Amended in Senate March 24, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1064

Introduced by Senator Hill

February 18, 2014

An act to begin insert amend Section 960 of, and to end insert add Section 765 to begin insert , end insert the Public Utilities Code, relating to begin delete railroads end delete begin insert public utility safety end insert .

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1064, as amended, Hill. Public Utilities Commission: railroads: begin insert natural gas pipelines: end insert safety.

Existing law provides that the Public Utilities Commission has certain responsibilities for the inspection, surveillance, and investigation of the rights-of-way, facilities, equipment, and operations of railroads, including public mass transit guideways, and for enforcement of state and federal laws, regulations, orders, and directives relative to railroad safety.

begin delete

Existing law, with respect to safety recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concerning gas pipelines, requires the commission to respond to a safety recommendation letter sent to the commission by the NTSB within 90 days. Existing law requires the commission, in its response to the NTSB, to indicate whether the commission intends to implement the recommendations in whole or in part, or whether the commission refuses to implement the recommendations, as specified. Existing law requires the commission’s decision to be detailed in writing and to be approved by a majority vote of commissioners. Existing law requires the commission to issue orders or adopt rules to implement the NTSB recommendations if the commission determines that they are appropriate. Existing law requires the commission to report on any action taken on NTSB recommendations in an annual report submitted to the Legislature.

end delete begin insert

The Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 2011 designates the commission as the state authority responsible for regulating and enforcing federal law with respect to intrastate gas pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities. When the federal National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) submits a safety recommendation letter concerning gas pipeline safety to the commission, the act requires the commission, within 90 days, to provide the NTSB with a formal written response to each recommendation, as specified. When the NTSB issues a safety recommendation letter concerning any commission-regulated gas pipeline facility to the United States Department of Transportation, the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), a gas corporation, or to the commission, or the PHMSA issues an advisory bulletin concerning any commission-regulated gas pipeline facility, the act requires the commission to determine if implementation of the recommendation or advisory is appropriate and requires the commission, in that case, to issue orders or adopt rules to implement the safety recommendations or advisory as soon as practical and to consider whether specified alternatives exist to address the safety issue that the recommendation or advisory addresses. The act additionally requires the commission to include a detailed description of any action taken on the recommendations or advisory in a specified annual report to the Legislature.

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This bill would enact similar provisions applicable to NTSB safety recommendations begin insert and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) safety advisories end insert concerning railroads. begin insert With respect to natural gas pipelines, if the commission receives a correspondence from the NTSB that indicates that a recommendation of the NTSB has been closed following an action that the NTSB finds unacceptable, the bill would require this fact end insert begin insert to be noted in the end insert begin insert annual report submitted to the Legislature. end insert

Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.

Because this bill would require the commission to issue orders or adopt rules to implement any safety recommendation of the NTSB begin insert and safety advisories of the FTA end insert relative to railroads that the commission determines to be appropriate, and a violation of those orders or rules would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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 765 is added to the Public Utilities Code,
to read:

765.  

(a) When the federal National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) submits a safety recommendation letter concerning
railroad safety to the commission, the commission shall provide
the NTSB with a formal written response to each recommendation
no later than 90 days after receiving the letter. The response shall
state one of the following:

(1) The commission’s intent to implement the recommendations
in full, with a proposed timetable for implementation of the
recommendations.

(2) The commission’s intent to implement part of the
recommendations, with a proposed timetable for implementation
of those recommendations, and detailed reasons for the
commission’s refusal to implement those recommendations that
the commission does not intend to implement.

(3) The commission’s refusal to implement the
recommendations, with detailed reasons for the commission’s
refusal to implement the recommendations.

(b) If the NTSB issues a safety recommendation letter
concerning any commission-regulated railroad facility to begin insert the United
States Department of Transportation, the Federal Transit
Administration, to end insert a commission-regulated rail operator begin insert , end insert or to the
commission, begin insert or if the Federal Transit Administration issues a
safety advisory concerning any commission-regulated railroad
facility, end insert the commission shall determine if implementation of the
recommendation begin insert or advisory end insert is appropriate. The basis for the
commission’s determination shall be detailed in writing and shall
be approved by a majority vote of the commission.

(c) If the commission determines that a safety recommendation
made by the NTSB is appropriate, begin insert or that action concerning a
safety advisory is necessary, end insert the commission shall issue orders or
adopt rules to implement the safety recommendations begin insert or advisory end insert
as soon as practicable. In implementing the safety recommendation
begin insert or advisory end insert , the commission shall consider whether a more
effective, or equally effective and less costly, alternative exists to
address the safety issue that the recommendation begin insert or advisory end insert
addresses.

(d) Any action taken by the commission on a safety
recommendation letter begin insert or safety advisory end insert shall be reported
annually, in detail, to the Legislature with the report required by
Section 321.6. Any correspondence from the NTSB indicating that
a recommendation has been closed following an action that the
NTSB finds unacceptable shall be noted in the report required by
Section 321.6.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 960 of the end insert begin insert Public Utilities Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

960.  

(a) When the federal National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) submits a safety recommendation letter concerning
gas pipeline safety to the commission, the commission shall provide
the NTSB with a formal written response to each recommendation
not later than 90 days after receiving the letter. The response shall
state one of the following:

(1) The commission’s intent to implement the recommendations
in full, with a proposed timetable for implementation of the
recommendations.

(2) The commission’s intent to implement part of the
recommendations, with a proposed timetable for implementation
of those recommendations, and detailed reasons for the
commission’s refusal to implement those recommendations that
the commission does not intend to implement.

(3) The commission’s refusal to implement the
recommendations, with detailed reasons for the commission’s
refusal to implement the recommendations.

(b) If the NTSB issues a safety recommendation letter
concerning any commission-regulated gas pipeline facility to the
United States Department of Transportation, the federal Pipeline
and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), a gas
corporation, or to the commission, or the PHMSA issues an
advisory bulletin concerning any commission-regulated gas
pipeline facility, the commission shall determine if implementation
of the recommendation or advisory is appropriate. The basis for
the commission’s determination shall be detailed in writing and
shall be approved by a majority vote of the commission.

(c) If the commission determines that a safety recommendation
made by the NTSB is appropriate or that action concerning an
advisory bulletin is necessary, the commission shall issue orders
or adopt rules to implement the safety recommendations or
advisory as soon as practicable. In implementing the safety
recommendation or advisory, the commission shall consider
whether a more effective, or equally effective and less costly,
alternative exists to address the safety issue that the
recommendation or advisory addresses.

(d) Any action taken by the commission on a safety
recommendation letter or advisory bulletin shall be reported
annually, in detail, to the Legislature with the report required by
Section 321.6. begin insert Any correspondence from the NTSB that indicates
that a recommendation of the NTSB has been closed following an
action that the NTSB finds unacceptable shall be noted in the
report required by Section 321.6. end insert

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

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.