Amended in Assembly August 31, 2015

Amended in Assembly August 17, 2015

Amended in Assembly July 1, 2015

Amended in Assembly June 16, 2015

Amended in Senate June 1, 2015

Amended in Senate May 12, 2015

Amended in Senate May 5, 2015

Amended in Senate April 20, 2015

Amended in Senate April 6, 2015

Senate Bill No. 119

Introduced by Senator Hill

January 14, 2015

An act to amend Sections 4216, 4216.1, 4216.2, 4216.3, 4216.4, 4216.5, 4216.6, 4216.7, 4216.8, and 4216.9 of, and to add Sections 4216.12, 4216.13, 4216.14, 4216.15, 4216.16, 4216.17, 4216.18, 4216.19, 4216.20, 4216.21, and 4216.22 to, the Government Code, and to amend Section 1702.5 of, and to add Sections begin delete 320.5 end delete begin insert 320.5, 911.2, end insert and 971 to, the Public Utilities Code, relating to excavations.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 119, as amended, Hill. Protection of subsurface installations.

Existing law requires every operator of a subsurface installation, except the Department of Transportation, to become a member of, participate in, and share in the costs of, a regional notification center. Existing law requires any person who plans to conduct any excavation to contact the appropriate regional notification center before commencing that excavation, as specified. Existing law defines a subsurface installation as any underground pipeline, conduit, duct, wire, or other structure. Existing law requires an operator of a subsurface installation, who receives notification of proposed excavation work, within 2 working days of that notification, excluding weekends and holidays, to mark the approximate location and number of subsurface installations that may be affected by the excavation or to advise that no subsurface installations operated by him or her would be affected. Existing law requires an operator of a subsurface installation that has failed to comply with these provisions to be liable to the excavator for damages, costs, and expenses.

This bill would declare the need to clarify and revise these provisions. The bill would define and redefine various terms relating to a regional notification center. The bill would expand the definition of a subsurface begin delete installation, end delete begin insert installation end insert to include an underground structure or submerged duct, pipeline, or structure, except as specified.

The bill would require an excavator planning to conduct an excavation to delineate the area to be excavated before notifying the appropriate regional notification center of the planned excavation, as provided. The bill would require an operator, before the legal start date and time of the excavation, to locate and field mark, within the area delineated for excavation, its subsurface installations. The bill would require an operator to maintain and preserve all plans and records for any subsurface installation owned by that operator as that information becomes known, as specified.

This bill would prohibit an excavator that damages a subsurface installation due to an inaccurate field mark, as defined, by an operator from being liable for damages, replacement costs, or other expenses arising from damage to the subsurface installation, provided that the excavator complied with the provisions described above. The bill would also authorize, in any action for reimbursement or indemnification for a claim arising from damage to a subsurface installation in which a court finds that the excavator complied with those provisions, the excavator to be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees and expenses.

The bill would delete the existing exemptions pertaining to an owner of real property and would instead exempt an owner of residential real property who, as part of improving his or her principal residence, is performing, or is having performed, an excavation using hand tools that does not require a permit, as specified.

The bill would also require the Public Utilities Commission and the Office of the State Fire Marshal to enforce the requirement to locate and field mark subsurface installations and lines against operators of natural gas and electric underground infrastructure and hazardous liquid pipelines, unless these operators are municipal utilities.

This begin delete bill end delete begin insert bill, if specified funds are appropriated by the Legislature and authority to hire sufficient staff is granted to the Contractors’ State License Board, end insert would create the California Underground Facilities Safe Excavation Advisory Committee under, and assisted by the staff of, the Contractors’ State License Board, in the Department of Consumer Affairs. The bill would require the committee to coordinate education and outreach activities, develop standards, and investigate violations of the provisions described above, as specified. begin insert The bill would also require the advisory committee, by December 31, 2017, and in consultation with the Department of Food and Agriculture, to make recommendations, informed by a specified study, that addresses the long term treatment of agricultural activities in relation to subsurface excavation, and whether those provisions are appropriate or could be modified in ways to promote participation in safe agricultural practices around high priority subsurface installations, as specified. end insert

The advisory committee would be composed of 9 members who would serve 2-year terms, and one nonvoting ex officio member who may be invited by the appointed members of the committee. The bill would authorize the advisory committee, commencing on January 1, 2017, to use compliance audits in furthering the purposes of these provisions. The bill would require the advisory committee to conduct an annual meeting on or before February 1, 2017, and each year thereafter, to report to the Governor and the Legislature on its activities and any recommendations.

The bill would create the Safe Energy Infrastructure and Excavation Fund in the State Treasury and would provide that moneys deposited into the fund are to be used to cover the administrative expenses of the advisory committee, upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would authorize the commission to use excess moneys in the fund for specified purposes relating to the safety of underground utilities, upon appropriation by the Legislature.

The Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 2011, within the Public Utilities Act, designates the Public Utilities Commission as the state authority responsible for regulating and enforcing intrastate gas pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities pursuant to federal law, including the development, submission, and administration of a state pipeline safety program certification for natural gas. Existing federal law requires each operator of a buried gas pipeline to carry out a program to prevent damage to that pipeline from excavation activities, as specified.

The bill would require begin insert the Public Utilities Commission, no later than February 1, 2019, to report to the Legislature and to the California Underground Facilities Safe Excavation Advisory Committee an analysis of excavation damage to commission-regulated pipeline facilities. The bill would also require end insert each gas corporation, as part of its damage prevention program, to collect begin delete specified end delete begin insert certain end insert information begin insert until January 1, 2020, end insert to inform its outreach begin delete activities end delete begin insert activities, end insert and to report this information begin insert annually until January 1, 2020, end insert to the Public Utilities begin delete Commission, end delete begin insert Commission and the California Underground Facilities Safe Excavation Advisory Committee, end insert as specified. begin insert The bill would also require the each gas corporation to estimate Californians’ use of regional notification centers, as specified, and to provide this estimate to the commission and the advisory committee on or before July 1, 2016. end insert

Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.

Because the requirements described above are within the act, a violation of these requirements would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime.

Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to develop and implement a safety enforcement program that is applicable to gas corporations and electrical corporations and 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, for correction and punishment of safety violations. That law requires the commission to develop and implement an appeals process to govern issuance and appeal of citations, or resolution of corrective action orders. That law requires the commission to implement the safety enforcement program for gas safety by July 1, 2014, and for electrical safety by January 1, 2015.

This bill would require that moneys collected as a result of the issuance of citations to gas corporations and electrical corporations pursuant to the above-described law be deposited in the Safe Energy Infrastructure and Excavation Fund.

The bill would make other conforming changes.

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.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) For the state’s “one-call” law to be effective, it needs greater
clarity and effective enforcement, and it must foster communication
between operators of subsurface installations and the various types
of excavators in California.

(b) Regional notification centers, or “one-call” centers, have
developed means of electronic communication that improve the
efficiency of the “one-call” process, and statutory barriers to using
new methods of notification should be eliminated.

