Amended in Assembly May 5, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2788

Introduced by Assembly Member Gatto

February 19, 2016

An act relating to oil and gas, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2788, as amended, Gatto. Natural gas storage: emergency regulations.

The Administrative Procedure Act governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. Existing law provides that, if a state agency makes a finding that the adoption of a regulation or order of repeal is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare, the regulation or order of repeal may be adopted as an emergency regulation or order of repeal. Under existing law, a regulation, amendment, or order of repeal adopted as an emergency regulation remains in effect no more than 180 days unless the adopting agency and the Office of Administrative Law comply with certain requirements.

This bill would instead require that begin insert certain end insert emergency regulations adopted by the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservation effective begin delete ____ end delete begin insert February 5, 2016, end insert remain in effect until the adoption, amendment, or repeal of the begin delete regulation end delete begin insert regulations end insert is promulgated by the division pursuant to the act. begin insert The bill would repeal this provision on January 1, 2019. end insert

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code, including subdivisions (e) and (h) of Section 11346.1 of the
Government Code, the emergency regulations amending Section
1724.9 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations adopted
by the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the
Department of Conservation effective begin delete ____ end delete begin insert February 5, 2016, end insert
shall remain in effect until the adoption, amendment, or repeal of
the regulations is promulgated by the division pursuant to Chapter
3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of
Title 2 of the Government Code.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert begin insert

Section 1 of this act shall remain in effect only until
January 1, 2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later
enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or
extends that date.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to ensure that emergency regulations implementing
protective standards for all underground gas storage projects in
the state remain in effect, it is necessary that this act take effect
immediately.