BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 1073
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 8, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                   AB 1073 (Torres) - As Amended:  April 18, 2013 

          Policy Committee:                              Governmental  
          Organization Vote:                            12 - 4
                        Utilities and Commerce                11 - 4 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to  
          develop a universal insignia that may be displayed on badges  
          worn by a properly qualified and certified utility worker or  
          technician that would enable the person to gain access to a  
          location subject to a disaster or other emergency to provide  
          vital utility services.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Costs associated with OES creating the required insignia would  
          likely be less than $25,000 GF. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . The author states that utility restoral workers play  
            a critical role in emergency or disaster response by  
            stabilizing and restoring critical utility infrastructure and  
            setting conditions for recovery. Utility restoral workers  
            stabilize and repair electric, petroleum pipeline,  
            telecommunications, gas and water/wastewater conveyance,  
            distribution and infrastructure to a functional level. 

            The author further states that today, in the event of a  
            disaster or emergency, there is no reliable or standardized  
            method for first responders (typically police and fire) to  
            identify qualified utility restoral workers without first  
            contacting a utility provider.  The utility provider in turn  
            must locate and dispatch employees to the scene of a disaster  
            when response time is critical to saving lives and property.  








                                                                  AB 1073
                                                                  Page  2

            In times of emergency or disaster, first responders must be  
            able to quickly identify qualified utility restoral workers  
            without unnecessary delays. This measure provides utility  
            restoral workers with a standardized identifier which will  
            enable immediate access to areas within disaster zones that  
            may otherwise be restricted to the general public and ensure  
            that critical time is not lost to stabilize, repair and  
            restore critical utility infrastructure. 

           2)Background  . The California Emergency Management Agency, soon  
            to be reorganized as OES, maintains a Business and Utility  
            Operations center within their State Operations Center that is  
            staffed when the state has a significant disaster and the  
            representative works with all the utility companies to  
            coordinate needs and access. Generally, any access issues at a  
            disaster site are resolved within minutes through the State  
            Operations Center.   

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081