(c) Electronic positive response is a means to communicate the
status of responses to an excavator’s notice of excavation via the
one-call center and provides the safety benefit that an excavator
has an easy means to know whether or not all of the utilities within
the excavation area have marked their subsurface installations.

(d) The delineation by an excavator of the area to be excavated
in advance of the field location and marking by subsurface facility
operators of their installations aids the excavator in understanding
where subsurface installations were marked, and thus improves
safety. This practice was recommended by the National
Transportation Safety Board in its 1997 study “Protecting Public
Safety through Excavation Damage Prevention” and is a best
practice of the Common Ground Alliance.

(e) Continuing an excavation after an excavation “ticket” has
expired does not promote safety, and excavators should renew
their ticket with the one-call center before expiration. Continuing
excavation when markings are no longer visible does not promote
safety, and excavators should stop work until the subsurface
installations are remarked.

(f) Increased communication between subsurface installation
operators and excavators before breaking ground has safety
benefits.

(g) Construction sites often have many parties conducting
different, ongoing work, and so the inherent safety risks associated
with that work can be increased by a failure of these parties to
effectively communicate. Excavators, operators of subsurface
installations, and locators have a responsibility to communicate
with other parties before entering these worksites, which may
require advance schedule coordination, and also have a
responsibility to observe the safety requirements set for those
worksites.

(h) Abandoned subsurface installations can be mistaken for
active subsurface installations that are marked, and thus present a
safety risk to excavators and the public. Safety will be improved
if subsurface facility operators identify these subsurface
installations when their existence is known.

(i) The ability of an operator of subsurface installations to locate
and mark affected installations can be seriously impaired by a lack
of high-quality records of those installations, and thus operators
should keep records of their facilities for as long as they are in the
ground, whether or not they are in use.

(j) Failure by an operator of subsurface installations to mark
the installations within the required two-working-day period is a
serious breach of duty.

(k) While an operator has two working days after an excavator’s
call to the one-call center to mark its subsurface installations,
failure of that operator to do so does not relieve the excavator of
the safety responsibility to wait until the operator has marked
before commencing excavation.

(l) Mismarks by an operator place excavators and the public at
great safety risk, and so operators who mismark their installations
are entitled to no award for any damages to those installations.

(m) Installations that are embedded in pavement require more
extensive communication among operators, locators, and
excavators to prevent the installations from being damaged.

(n) Exemptions that allow a class of persons to excavate without
calling 811 are to be permitted only if alternative procedures allow
the excavation to take place without compromising safety.

(o) More communication is needed between the Department of
Transportation and the regional notification centers, including the
sharing of subsurface installation location information, so that
excavators may be alerted of possible Department of Transportation
subsurface installations in the area of planned excavation and, if
the excavation is to take place in a Department of Transportation
right-of-way, the need to seek a Department of Transportation
encroachment permit.

(p) Insufficient information exists on how to best achieve safety
when conducting agricultural activities around subsurface
begin delete installations. end delete begin insert installations, and a study, informed by data collected
about damages in agricultural areas is needed to determine
effective and appropriate safety measures. end insert

(q) Prevention of boring through sewer laterals with natural gas
and other subsurface installation services may be achieved through
reasonable care in the use of trenchless excavating technologies.
Indication of the location of sewer laterals can aid in prevention
of these cross-bores.

(r) The exemption that permits private property owners to dig
on their property without calling a regional notification center to
have the area marked for subsurface installations does not have a
basis in safety.

(s) The exemption that permits homeowners to conduct
excavation on their property with heavy machinery or when there
is a utility easement on his or her property does not have a basis
in safety.

(t) Behaviors that are suspected to be unsafe, but upon which
there is not widespread agreement as to the level of risk and,
therefore, are unregulated, must be monitored to better assess the
risk.

(u) The Study on the Impact of Excavation Damage on Pipeline
Safety, submitted by the United States Department of
Transportation to Congress on October 9, 2014, reported that other
states have found that exemption of landscape maintenance
activities of less than 12 inches deep, when performed with hand
tools, does not appear to have a significant impact on safety. The
report cautions, however, that while those activity-based
exemptions may be acceptable, they should be supported by
sufficient data.

(v) Insufficient data exists on the safety risks of the installation
of temporary real estate signposts; therefore, it is important that
natural gas distribution companies collect information on whether
damages are caused by these signposts.

(w) Gas corporations have ready access to information about
damages that occur on their subsurface installations and should
collect relevant data to inform future discussions regarding the
risk of notification exemptions.

(x) Other states have experienced a dramatic improvement in
safety after implementing centralized administrative oversight of
one-call laws.

(y) California should have an advisory committee, composed
of excavation stakeholders, subject to oversight by the Legislature
and the Department of Finance, to perform three major tasks, which
are to coordinate the diverse education and outreach efforts
undertaken by state and local agencies, operators, and excavators
throughout the state and issue grants for targeted efforts, to study
excavation questions and develop standards that clarify best
practices, and to investigate potential violations of the one-call
law that inform both the standards it is to develop and potential
enforcement actions. Due to the size of the state, and in order to
reduce costs, the advisory committee should meet in northern and
southern California.

(z) The advisory committee should not be funded through the
General Fund, but should be funded through fines levied on gas
and electric corporations for safety violations, instead of having
those fines go to the General Fund.

SEC. 2.  

Section 4216 of the Government Code is amended to
read:

4216.  

As used in this article the following definitions apply:

(a) “Abandoned subsurface installation” means a subsurface
installation that is no longer in service and is physically
disconnected from any active or inactive subsurface installation.

(b) “Active subsurface installation” means a subsurface
installation currently in use or currently carrying service.

(c) “Advisory Committee” means the California Underground
Facilities Safe Excavation Advisory Committee.

(d) “Delineate” means to mark in white the location or path of
the proposed excavation using the guidelines in Appendix B of
the “Guidelines for Excavation Delineation” published in begin delete Best
Practices Version 11.0 by end delete begin insert the most recent version of the Best
Practices guide of end insert the Common Ground Alliance. If there is a
conflict between the marking practices in those guidelines and
other provisions of this article, this article shall control.
“Delineation” also includes physical identification of the area to
be excavated using pink marking, if an excavator makes a
determination that standard delineation may be misleading to those
persons using affected streets and highways, or be misinterpreted
as a traffic or pedestrian control, and the excavator has contacted
the regional notification center to advise the operators that the
excavator will physically identify the area to be excavated using
pink markings.

(e) “Electronic positive response” means an electronic response
from an operator to the regional notification center providing the
status of an operator’s statutorily required response to a ticket.

(f) (1) “Emergency” means a sudden, unexpected occurrence,
involving a clear and imminent danger, demanding immediate
action to prevent or mitigate loss of, or damage to, life, health,
property, or essential public services.

(2) “Unexpected occurrence” includes, but is not limited to, a
fire, flood, earthquake or other soil or geologic movement, riot,
accident, damage to a subsurface installation requiring immediate
repair, or sabotage.

