BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 22
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 20, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
22 (Rodriguez) - As Amended May 14, 2015
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Governmental Organization |Vote:|21 - 0 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires:
1)The Curriculum Development Advisory Committee within the
Office of Emergency Services (OES) to review the curriculum
and courses of instruction offered by public and private
programs that train firefighters in response methods for
oil-by-rail spills;
2)OES to provide a list of the curriculum and courses, including
costs and availability, to all fire departments; and
AB 22
Page 2
3)OES to establish a program to reimburse fire departments for
costs incurred sending firefighters to the courses, including
a $100 per diem for volunteer firefighters.
The bill specifies it shall only apply upon appropriation by the
Legislature of revenues derived from fees charged for the
reasonable costs to the state of preparing to respond to
oil-by-rail spills and references a proposal for the 2015 Budget
to create an account and fee to support those costs.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Significant GF/SF costs to OES to conduct curriculum and courses
review and provide information to fire departments; estimated
GF/SF costs of more than $3.5 million to reimburse local fire
agencies for attending courses.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, wide disparities in
training and equipment exist among firefighters for
oil-by-rail spills. The author believes large, urban fire
departments tend to receive more training and better equipment
than smaller, rural departments, while volunteer departments
have very little capacity to respond to oil-by-rail spills.
The author claims railroads provide free training for first
responders, yet many small- and medium-sized and volunteer
fire department do not have the budget to send firefighters
for training, even if training costs are subsidized. Whenever
firefighters are sent for training, other off-duty
AB 22
Page 3
firefighters must cover the shift, resulting in additional
costs. This bill establishes a program to reimburse local
fire departments for expenses incurred in sending firefighters
to oil-by-rail accident response training.
2)Rusty Wheels Get the Oil. Fracking and other developing oil
extraction technologies in North America have significantly
increased oil production, yet there is not sufficient pipeline
capacity to transport the additional oil. According to the
author, oil shipments by rail have increased significantly in
recent years, including in California, resulting in a sharp
increase in oil-by-rail spills. The author further claims the
dangers of oil-by-rail spills are exacerbated by the type of
oil causing the increased transportation demand. Oil from the
Bakken Shale Formation is energy dense, making it more
volatile and toxic than certain other grades of crude oil.
Federal law preempts most state regulation of rail transport,
and the US Department of Transportation is primarily
responsible for enforcing the safety of oil-by-rail shipments.
At the state level, various state and local agencies
coordinate emergency response and cleanup for oil-by-rail
spills, often led by OES, and local agencies often play a
significant role in these efforts.
Analysis Prepared by:Joel Tashjian / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
AB 22
Page 4