BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1511
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1511 (Bradford)
As Amended May 14, 2012
Majority vote
JUDICIARY 10-0
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|Ayes:|Feuer, Wagner, Atkins, | | |
| |Dickinson, Gorell, Huber, | | |
| |Jones, Monning, | | |
| |Wieckowski, Bonnie | | |
| |Lowenthal | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires real estate sale contracts to include a
specified notice informing the buyer about the existence of a
database where information about transmission pipelines can be
obtained. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires every contract for the sale of residential real
property entered into on or after July 1, 2013, to contain, in
not less than 8-point type, the following notice:
NOTICE REGARDING GAS AND HAZARDOUS LIQUID TRANSMISSION
PIPELINES
This notice is being provided simply to inform you that
information about general location of gas and hazardous liquid
transmission pipelines is available to the public via the
National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS) Internet Web site
maintained by the United States Department of Transportation
at http://www.npms.phmsa.dot.gov/ . To seek further
information about possible transmission pipelines near the
property, you may contact your local gas utility or other
pipeline operators in the area. Contact information for
pipeline operators is searchable by ZIP code and county on the
NPMS Internet Web site.
2)Provides that, upon delivery of the above notice to the
transferee of the real property, the seller or broker is not
required to provide information in addition to that contained
in the notice. Further provides that the information in the
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notice shall be deemed to be adequate to inform the transferee
about the existence of the NPMS database containing
information about the locations of gas and hazardous liquid
transmission pipelines.
3)Clarifies that nothing in these provisions shall alter any
existing duty of the seller or broker under any other statute
or decisional law.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires a seller's real estate broker to conduct a reasonably
competent and diligent visual inspection of a property offered
for sale, and to disclose to potential buyers any facts
revealed that would materially affect the value or
desirability of the property.
2)Requires every lease or rental agreement for residential real
property entered into on or after July 1, 1999, and every
contract for the sale of residential real property comprised
of one to four dwelling units entered into on or after that
date, to contain a specified notice regarding the proximity of
registered sex offenders to the subject property.
3)Provides that information in the above notice shall be deemed
to be adequate to inform the lessee or transferee about the
existence of a statewide database of the locations of
registered sex offenders and information from the database
regarding the locations.
4)Requires the seller of residential real property of one to
four dwelling units to provide the Real Estate Transfer
Disclosure Statement to prospective buyers as soon as
practicable before transfer, or the execution of a sale
contract, as applicable.
5)Provides that the delivery of any information required to be
disclosed upon transfer of residential property to a
prospective transferee, as specified, shall relieve the
transferor or any listing or selling agent of any further duty
with respect to that item of information.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
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COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill is in response to
numerous gas transmission pipeline issues over the last few
years, most notably the tragedy that occurred in September 2010
when a natural gas pipeline owned and operated by Pacific Gas &
Electric (PG&E) ruptured and exploded in San Bruno. The author
contends that, prior to the San Bruno incident, many affected
property owners were unaware of the existence of the
transmission pipeline that exploded, and that no state law
currently provides helpful information to assist prospective
property buyers in researching the potential presence of gas
pipelines in the vicinity of the property, if they so wish.
The bill requires real property sellers to provide a general
consumer-friendly notice to prospective purchasers about how
they can seek out helpful information about possible
transmission pipelines in the vicinity of the area. The
required notice informs the recipient that "information about
general location of gas and hazardous liquid transmission
pipelines is made available to the public via the National
Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS) web site." The bill provides
that the seller or broker is not required to provide any related
information in addition to that contained in the notice, and
that the information in the notice shall be deemed to be
adequate to inform the transferee about the existence of the
NPMS database containing information about the locations of gas
and hazardous liquid transmission pipelines.
The NPMS Web site is accessible to the general public and is
maintained by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Material
Administration (PHMA), within the Department of Transportation.
Information in NPMS reflects what has been submitted to PHMA by
pipeline operators pursuant to federal law. Among the Web
site's features are a map viewer and a database of contact
information for gas utilities and pipeline operators. By
clicking on the link reading "Find Who's Operating Pipelines in
Your Area," the Web site user can search by state, county and
zip code to produce a list displaying a contact person's name,
address, phone number, fax number, and email address for each
pipeline operator that is identified by the search.
Analysis Prepared by : Anthony Lew / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0003622
AB 1511
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