(g) (1) “Excavation” means any operation in which earth, rock,
pavement, or other material in the ground is moved, removed, or
otherwise displaced by means of tools, equipment, or explosives
in any of the following ways: grading, trenching, digging, ditching,
drilling, augering, tunneling, scraping, cable or pipe plowing and
driving, gouging, crushing, jack hammering, saw cutting, or any
other way.

(2) For purposes of this article, “excavation” does not include
any of the following:

(A) Landscape maintenance activity that is performed with hand
tools at a depth of no more than 12 inches. Landscape maintenance
activity includes all of the following:

(i) Aeration, dethatching, and cutting of vegetation, including
lawn edging.

(ii) Installation or replacement of ground cover and plant life.

(iii) Minor fixes to existing drainage and sprinkler systems.

(B) Operator maintenance activities that are performed with
hand tools around an operator’s facilities that traverse from above
the ground to below ground in areas known, or reasonably believed,
to contain only the operator’s facilities. Operator maintenance
activities include all of the following:

(i) Clearing soil, debris, or vegetation from around or inside
vaults, casings, and other in-ground structures that house an
operator’s facilities.

(ii) Moving, removing, or displacing soil for the specific purpose
of mitigating or preventing corrosion to pipeline facilities such as
gas meters, risers, pipes, and valves located above ground or inside
vaults, casings, and other in-ground structures.

(iii) Replacing or repairing an operator’s facilities located above
ground or inside vaults, casings, and other in-ground structures.

(iv) Repairing or replacing vaults, casings, and other in-ground
structures that house an operator’s facilities.

(C) Subparagraph (A) shall become inoperative on January 1,
2020.

(3) The exclusion of the activities in paragraph (2) from the
definition of “excavation” shall not be used to discourage a person
planning to perform those activities from voluntarily notifying a
regional notification center pursuant to Section 4216.2, and does
not relieve an operator of a subsurface installation from the
obligation to locate and field mark pursuant to Section 4216.3
following the notification. The exclusion of activities in paragraph
(2) does not relieve a person performing those activities from a
duty of reasonable care to prevent damage to subsurface
installations, and failure to exercise reasonable care may result in
liability for damage to a subsurface installation that is proximately
caused by those activities.

(h) Except as provided in Section 4216.8, “excavator” means
any person, firm, contractor or subcontractor, owner, operator,
utility, association, corporation, partnership, business trust, public
agency, or other entity that, with his, her, or its own employees or
equipment, performs any excavation.

(i) “Hand tool” means a piece of equipment used for excavating
that uses human power and is not powered by any motor, engine,
hydraulic, or pneumatic device.

(j) “High priority subsurface installation” means high-pressure
natural gas pipelines with normal operating pressures greater than
415kPA gauge (60psig), petroleum pipelines, pressurized sewage
pipelines, high-voltage electric supply lines, conductors, or cables
that have a potential to ground of greater than or equal to 60kv, or
hazardous materials pipelines that are potentially hazardous to
workers or the public if damaged.

(k) “Inactive subsurface installation” means both of the
following:

(1) The portion of an underground subsurface installation that
is not in use but is still connected to the subsurface installation, or
to any other subsurface installation, that is in use or still carries
service.

(2) A new underground subsurface installation that has not been
connected to any portion of an existing subsurface installation.

(l) “Legal excavation start date and time” means at least two
working days, not including the date of notification, or up to 14
calendar days from the date of notification, if so specified by the
excavator.

(m) “Local agency” means a city, county, city and county,
school district, or special district.

(n) (1) “Locate and field mark” means to indicate the existence
of any owned or maintained subsurface installations by using the
guidelines in Appendix B of the “Guidelines for Operator Facility
Field Delineation” published in begin delete Best Practices Version 11.0 by end delete begin insert the
most recent version of the Best Practices guide of end insert the Common
Ground Alliance and in conformance with the uniform color code
of the American Public Works Association. If there is a conflict
between the marking practices in the guidelines and this article,
this article shall control.

(2) “Locate and field mark” does not require an indication of
the depth.

(o) “Near miss” means an event in which damage did not occur,
but a clear potential for damage was identified.

(p) “Operator” means any person, corporation, partnership,
business trust, public agency, or other entity that owns, operates,
or maintains a subsurface installation. For purposes of Section
4216.1, an “operator” does not include an owner of real property
where subsurface installations are exclusively located if they are
used exclusively to furnish services on that property and the
subsurface facilities are under the operation and control of that
owner.

(q) “Pavement” means a manmade surface material that cannot
be removed with a conventional hand tool.

(r) “Positive response” means the response from an operator
directly to the excavator providing the status of an operator’s
statutorily required response to a ticket.

(s) “Qualified person” means a person who completes a training
program in accordance with the requirements of Section 1509 of
Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, Injury and Illness
Prevention Program, that meets the minimum locators training
guidelines and practices published in begin delete Best Practices Version 11.0
by end delete begin insert the most recent version of the Best Practices guide of end insert the
Common Ground Alliance.

(t) “Regional notification center” means a nonprofit association
or other organization of operators of subsurface installations that
provides advance warning of excavations or other work close to
existing subsurface installations, for the purpose of protecting
those installations from damage, removal, relocation, or repair.

(u) “State agency” means every state agency, department,
division, bureau, board, or commission.

(v) “Subsurface installation” means any underground or
submerged duct, pipeline, or structure, including, but not limited
to, a conduit, duct, line, pipe, wire, or other structure, except
nonpressurized sewerlines, nonpressurized storm drains, or other
nonpressurized drain lines.

(w) “Ticket” means an excavation location request issued a
number by the regional notification center.

(x) “Tolerance zone” means 24 inches on each side of the field
marking placed by the operator in one of the following ways:

(1) Twenty-four inches from each side of a single marking,
assumed to be the centerline of the subsurface installation.

(2) Twenty-four inches plus one-half the specified size on each
side of a single marking with the size of installation specified.

(3) Twenty-four inches from each outside marking that
graphically shows the width of the outside surface of the subsurface
installation on a horizontal plane.

(y) “Working day” for the purposes of determining excavation
start date and time means a weekday Monday through Friday, from
7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except for federal holidays and state
holidays, as defined in Section begin delete 19853 of the Government Code. end delete
begin insert 19853, or as otherwise posted on the Internet Web site of the
regional notification center. end insert

SEC. 3.  

Section 4216.1 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

4216.1.  

Every operator of a subsurface installation, except the
Department of Transportation, shall become a member of,
participate in, and share in the costs of, a regional notification
center. Operators of subsurface installations who are members of,
participate in, and share in, the costs of a regional notification
center, including, but not limited to, the Underground Service
Alert--Northern California or the Underground Service
Alert--Southern California are in compliance with this section
and Section 4216.9.

SEC. 4.  

Section 4216.2 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

4216.2.  

(a) Before notifying the appropriate regional
notification center, an excavator planning to conduct an excavation
shall delineate the area to be excavated. If the area is not delineated,
an operator may, at the operator’s discretion, choose not to locate
and field mark until the area to be excavated has been delineated.

