BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1937|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1937
Author: Gordon (D)
Amended: 6/30/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, UTIL. & COMMUNIC. COMM. : 10-0, 6/23/14
AYES: Padilla, Fuller, Cannella, Corbett, De León, DeSaulnier,
Hill, Knight, Pavley, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/23/14 - (Consent) See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 2011:
notification
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires a gas corporation to provide at
least three days notice to a school or hospital prior to
performing excavation construction of gas pipeline maintenance
or testing of the work is located within 500 feet of a school or
hospital.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
CONTINUED
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1. Requires that the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and each
gas corporation place safety of the public and gas
corporation employees as the top priority and take all
reasonable and appropriate actions to carry out this policy
priority.
2. Requires each gas corporation to develop, adopt, and
implement a plan for the safe and reliable operation of its
gas pipeline facilities that is consistent with best
practices in the gas industry and that provides for the
following:
A. Preventive and reactive maintenance and repair;
B. Effective patrol and inspection to detect leaks and
effect timely repairs;
C. Timely response to customer and employee reports of
leaks; and
D. Adequately sized, qualified, and properly trained
workforce to carry out the plan.
This bill:
1. Requires a gas corporation to provide not less than three
working days' notice to the administration of a school or
hospital prior to undertaking nonemergency excavation or
construction of a gas pipeline if the work is located within
500 feet of the school or hospital. States that the
notification shall include all of the following:
A. The name, address, telephone number, and emergency
contact information for the gas corporation;
B. The specific location of the gas pipeline where the
excavation or construction will be performed;
C. The date and time the excavation or construction is
to be conducted and when the work is expected to be
completed; and
D. An invitation and a telephone number to call for
further information on what the school or hospital
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should do in the event of a leak.
2. Requires the gas corporation to maintain a record of the date
and time of any notification provided to the administration
of a school or hospital prior to undertaking nonemergency
excavation or construction of a gas pipeline and any
subsequent contacts with the administration of a school or
hospital relative to the excavation or construction and the
actions taken, if any, in response to those subsequent
contacts.
3. Requires the gas corporation to maintain the records and make
them available for inspection for no less than five years
from the date of the notification.
Comments
Currently, there is nothing in statute or in the PUC regulation
that requires the public noticing of schools or hospitals in
California when there is planned gas pipeline
construction/excavation/maintenance or testing in the direct
vicinity of schools or hospitals.
An increasing number of significant natural gas pipeline
accidents in California have received attention throughout the
country over the past several years. The most visible of those
took place in San Bruno in late 2010, and additional natural gas
accidents in Cupertino and Roseville at the end of 2011, also
highlight exactly how pervasive our problems really are.
There are numerous locations throughout California where a gas
pipeline exists on or adjacent to school and hospital property.
There have been an increasing number of instances where schools
are being evacuated due to gas pipelines being struck when
maintenance or excavations are being performed, and these
circumstances have resulted in the public's safety being put at
risk. As such, there are currently no public noticing
requirements to schools (or hospitals) in statute or PUC
regulations, regarding noticing when maintenance or pipeline
testing is being performed, and this bill is tool to improve the
safety of the public.
Undoubtedly, it is in the public's best interest to ensure that
public gathering places, such as schools and hospitals, are
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given ample notice of a gas company's pipeline
excavation/construction or testing, especially when the work is
located in the direct vicinity of some of California's most
precious, and potentially vulnerable, human resources.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/5/14)
California Hospital Association
Office of Ratepayer Advocates
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/23/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Olsen, Pan, Patterson,
Perea, John A. Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Melendez,
Nestande, V. Manuel Pérez, Vacancy
JG:d 8/5/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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