BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                          SB 44 (Corbett)
          
          Hearing Date: 05/26/2011        Amended: 04/25/2011
          Consultant: Brendan McCarthy    Policy Vote: EU&C 11-0
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          BILL SUMMARY: SB 44 requires the Public Utilities Commission to 
          establish emergency response standards that operators of natural 
          gas transmission and distribution lines must follow.
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                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2011-12      2012-13       2013-14     Fund
           
          Development of standards                      $225      Special 
          *                                                       
          * Public Utilities Commission Utilities Reimbursement Account.
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          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. 

          Federal law and general orders of the Public Utilities 
          Commission require the Commission to regulate natural gas 
          transmission, distribution, and other pipelines. Operators of 
          natural gas pipelines are required to develop emergency response 
          plans. Federal law also requires pipeline operators to provide 
          information to the federal Department of Transportation on the 
          location of gas pipelines. While federal law and Commission 
          orders generally give the Commission oversight responsibility 
          for natural gas pipelines, the scope of this oversight is 
          ambiguous.

          SB 44 explicitly grants the Public Utilities Commission the 
          responsibility to regulate intrastate transmission lines, 
          intrastate distribution lines, intrastate gathering lines, 
          mobile home park distribution systems, and propane distribution 
          systems.

          The bill requires the Public Utilities Commission to open a 
          proceeding, or expand an existing proceeding, to establish 
          emergency response standards for natural gas transmission and 








          SB 44 (Corbett)
          Page 1


          distribution lines, that must be followed by pipeline operators. 
          The bill requires the Commission to consult with the California 
          Emergency Management Agency and the California Fire Chiefs 
          Association.  The bill also requires intrastate transmission 
          pipeline operators to provide information to the State Fire 
          Marshal and local emergency responders on how to access existing 
          information on pipeline locations. The bill requires the 
          Commission to report to the Legislature by January 1, 2013 on 
          the status of the development of the emergency response 
          standards.

          The Public Utilities Commission has already opened a proceeding 
          to address oversight and regulation of natural gas pipelines. 
          The Commission indicates that expanding that proceeding to 
          include the development of emergency response standards, 
          including coordination with local emergency responders, will 
          require about $225,000 in additional funding.

          SB 216 (Yee) requires the Public Utilities Commission to 
          evaluate current safety practices with regard to intrastate 
          natural gas transmission pipelines. The bill requires operators 
          of natural gas transmission pipelines to install automatic or 
          remote-controlled shut off valves in areas of high population 
          density or where pipelines cross active seismic faults. SB 216 
          will be heard in this committee.

          AB 56 (Hill) requires the operators of natural gas pipelines to 
          institute safety programs and facilities modernization programs 
          and requires the Public Utilities Commission to oversee those 
          programs. AB 56 is in the Assembly

          SB 879 (Padilla) requires the Public Utilities Commission to 
          require natural gas utilities to account for ratepayer funds 
          designated for pipeline maintenance and repair in a more 
          transparent way. That bill will be heard in this committee.