(b) Except in an emergency, an excavator planning to conduct
an excavation shall notify the appropriate regional notification
center of the excavator’s intent to excavate at least two working
days, and not more than 14 calendar days, before beginning that
excavation. The date of the notification shall not count as part of
the two-working-day notice. If an excavator gives less notice than
the legal excavation start date and time and the excavation is not
an emergency, the regional notification center will take the
information and provide a ticket, but an operator has until the legal
excavation start date and time to respond.

(c) When the excavation is proposed within 10 feet of a high
priority subsurface installation, the operator of the high priority
subsurface installation shall notify the excavator of the existence
of the high priority subsurface installation prior to the legal
excavation start date and time, and set up an onsite meeting at a
mutually agreed upon time to determine actions or activities
required to verify the location and prevent damage to the high
priority subsurface installation. The excavator shall not begin
excavating until after the completion of the onsite meeting.

(d) Except in an emergency, every excavator covered by Section
4216.8 planning to conduct an excavation on private property that
does not require an excavation permit may contact the appropriate
regional notification center if the private property is known, or
reasonably should be known, to contain a subsurface installation
other than the underground facility owned or operated by the
excavator. Before notifying the appropriate regional notification
center, an excavator shall delineate the area to be excavated. Any
temporary marking placed at the planned excavation location shall
be clearly seen, functional, and considerate to surface aesthetics
and the local community. An excavator shall check if any local
ordinances apply to the placement of temporary markings.

(e) If an excavator gives less than the legal excavation start date
and time and it is not an emergency, the regional notification center
shall take the information and provide a ticket but an operator shall
have until the legal excavation start date and time to respond.

(f) The regional notification center shall provide a ticket to the
person who contacts the center pursuant to this section and shall
notify any member, if known, who has a subsurface installation
in the area of the proposed excavation. A ticket shall be valid for
28 days from the date of issuance. If work continues beyond 28
days, the excavator shall update the ticket either by accessing the
center’s Internet Web site or by calling “811” by the end of the
28th day.

(g) A record of all notifications by an excavator or operator to
the regional notification center shall be maintained for a period of
not less than three years. The record shall be available for
inspection by the excavator and any member, or their
representative, during normal working hours and according to
guidelines for inspection as may be established by the regional
notification centers.

(h) Unless an emergency exists, an excavator shall not begin
excavation until the excavator receives a positive response from
all known subsurface installations within the delineated boundaries
of the proposed area of excavation.

(i) If a site requires special access, an excavator shall request
an operator to contact the excavator regarding that special access
or give special instructions on the location request.

(j) If a ticket obtained by an excavator expires but work is
ongoing, the excavator shall call into the regional notification
center and get a new ticket and wait a minimum of two working
days, not including the date of call in, before restarting excavation.
All excavation shall cease during the waiting period.

SEC. 5.  

Section 4216.3 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

4216.3.  

(a) (1) (A)  Unless the excavator and operator
mutually agree to a later start date and time, or otherwise agree to
the sequence and timeframe in which the operator will locate and
field mark, an operator shall do one of the following before the
legal excavation start date and time:

(i) Locate and field mark within the area delineated for
excavation and, where multiple subsurface installations of the same
type are known to exist together, mark the number of subsurface
installations.

(ii) To the extent and degree of accuracy that the information
is available, provide information to an excavator where the
operator’s active or inactive subsurface installations are located.

(iii) Advise the excavator it operates no subsurface installations
in the area delineated for excavation.

(B) An operator shall mark newly installed subsurface
installations in areas with continuing excavation activity.

(C) An operator shall indicate with an “A” inside a circle the
presence of any abandoned subsurface installations, if known,
within the delineated area. The markings are to make an excavator
aware that there are abandoned subsurface installations within that
delineated work area.

(2) Only a qualified person shall perform subsurface installation
locating activities.

(3) A qualified person performing subsurface installation
locating activities on behalf of an operator shall use a minimum
of a single-frequency utility locating device and shall have access
to alternative sources for verification, if necessary.

(4) An operator shall amend, update, maintain, and preserve all
plans and records for its subsurface installations as that information
becomes known. If there is a change in ownership of a subsurface
installation, the records shall be turned over to the new operator.
Commencing January 1, 2016, records on abandoned subsurface
installations, to the extent that those records exist, shall be retained.

(b) If the field marks are no longer reasonably visible, an
excavator shall renotify the regional notification center with a
request for remarks that can be for all or a portion of the
excavation. Excavation shall cease in the area to be remarked. If
the area to be remarked is not the full extent of the original
excavation, the excavator shall delineate the portion to be remarked.
If the delineation markings are no longer reasonably visible, the
excavator shall redelineate the area to be remarked. If remarks are
requested, the operator shall have two working days, not including
the date of request, to remark the subsurface installation.
Excavation shall cease in the area where the remarks are requested.
If the area to be remarked is not the full extent of the original
excavation, the excavator shall delineate the portion to be remarked
and provide a description of the area requested to be remarked on
the ticket. The excavator shall provide a description for the area
to be remarked that falls within the area of the original location
request.

(c) Every operator may supply an electronic positive response
through the regional notification center before the legal excavation
start date and time. The regional notification center shall make
those responses available.

(d) The excavator shall notify the appropriate regional
notification center of the failure of an operator to identify
subsurface installations pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (B) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), or subdivision (b). The notification
shall include the ticket issued by the regional notification center.
A record of all notifications received pursuant to this subdivision
shall be maintained by the regional notification center for a period
of not less than three years. The record shall be available for
inspection pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 4216.2.

(e) If an operator or local agency knows that it has a subsurface
installation embedded or partially embedded in the pavement that
is not visible from the surface, the operator or local agency shall
contact the excavator before pavement removal to communicate
and determine a plan of action to protect that subsurface installation
and excavator.

SEC. 6.  

Section 4216.4 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

4216.4.  

(a) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), if an
excavation is within the approximate location of a subsurface
installation, the excavator shall determine the exact location of the
subsurface installations within the tolerance zone using hand tools
before using any power-driven excavation or boring equipment
within the tolerance zone of the subsurface installations. In all
cases the excavator shall use reasonable care to prevent damaging
subsurface installations.

(2) (A) An excavator may use a vacuum excavation device to
expose subsurface installations within the tolerance zone if the
operator has marked the subsurface installation, the excavator has
contacted any operator whose subsurface installations may be in
conflict with the excavation, and the operator has agreed to the
use of a vacuum excavation device. An excavator shall inform the
regional notification center of his or her intent to use a vacuum
excavation device when obtaining a ticket.

(B) An excavator may use power-operated or boring equipment
for the removal of any existing pavement only if there is no known
subsurface installation contained in the pavement.

(3) An excavator shall presume all subsurface installations to
be active, and shall use the same care around subsurface
installations that may be inactive as the excavator would use around
active subsurface installations.

