BILL NUMBER: AB 1903	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Wilk

                        FEBRUARY 11, 2016

   An act to add and repeal Section 911.3 of the Public Utilities
Code, relating to natural gas.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1903, as introduced, Wilk. Aliso Canyon gas leak: health impact
study.
   Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including gas corporations. The
Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 2011, within the Public Utilities
Act, designates the commission as the state authority responsible for
regulating and enforcing federal law with respect to intrastate gas
pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities. Existing law
provides for the administration of various programs addressing public
health by the State Department of Public Health.
   This bill would require the commission and the department to
jointly study the long-term health impacts of the significant natural
gas leak from the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility located
in the County of Los Angeles that started approximately October 23,
2015, as specified. The bill would require the commission to report
its ongoing findings to the Legislature on a biennial basis, on or
before January 1 of every even-numbered year, from 2018 until 2032.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 911.3 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   911.3.  (a) The commission and the State Department of Public
Health shall jointly study the long-term health impacts of the
significant natural gas leak from the Aliso Canyon natural gas
storage facility located in the County of Los Angeles that started
approximately October 23, 2015. The study shall include, but is not
limited to, both of the following:
   (1) An investigation of the impact of the natural has leak on the
health of persons who resided within a 12-mile radius of the Aliso
Canyon natural gas storage facility in the County of Los Angeles
between October 23, 2015, and ____.
   (2) An evaluation of the impact on residents due to exposure to
chemicals, including, but not limited to, methane, benzene, and
mercaptan.
   (b) (1) The commission shall report its ongoing findings to the
Legislature on a biennial basis, on or before January 1 of every
even-numbered year, from 2018 until 2032.
   (2) The report shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795
of the Government Code.
   (c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the study conducted
pursuant to subdivision (a) should be paid for out of moneys
collected from any penalties assessed against Southern California Gas
Company pursuant to this part in regards to the natural gas leak at
the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility located in the County
of Los Angeles.
   (d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2033, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2033, deletes or extends
that date.