BILL NUMBER: AB 2584	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bradford

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

   An act to add Section 557 to the Public Utilities Code, relating
to electrical corporations and gas corporations.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2584, as introduced, Bradford. Electrical corporations and gas
corporations: unplanned service outages: retention of evidence.
   Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has
regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical
corporations and gas corporations, as defined. Existing law requires
the PUC to adopt inspection, maintenance, repair, and replacement
standards for the distribution systems of electrical corporations in
order to provide high quality, safe, and reliable service. Existing
law requires the PUC to conduct a review to determine whether the
standards have been met and to perform the review after every major
outage.
   This bill would require every electrical corporation and gas
corporation that has an unplanned service outage resulting from an
accident, natural event, or caused by the unplanned act of a utility
employee, to preserve and not dispose of any materials that evidence
the cause of the unplanned outage for 5 business days following the
unplanned outage. The bill would provide that where evidence is
required to be altered in order to restore utility service or to
protect the public safety, the electrical corporation or gas
corporation is required to identify those utility facilities that
have been altered and preserve those materials that are unnecessary
to restoration of service or protection of the public safety.
   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 are within the act, 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.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 557 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   557.  Every electrical corporation and gas corporation that has an
unplanned service outage resulting from an accident, natural event,
or caused by the unplanned act of a utility employee, for five
business days following the unplanned outage, shall preserve and not
dispose of any materials that evidence the cause of the unplanned
outage. Where materials or evidence are required to be altered in
order to restore utility service or to protect the public safety, the
utility shall identify those utility facilities that have been
altered and preserve those materials or evidence that are unnecessary
to restoration of service or protection of the public safety. The
duty to preserve evidence of unplanned outages pursuant to this
section is inapplicable when, during the five-day period, the
commission notifies the utility that it has concluded any
investigation it intends to conduct as to the reasons for the outage.

  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.