(b) If the exact location of the subsurface installation cannot be
determined by hand excavating in accordance with subdivision
(a), the excavator shall request the operator to provide additional
information to the excavator, to the extent that information is
available to the operator, to enable the excavator to determine the
exact location of the installation. If the excavator has questions
about the markings that an operator has placed, the excavator may
contact the notification center to send a request to have the operator
contact the excavator directly. The regional notification center
shall provide the excavator with the contact telephone number of
the subsurface installation operator.

(c) An excavator discovering or causing damage to a subsurface
installation, including all breaks, leaks, nicks, dents, gouges,
grooves, or other damage to subsurface installation lines, conduits,
coatings, or cathodic protection, shall immediately notify the
subsurface installation operator. The excavator may contact the
regional notification center to obtain the contact information of
the subsurface installation operator. If high priority subsurface
installations are damaged and the operator cannot be contacted
immediately, the excavator shall call 911 emergency services.

(d) Each excavator, operator, or locator shall communicate with
each other and respect the appropriate safety requirements and
ongoing activities of the other parties, if known, at an excavation
site.

SEC. 7.  

Section 4216.5 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

4216.5.  

The requirements of this article apply to state agencies
and to local agencies that own or operate subsurface installations,
except as otherwise provided in Section 4216.1. A local agency
that is required to provide the services described in Section 4216.3
may charge a fee in an amount sufficient to cover the cost of
providing that service.

SEC. 8.  

Section 4216.6 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

4216.6.  

(a) (1) Any operator or excavator who negligently
violates this article is subject to a civil penalty in an amount not
to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

(2) Any operator or excavator who knowingly and willfully
violates any of the provisions of this article is subject to a civil
penalty in an amount not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).

(3) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this article, this
section is not intended to affect any civil remedies otherwise
provided by law for personal injury or for property damage,
including any damage to subsurface installations, nor is this section
intended to create any new civil remedies for those injuries or that
damage.

(4) This article shall not be construed to limit any other provision
of law granting governmental immunity to state or local agencies
or to impose any liability or duty of care not otherwise imposed
by law upon any state or local agency.

(b) An action may be brought by the Attorney General, the
district attorney, or the local or state agency that issued the permit
to excavate, for the enforcement of the civil penalty pursuant to
this section begin delete either end delete in a civil action brought in the name of the people
of the State of California. If penalties are collected as a result of
a civil suit brought by a state or local agency for collection of those
civil penalties, the penalties imposed shall be paid to the general
fund of the agency. If more than one agency is involved in
enforcement, the penalties imposed shall be apportioned among
them by the court in a manner that will fairly offset the relative
costs incurred by the state or local agencies, or both, in collecting
these fees.

(c) The requirements of this article may also be enforced
following a recommendation of the California Underground
Facilities Safe Excavation Advisory Committee by a state or local
agency, which may include the Attorney General or a district
attorney, with jurisdiction over the activity or business undertaken
in commission of the violation. The following agencies shall act
to accept, amend, or reject the recommendations of the advisory
committee as follows:

(1) The Registrar of Contractors of the Contractors’ State
License Board shall enforce the provisions of this article on
contractors, as defined in Article 2 of Chapter 9 of Division 3 of
the Business and Professions Code.

(2) The Public Utilities Commission shall enforce the provisions
of this article on gas corporations, as defined in Section 222 of the
Public Utilities Code, and electrical corporations, as defined in
Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code.

(3) The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall enforce the
provisions of this article on operators of hazardous liquid pipeline
facilities, as defined in Section 60101 of Chapter 601 of Subtitle
VIII of Title 49 of the United States Code.

(d) Statewide information provided by operators and excavators
regarding facility events shall be compiled and made available in
an annual report by regional notification centers and posted on the
Internet Web sites of the regional notification centers.

(e) For purposes of subdivision (d), the following terms have
the following meanings:

(1) “Facility event” means the occurrence of excavator
downtime, damages, near misses, and violations.

(2) “Statewide information” means information submitted by
operators and excavators using the California Regional Common
Ground Alliance’s Virtual Private Damage Information Reporting
Tool. Supplied data shall comply with the Damage Information
Reporting Tool’s minimum essential information as listed in begin delete Best
Practices Version 11.0 by end delete begin insert the most recent version of the Best
Practices guide of end insert the Common Ground Alliance.

SEC. 9.  

Section 4216.7 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

4216.7.  

(a) If a subsurface installation is damaged by an
excavator as a result of failing to comply with Section 4216.2 or
4216.4, or subdivision (b) of Section 4216.3, or as a result of failing
to comply with the operator’s requests to protect the subsurface
installation as specified by the operator before the start of
excavation, the excavator shall be liable to the operator of the
subsurface installation for resulting damages, costs, and expenses
to the extent the damages, costs, and expenses were proximately
caused by the excavator’s failure to comply.

(b) If an operator has failed to become a member of, participate
in, or share in the costs of, a regional notification center, that
operator shall forfeit his or her claim for damages to his or her
subsurface installation arising from an excavation against an
excavator who has complied with this article to the extent damages
were proximately caused by the operator’s failure to comply with
this article.

(c) If an operator of a subsurface installation has failed to
comply with the provisions of Section 4216.3, including, but not
limited to, the requirement to field mark the appropriate location
of subsurface installations within two working days of notification,
has failed to comply with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of
Section 4216.2, or has failed to comply with subdivision (b) of
Section 4216.4, the operator shall be liable to the excavator who
has complied with Sections 4216.2 and 4216.4 for damages,
including liquidated damages, liability, losses, costs, and expenses
resulting from the operator’s failure to comply with these specified
requirements to the extent the damages, costs, and expenses were
proximately caused by the operator’s failure to comply.

(d) An excavator who damages a subsurface installation due to
an inaccurate field mark by an operator, or by a third party under
contract to perform field marking for the operator, shall not be
liable for damages, replacement costs, or other expenses arising
from damages to the subsurface installation if the excavator
complied with Sections 4216.2 and 4216.4.

This section is not intended to create any presumption or to affect
the burden of proof in any action for personal injuries or property
damage, other than damage to the subsurface installation, nor is
this section intended to affect, create, or eliminate any remedy for
personal injury or property damage, other than damage to the
subsurface installation.

(e) In any actions for reimbursement or indemnification for a
claim arising from damage to a subsurface installation in which a
court finds that the excavator complied with the requirements of
this article, the excavator may be awarded reasonable attorney’s
fees and expenses.

(f) For the purposes of this section, “inaccurate field mark”
means a mark, or set of markings, made pursuant to Section 4216.3,
that did not correctly indicate the approximate location of a
subsurface installation affected by an excavation and includes the
actual physical location of a subsurface installation affected by an
excavation that should have been marked pursuant to Section
4216.3 but was not.

(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to do any of the
following:

(1) Affect claims including, but not limited to, third-party claims
brought against the excavator or operator by other parties for
damages arising from the excavation.

(2) Exempt the excavator or operator from his or her duty to
mitigate any damages as required by common or other applicable
law.

(3) Exempt the excavator or operator from liability to each other
or third parties based on equitable indemnity or comparative or
contributory negligence.

SEC. 10.  

Section 4216.8 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

4216.8.  

