: AB 1511 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 8, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bradford
JANUARY 12, 2012
An act to amend Section 1103.4 of the Civil Code, relating to real
property.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1511, as amended, Bradford. Real property: disclosures:
transmission pipelines.
Existing law requires certain natural hazard disclosures to be
made upon the transfer of residential real property, as specified,
and prescribes the manner and the form of the disclosures. Existing
law limits the liability of a transferor or listing or selling agent
under certain conditions for failing to disclose natural hazards or
to make other disclosures in specified property transactions if the
transferor or the listing or selling agent obtains a report or
opinion prepared by a licensed engineer, land surveyor, geologist, or
expert in natural hazard discovery dealing with matters within the
scope of the professional's license or expertise. Existing law
conditions this limitation in specified ways, including the
requirement that when an expert responds to a request regarding
natural hazards, that the expert also determine whether the property
is within an airport influence area, the jurisdiction of the San
Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, or designated
farmland and, if so, existing law requires the expert to provide a
specified notice or notices with his or her report.
This bill would further condition the limitation on liability
described above by requiring the expert, when responding to a request
regarding natural hazards, to also determine whether the property is
located within 2,000 feet of a gas transmission or hazardous liquid
pipeline as specified, and if so, to include in the report a notice
and a map depicting the pipeline, as specified.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1103.4 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
1103.4. (a) Neither the transferor nor any listing or selling
agent shall be liable for any error, inaccuracy, or omission of any
information delivered pursuant to this article if the error,
inaccuracy, or omission was not within the personal knowledge of the
transferor or the listing or selling agent, and was based on
information timely provided by public agencies or by other persons
providing information as specified in subdivision (c) that is
required to be disclosed pursuant to this article, and ordinary care
was exercised in obtaining and transmitting the information.
(b) The delivery of any information required to be disclosed by
this article to a prospective transferee by a public agency or other
person providing information required to be disclosed pursuant to
this article shall be deemed to comply with the requirements of this
article and shall relieve the transferor or any listing or selling
agent of any further duty under this article with respect to that
item of information.
(c) The delivery of a report or opinion prepared by a licensed
engineer, land surveyor, geologist, or expert in natural hazard
discovery dealing with matters within the scope of the professional's
license or expertise shall be sufficient compliance for application
of the exemption provided by subdivision (a) if the information is
provided to the prospective transferee pursuant to a request
therefor, whether written or oral. In responding to that request, an
expert may indicate, in writing, an understanding that the
information provided will be used in fulfilling the requirements of
Section 1103.2 and, if so, shall indicate the required disclosures,
or parts thereof, to which the information being furnished is
applicable. Where that statement is furnished, the expert shall not
be responsible for any items of information, or parts thereof, other
than those expressly set forth in the statement.
(1) In responding to the request, the expert shall determine
whether the property is within an airport influence area as defined
in subdivision (b) of Section 11010 of the Business and Professions
Code. If the property is within an airport influence area, the report
shall contain the following statement:
NOTICE OF AIRPORT IN VICINITY
This property is presently located in the
vicinity of an
airport, within what is known as an airport
influence area. For that
reason, the property may be subject to some of
the annoyances or
inconveniences associated with proximity to
airport operations
(for example: noise, vibration, or odors).
Individual sensitivities
to those annoyances can vary from person to
person. You may wish to
consider what airport annoyances, if any, are
associated with the
property before you complete your purchase and
determine whether they
are acceptable to you.
(2) In responding to the request, the expert shall determine
whether the property is within the jurisdiction of the San Francisco
Bay Conservation and Development Commission, as defined in Section
66620 of the Government Code. If the property is within the
commission's jurisdiction, the report shall contain the following
notice:
NOTICE OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
JURISDICTION
This property is located within the jurisdiction of the San
Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. Use and
development of property within the commission's jurisdiction may be
subject to special regulations, restrictions, and permit
requirements. You may wish to investigate and determine whether they
are acceptable to you and your intended use of the property before
you complete your transaction.
(3) In responding to the request, the expert shall determine
whether the property is presently located within one mile of a parcel
of real property designated as "Prime Farmland," "Farmland of
Statewide Importance," "Unique Farmland," "Farmland of Local
Importance," or "Grazing Land" on the most current "Important
Farmland Map" issued by the California Department of Conservation,
Division of Land Resource Protection, utilizing solely the
county-level GIS map data, if any, available on the Farmland Mapping
and Monitoring Program Web site. If the residential property is
within one mile of a designated farmland area, the report shall
contain the following notice:
NOTICE OF RIGHT TO FARM
This property is located within one mile of a farm or ranch land
designated on the current county-level GIS "Important Farmland Map,"
issued by the California Department of Conservation, Division of Land
Resource Protection. Accordingly, the property may be subject to
inconveniences or discomforts resulting from agricultural operations
that are a normal and necessary aspect of living in a community with
a strong rural character and a healthy agricultural sector. Customary
agricultural practices in farm operations may include, but are not
limited to, noise, odors, dust, light, insects, the operation of
pumps and machinery, the storage and disposal of manure, bee
pollination, and the ground or aerial application of fertilizers,
pesticides, and herbicides. These agricultural practices may occur at
any time during the 24-hour day. Individual sensitivities to those
practices can vary from person to person. You may wish to consider
the impacts of such agricultural practices before you complete your
purchase. Please be advised that you may be barred from obtaining
legal remedies against agricultural practices conducted in a manner
consistent with proper and accepted customs and standards pursuant to
Section 3482.5 of the Civil Code or any pertinent local ordinance.
(4) In responding to the request, the expert shall determine,
utilizing map coordinate data made available by the Office of Mine
Reclamation, whether the property is presently located within one
mile of a mine operation for which map coordinate data has been
reported to the director pursuant to Section 2207 of the Public
Resources Code. If the expert determines, from the available map
coordinate data, that the residential property is located within one
mile of a mine operation, the report shall contain the following
notice:
NOTICE OF MINING OPERATIONS:
This property is located within one mile of a mine operation for
which the mine owner or operator has reported mine location data to
the Department of Conservation pursuant to Section 2207 of the Public
Resources Code. Accordingly, the property may be subject to
inconveniences resulting from mining operations. You may wish to
consider the impacts of these practices before you complete your
transaction.
(5) In responding to the request, the expert shall determine
whether the property is located within 2,000 feet of a gas
transmission or hazardous liquid pipeline as depicted on the public
Internet Web site of the federal National Pipeline Mapping System
(NPMS) and, if so, the report shall show on a map the pipeline as
depicted by the NPMS, and shall contain the following notice:
NOTICE OF TRANSMISSION PIPELINE
This property is located within 2,000 feet of a gas transmission
or hazardous liquid pipeline as depicted on the public Internet
Web site of the federal National Pipeline Mapping System . For
that reason, you may wish to investigate the information about the
pipeline further by contacting the agency responsible for this
pipeline, consider what factors, if any, are associated with the
property's proximity to a transmission pipeline, and determine
whether the information you receive is acceptable to you before you
purchase.