BILL NUMBER: SB 291	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  SEPTEMBER 11, 2013
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 11, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 3, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 25, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Hill

                        FEBRUARY 14, 2013

   An act to add Section 1702.5 to the Public Utilities Code,
relating to the Public Utilities Commission.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 291, Hill. Public Utilities Commission: safety enforcement: gas
and electrical corporations.
   Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including gas corporations and
electrical corporations, as defined. The Public Utilities Act
requires the commission to investigate the cause of all accidents
occurring upon the property of any public utility or directly or
indirectly arising from or connected with its maintenance or
operation, resulting in loss of life or injury to person or property
and requiring, in the judgment of the commission, investigation by
it, and authorizes the commission to make any order or recommendation
with respect to the investigation that it determines to be just and
reasonable. The act additionally authorizes the commission to
ascertain and fix just and reasonable standards, classifications,
regulations, practices, measurements, or services to be furnished,
imposed, observed, and followed by specified public utilities,
including electrical and gas corporations. Existing law authorizes
the commission to issue and serve citations in the enforcement of
certain pipeline safety laws applicable to mobilehome park gas
delivery systems and propane operators.
   This bill would require the commission, in an existing or new
proceeding, to develop and implement a safety enforcement program
that includes procedures for monitoring, data tracking and analysis,
and investigations, as well as issuance of citations by commission
staff, under the direction of the executive director of the
commission, to gas corporations and electrical corporations for
correction and punishment of safety violations. The bill would
require the commission to develop and implement an appeals process to
govern issuance and appeal of citations, or resolution of corrective
action orders. The bill would require the commission to implement
the safety enforcement program for gas safety by July 1, 2014, and
for electrical safety by January 1, 2015.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 1702.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code,
to read:
   1702.5.  (a) The commission shall, in an existing or new
proceeding, develop and implement a safety enforcement program
applicable to gas corporations and electrical corporations which
includes procedures for monitoring, data tracking and analysis, and
investigations, as well as issuance of citations by commission staff,
under the direction of the executive director. The enforcement
program shall be designed to improve gas and electrical system safety
through the enforcement of applicable law, or order or rule of the
commission related to safety using a variety of enforcement
mechanisms, including the issuance of corrective actions, orders, and
citations by designated commission staff, and recommendations for
action made to the commission by designated commission staff.
   (1) When considering the issuance of citations and assessment of
penalties, the commission staff shall take into account voluntary
reporting of potential violations, voluntary removal or resolution
efforts undertaken, the prior history of violations, the gravity of
the violation, and the degree of culpability.
   (2) The procedures shall include, but are not limited to,
providing notice of violation within a reasonable period of time
after the discovery of the violation.
   (3) The commission shall adopt an administrative limit on the
amount of monetary penalty that may be set by commission staff.
   (b) The commission shall develop and implement an appeals process
to govern the issuance and appeal of citations or resolution of
corrective action orders issued by the commission staff. The appeals
process shall provide the respondent a reasonable period of time,
upon receiving a citation, to file a notice of appeal, shall afford
an opportunity for a hearing, and shall require the hearing officer
to expeditiously provide a draft disposition.
   (c) The commission shall, within a reasonable time set by the
commission, conclude a safety enforcement action with a finding of
violation, a corrective action order, a citation, a determination of
no violation, approval of the corrective actions undertaken by the
gas corporation or electrical corporation, or other action. The
commission may institute a formal proceeding regarding the alleged
violation, potentially resulting in additional enforcement action,
regardless of any enforcement action taken at the commission staff
level.
   (d) The commission shall implement the safety enforcement program
for gas safety by July 1, 2014, and implement the safety enforcement
program for electrical safety no later than January 1, 2015.
   (e) This section does not apply to an exempt wholesale generator,
a qualifying small power producer, or qualifying cogenerator, as
defined in Section 796 of Title 16 of the United States Code and the
regulations enacted pursuant thereto. Nothing in this section affects
the commission's authority pursuant to Section 761.3.