This article does not apply to either of the following
persons:

(a) An owner of residential real property, not engaged as a
contractor or subcontractor licensed pursuant to Article 5
(commencing with Section 7065) of Chapter 9 of Division 3 of
the Business and Professions Code, who, as part of improving his
or her principal residence or an appurtenance thereto, is performing
or is having an excavation performed using hand tools, including
the begin delete installations end delete begin insert installation end insert of temporary real estate signposts,
that does not require a permit issued by a state or local agency. A
person described in this subdivision is not an “excavator” as
defined in subdivision (h) of Section 4216, however this
subdivision shall not discourage a person from voluntarily notifying
a regional notification center pursuant to Section 4216.2, and does
not relieve an operator of a subsurface facility from the obligation
to locate and field mark pursuant to Section 4216.3 following the
notification. Notwithstanding Section 4216.2, an owner of real
residential property is not required to wait until 14 calendar days
before the beginning of an excavation to notify the regional
notification center, but rather may do so at any time to learn the
locations of subsurface installations on his or her property. This
subdivision does not relieve a person performing excavation
activities from a duty of reasonable care to prevent damage to
subsurface installations, and failure to exercise reasonable care
may result in liability for damage to a subsurface installation that
is proximately caused by those activities.

(b) Any person or private entity that leases or rents power
operated or power-driven excavating or boring equipment,
regardless of whether an equipment operator is provided for that
piece of equipment or not, to a contractor or subcontractor licensed
pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 7065) of Chapter
9 of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, if the signed
rental agreement between the person or private entity and the
contractor or subcontractor contains the following provision:

“It is the sole responsibility of the lessee or renter to follow
the requirements of the regional notification center law
pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 4216) of
Chapter 3.1 of Division 5 of Title 1 of the Government Code.
By signing this contract, the lessee or renter accepts all
liabilities and responsibilities contained in the regional
notification center law.”

SEC. 11.  

Section 4216.9 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

4216.9.  

(a) A permit to excavate issued by any local agency,
as defined in Section 4216, or any state agency, shall not be valid
unless the applicant has been provided an initial ticket by a regional
notification center pursuant to Section 4216.2. For purposes of
this section, “state agency” means every state agency, department,
division, bureau, board, or commission, including the Department
of Transportation.

(b) This article does not exempt any person or corporation from
Sections 7951, 7952, and 7953 of the Public Utilities Code.

SEC. 12.  

Section 4216.12 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

4216.12.  

(a) The California Underground Facilities Safe
Excavation Advisory Committee is hereby created under, and shall
be assisted by the staff of, the Contractors’ State License Board
in the Department of Consumer Affairs.

(b) The advisory committee shall perform the following tasks:

(1) Coordinate education and outreach activities that encourage
safe excavation practices, as described in Section 4216.17.

(2) Develop standards, as described in Section 4216.18.

(3) Investigate possible violations of this article, as described
in Section 4216.19.

(c) Notwithstanding any other law, the repeal of this section
renders the advisory committee subject to review by the appropriate
policy committees of the Legislature.

(d) This section shall remain in effect so long as, pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 7000.5 of the Business and Professions
Code, there is in the Department of Consumer Affairs a
Contractors’ State License Board.

begin insert

(e) This section shall become operative only if the Legislature
appropriates moneys from the Safe Energy Infrastructure and
Excavation Fund to the California Underground Facilities Safe
Excavation Advisory Committee for the purposes of this section
and grants authority to the Contractors’ State License Board to
hire sufficient staff.

end insert

SEC. 13.  

Section 4216.13 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

4216.13.  

(a) The advisory committee shall be composed of
nine members, of which four shall be appointed by the Governor,
three shall be appointed by the Contractors’ State License Board,
one shall be appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, and one
shall be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.

(b) The four members appointed by the Governor shall be
appointed, as follows:

(1) Three members shall have knowledge and expertise in the
operation of subsurface installations. Of those three members, one
shall have knowledge and expertise in the operation of the
subsurface installations of a municipal utility. At least one of the
three members shall have knowledge and experience in the
operation of high priority subsurface installations.

(2) One member shall have knowledge and expertise in
subsurface installation location and marking and shall not be under
the direct employment of an operator.

(c) The three members appointed by the Contractors’ State
License Board shall have knowledge and experience in contract
excavation for employers who are not operators of subsurface
installations. Of the three members, one member shall be a general
engineering contractor, one member shall be a general building
contractor, and one member shall be a specialty contractor. For
the purposes of this section, the terms “general engineering
contractor,” “general building contractor,” and “specialty
contractor” shall have the meanings given in Article 4
(commencing with Section 7055) of Chapter 9 of Division 3 of
the Business and Professions Code.

(d) The member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly shall
have knowledge and expertise in representing in safety matters
the workers employed by contract excavators.

(e) The member appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules
shall have knowledge and expertise in managing the underground
installations on one’s own property, and may be drawn from
agricultural, commercial, or residential, or other, property sectors.

(f) The advisory committee may invite one director of operations
of a regional notification center to be a nonvoting ex officio
member of the advisory committee.

SEC. 14.  

Section 4216.14 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

4216.14.  

(a) The term of a member of the advisory committee
is two years. Of the first members of the advisory committee, four
members, determined by lot, shall serve for one year so that the
terms of the members shall be staggered.

(b) A member shall not be appointed for more than two
consecutive full terms.

(c) To the extent possible, the appointing power shall fill any
vacancy in the membership of the advisory committee within 60
days after the vacancy occurs.

(d) Upon the recommendation of the advisory committee, the
Governor may remove a member appointed by the Governor for
incompetence or misconduct.

(e) The advisory committee shall select a chairperson from
among its members at the first meeting of each calendar year or
when a vacancy in the chair exists.

(f) Subject to subdivision (g), the manner in which the
chairperson is selected and the chairperson’s term of office shall
be determined by the advisory committee.

(g) A member of the advisory committee shall not serve more
than two consecutive years as the chairperson of the advisory
committee.

SEC. 15.  

Section 4216.15 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

4216.15.  

The advisory committee shall meet at least once every
three months. The advisory committee shall hold meetings in
Sacramento and Los Angeles, and in other locations in the state it
deems necessary.

SEC. 16.  

Section 4216.16 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

4216.16.  

The advisory committee may obtain funding for its
operational expenses from:

(a) The Safe Energy Infrastructure and Excavation Fund, created
in Section 320.5 of the Public Utilities Code.

(b) A federal or state grant.

(c) A fee charged to members of the regional notification centers
not to exceed the reasonable regulatory cost incident to enforcement
of this article.

(d) A filing or administrative fee to hear a complaint pursuant
to Section 4216.20.

(e) Any other source.

SEC. 17.  

Section 4216.17 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

4216.17.  

(a) In order to understand the needs for education
and outreach, including of those groups with the highest awareness
and education needs, such as homeowners, and to facilitate
discussion on how to coordinate those efforts, the advisory
committee shall annually convene a meeting with state and local
government agencies, California operators, regional notification
centers, and trade associations that fund outreach and education
programs that encourage safe excavation practices.

(b) The advisory committee shall use the annual meeting
described in subdivision (a) to determine the areas in which
additional education and outreach efforts should be targeted. The
advisory committee shall grant the use of the moneys that may be
apportioned to it by the Public Utilities Commission pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 320.5 of the Public
Utilities Code to fund public education and outreach programs
designed to promote excavation safety around subsurface
installations and target towards specific excavator groups, giving
priority to those with the highest awareness and education needs,
such as homeowners.

SEC. 18.  

Section 4216.18 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

4216.18.  

(a) The advisory committee shall develop a standard
or set of standards relevant to safety practices in excavating around
subsurface installations and procedures and guidance in
encouraging those practices. begin insert When possible, standards should be
informed by public ly available data, such as that collected by
state and federal agencies and by the regional notification centers
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 4216.6, and the advisory
committee should refrain from using data about facility events not
provided either to a state or federal agency or as statewide
information, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of
Section 4216.6. end insert The standard or set of standards are not intended
to replace other relevant standards, including the best practices of
the Common Ground Alliance, but are to inform areas currently
without established standards. The standard or set of standards
shall address all of the following:

(1) Evidence necessary for excavators and operators to
demonstrate compliance with Sections 4216.2, 4216.3, and 4216.4.

(2) Guidance for recommended sanctions against excavators
and operators for violations of the article designed to improve
safety. Sanctions may include notification and information letters,
direction to attend relevant education, and financial penalties. The
guidance shall state the circumstances under which the
investigation and a recommendation for sanction shall be
transmitted to a state or local agency, which may include the
Attorney General or a district attorney, for enforcement pursuant
to subdivision (b) of Section 4216.20 and may allow for a decision
not to transmit if the investigation was initiated by a complaint,
the parties have settled the matter, and the advisory committee has
determined that further enforcement is not necessary as a deterrent
to maintain the integrity of subsurface installations and to protect
the safety of excavators and the public. Recommendations for
sanctions shall be graduated and shall consider all of the following:

(A) The type of violation and its gravity.

(B) The degree of culpability.

(C) The operator’s or excavator’s history of violations.

(D) The operator’s or excavator’s history of work conducted
without violations.

(E) The efforts taken by the violator to prevent violation, and,
once the violation occurred, the efforts taken to mitigate the safety
consequences of the violation.

begin insert

(F) That homeowners have high awareness and education needs,
and for this reason, financial penalties shall not be recommended
except in cases in which a person’s violations have been willful,
repeated, and flagrant.

end insert

(3) What constitutes reasonable care, as required by paragraph
(1) of subdivision (a) of Section 4216.4, in conducting deep
excavations within the tolerance zone, considering the need to
balance the protection of subsurface installations by the use of
hand tools within the tolerance zone with the safety concerns of
trench work.

(4) What constitutes reasonable care, as required by paragraph
(1) of subdivision (a) of Section 4216.4, in grading activities on
road shoulders and dirt roads which may include standards for
potholing.

(b) The advisory committee shall develop and recommend a
standard or set of standards requiring all new begin delete subsurface
installations, end delete nonpressurized sewerlines, nonpressurized storm
drains, and other nonpressurized begin delete lines end delete begin insert drains that connect from
building structures to the public right-of-way end insert to include the
installation of tracer tape or wire to aid in detection and tracing of
these subsurface installations, nonpressurized sewerlines,
nonpressurized storm drains, and other nonpressurized begin delete lines end delete begin insert drains end insert
for adoption by the California Building Standards Commission as
mandatory building standards.

begin insert

(c) On or before December 31, 2017, the advisory committee
shall, in consultation with the Department of Food and Agriculture
and after an agricultural stakeholder process, make
recommendations for long term treatment of agricultural activities
that include determining whether the notification requirements of
Section 4216.2, the locate and field mark requirements of Section
4216.3, and the excavation requirements of Section 4216.4 are
appropriate for all types of agricultural activities, or whether they
could be modified in ways to promote participation in safe
agricultural practices around high priority subsurface installations.

end insert begin insert

(1) The recommendations shall be informed by a study that
includes, but is not limited to, the following:

end insert begin insert

(A) A review of past damages attributable to agricultural
activities, including information provided by gas corporations
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 971 of the Public Utilities
Code.

end insert begin insert

(B) Estimations of the use of regional notification centers by
persons involved in agricultural activities provided by gas
corporations, including the methodology used for the development
of, the sources of error in, and confidence intervals for the
estimations, pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 971 of the Public
Utilities Code.

end insert begin insert

(C) A review of the outreach and education practices of
operators of high priority subsurface installations toward persons
who undertake agricultural activities and measures of the successes
of those practices, with an explanation of how the measure of
success is defined.

end insert begin insert

(D) A review of existing standards for operator communication
with excavators, such as Recommended Practice 1162 by the
American Petroleum Institute.

end insert begin insert

(2) The recommendations shall address the following questions:

end insert begin insert

(A) Do agricultural activities differ from common types of
excavation in ways that may affect the applicability of Sections
4216.2, 4216.3, and 4216.4 to agricultural activities?

end insert begin insert

(B) Should a person notify the regional notification center before
undertaking agricultural activities that are not in the vicinity of
subsurface installations? What is a sufficient means by which a
person would know if there are subsurface installations in the
vicinity?

end insert begin insert

(C) What is the benefit of the requirement in subdivision (c) of
Section 4216.2 for an onsite meeting in advance of the performance
of agricultural activities in the vicinity of high priority subsurface
installations? Under what circumstances is an onsite meeting
appropriate in advance of the performance of agricultural
activities, and how far in advance of the performance of
agricultural activities does the onsite meeting requirement retain
its benefit? What is the most convenient and expedient means to
initiate an onsite meeting in advance of the performance of
agricultural activities?

end insert begin insert

(D) What outreach and education activities on the part of
operators of high priority subsurface installations are important
to promote safety in performing agricultural activities? What
actions should the outreach and education activities induce in
persons performing agricultural activities, and how can success
be measured?

end insert begin insert

(E) How should the success of the advisory committee’s
recommendations be measured?

end insert

SEC. 19.  

Section 4216.19 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

4216.19.  

(a) The advisory committee shall investigate possible
violations of this article, including complaints from affected parties
and members of the public.

(b) In furthering the purposes of this article, the advisory
committee may authorize staff allocated to it by the Contractors’
State License Board to use compliance audits, including field
audits, and investigations of incidents and near-misses.

(c) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2017.

SEC. 20.  

Section 4216.20 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

4216.20.  

(a) Upon the completion of an investigation of a
possible violation of this article, the advisory committee shall
inform the following parties of the result of the investigation,
including any findings of probable violation:

(1) The party or parties whose activities were the subject of the
investigation.

(2) The complainant, if the investigation was initiated because
of a complaint.

(3) Any excavator or operator whose activities or subsurface
installations were involved in the incident investigated.

(b) If the advisory committee, upon the completion of an
investigation, finds a probable violation of the article, the advisory
committee may transmit the investigation results and any
recommended penalty to the state or local agency with jurisdiction
over the activity or business undertaken in commission of the
violation.

SEC. 21.  

Section 4216.21 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

4216.21.  

(a) For an investigation that the advisory committee
undertakes as a result of a complaint of a violation of Sections
4216.2, 4216.3, or 4216.4, the complainant shall not file an action
in court for damages based on those violations until the
investigation is complete, or for 120 days after the investigation
begins, whichever comes first, during which time, applicable
statutes of limitation shall be tolled.

(b) If a complainant files an action in court against a person for
damages based upon violations of Sections 4216.2, 4216.3, or
4216.4, after the completion of an advisory committee investigation
in which the person was found not to have violated the article, the
complainant shall also notify the advisory committee when the
action is filed.

(c) This section only applies to a claim for damages to a
subsurface installation.

SEC. 22.  

Section 4216.22 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

4216.22.  

(a) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5, the advisory
committee shall report to the Governor and the Legislature on or
before February 1, 2017, and each year thereafter, on the activities
of the advisory committee and any recommendations of the
advisory committee.

(b) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall
be submitted in compliance with Section 9795.

SEC. 23.  

Section 320.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code,
to read:

320.5.  

(a) The Safe Energy Infrastructure and Excavation Fund
is hereby established in the State Treasury. Moneys deposited into
the fund shall be used to cover the administrative expenses of the
California Underground Facilities Safe Excavation Advisory
Committee, upon appropriation by the Legislature. Additionally,
the moneys may be used as described in subdivision (b).

(b) Up to five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) of moneys
in the fund that are in excess of the moneys necessary for the
administrative expenses of the California Underground Facilities
Safe Excavation Advisory Committee may, upon appropriation
by the Legislature, be apportioned by the commission for the
following purposes:

(1) The California Underground Facilities Safe Excavation
Advisory Committee, to fund public education and outreach
programs designed to promote excavation safety around subsurface
installations and targeted toward specific excavator groups.

(2) The commission, to further a workforce development
program, which shall be consistent with its equal employment
opportunity program, that recruits and trains safety staff to perform
the highest quality gas and electric utility inspections, audits,
accident investigations, and data tracking and analysis. Moneys
used for training purposes may not be used to fulfill existing federal
or state training requirements but, instead, shall only be used for
training in addition to those requirements. The commission may
only apportion moneys for this purpose upon commission approval
of the workforce development program at a meeting of the
commission. No more than one hundred fifty thousand dollars
($150,000) of the Safe Energy Infrastructure and Excavation Fund
may be used for this purpose.

(c) Any moneys not allocated pursuant to subdivisions (a) and
(b) shall be deposited into the General Fund.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 24. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 911.2 is added to the end insert begin insert Public Utilities Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 911.2. end insert   

No later than February 1, 2019, the commission shall
report to the Legislature and to the California Underground
Facilities Safe Excavation Advisory Committee an analysis of
excavation damage to commission-regulated pipeline facilities.
The report shall include analyses of the types of damage and other
information described in Section 971.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 24. end delete
begin insert SEC. 25. end insert   

Section 971 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:

971.  

(a) As a part of its damage prevention program carried
out pursuant to Section 192.614 of Part 192 of Title 49 of the Code
of Federal Regulations, each gas corporation shall collect data to
inform its outreach activities. begin delete The end delete begin insert Until January 1, 2020, end insert begin insert the end insert data
shall include all of the following:

(1)  begin delete Damages end delete begin insert Damage end insert to underground commission-regulated
pipeline facilities that occurred during the performance of
landscaping activities. Each gas corporation shall note in its
investigation of excavation damage incidents the approximate
depth of the gas facility at the time of damage, the type of excavator
involved, which may include “homeowner,” “licensed contractor,”
or “unlicensed contractor,” and whether the excavator had called
the regional notification center before performing the excavation.
begin delete This paragraph shall become inoperative on January 1, 2020. end delete

(2) All claims filed by the gas corporation against an excavator
for damage to commission-regulated pipeline facilities.

(3) Damages to underground commission-regulated pipeline
facilities that occurred in the installation of temporary real estate
signposts. Each gas corporation shall note in its investigation of
excavation damage incidents the type of signpost installed and the
method of installation, including the types of tools used.

begin insert

(4) Damage to underground commission-regulated pipeline
facilities that occurred during agricultural activities, including
the type of activity performed and the type of tool involved in the
damage.

end insert begin delete

(4)

end delete

begin insert (5) end insert  Any other information that the commission shall require.

(b)  begin delete Each end delete begin insert Until January 1, 2020, each end insert gas corporation shall
annually report to the commission begin insert and to the California
Underground Facilities Safe Excavation Advisory Committee end insert
excavation damage data and analyses begin insert contained in subdivision (a) end insert
in a format of the commission’s choosing.

begin delete

(c) No later than February 1, 2019, the commission shall report
to the Legislature an analysis of excavation damages to
commission-regulated pipeline facilities. The report shall include
analyses of the types of damages and other information described
in subdivision (a).

end delete begin insert

(c) As a part of its damage prevention program carried out
pursuant to Section 192.614 of Part 192 of Title 49 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, each gas corporation shall estimate
Californians’ use of regional notification centers, as defined in
Section 4216 of the Government Code, before conducting
agricultural activities. This estimation shall consider the use of
regional notification centers before conducting agricultural
activities that are both in the vicinity of its natural gas transmission
pipelines and not in the vicinity of its natural gas transmission
pipelines. Each gas corporation shall provide this estimate to the
commission and to the California Underground Facilities Safe
Excavation Advisory Committee on or before July 1, 2016. In
performing this estimation, each gas corporation shall do all of
the following:

end insert begin insert

(1) Estimate the amount and locations of agricultural activity
being performed by using relevant publically available information,
such as maps prepared pursuant to the Farmland Mapping and
Monitoring Program of the California Natural Resources Agency,
information from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, and
information available from assessor parcel numbers.

end insert begin insert

(2) Determine the number and locations of notifications to
regional notification centers for excavation activities on
agricultural land by using information from its own mark and
locate activities and, to the extent the information is available,
from the regional notification centers or other sources.

end insert begin insert

(3) For notifications in the vicinity of its natural gas
transmission pipelines, determine the average number of
notifications on agricultural land per transmission pipeline mile
per year as well as a histogram to describe the number of
transmission pipeline intervals Y, in units of the best available
precision, on which X notifications occurred, where X increases
from zero.

end insert begin insert

(4) Describe the methodology used for the development of any
estimates and identify sources of error in the estimation and a
confidence interval for the estimation.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 25. end delete
begin insert SEC. 26. end insert   

Section 1702.5 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
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 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. 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.

(f) Notwithstanding any other law, moneys collected as a result
of the issuance of citations pursuant to this section shall be
deposited in the Safe Energy Infrastructure and Excavation Fund.

begin delete SEC. 26. end delete
begin insert SEC. 27. 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.