BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 119
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB
119 (Hill)
As Amended September 4, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 24-11
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Utilities |13-0 |Rendon, Patterson, | |
| | |Achadjian, Bonilla, | |
| | |Burke, Eggman, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Hadley, Obernolte, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, Ting, | |
| | |Williams | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Judiciary |8-1 |Mark Stone, Weber, |Gallagher |
| | |Wagner, Alejo, Chau, | |
| | |Chiu, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
SB 119
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| | |Thurmond | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Appropriations |12-3 |Gomez, Bloom, Bonta, |Bigelow, Gallagher, |
| | |Calderon, Nazarian, |Jones |
| | |Eggman, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Holden, Quirk, Rendon, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Modifies laws governing excavations near subsurface
installations. Specifically, this bill:
1)Establishes the California Underground Facilities Safe
Excavation Advisory Committee (the Advisory Committee), within
the Contractor's State Licensing Board (CSLB), to investigate
violations of the state's excavation and subsurface
installation laws, to coordinate education and outreach, and
develop standards.
2)Creates a Safe Energy Infrastructure and Excavation Fund - to
cover administrative costs of the Advisory Committee, an
education program, and a workforce training program - to be
funded by fines levied on gas and electric companies for
safety violations, grants, fees charged to regional
notification center members, filing fees from complaint
hearings, and any other source.
3)Authorizes the CSLB, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC),
and the Office of the State Fire Marshal to accept, amend, or
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reject the recommendations of the Advisory Committee to
enforce specific provisions related to operators and
excavators whose activities or business falls within the
agency's statutorily defined enforcement jurisdiction.
4)Requires an excavator to delineate the area to be excavated
before notifying the regional notification center. Specifies
the amount of time notification of the regional call center is
required prior to an excavation.
5)Provides that in an 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 the requirements of the law, the
excavator may be awarded reasonable attorney's fees and
expenses.
6)Requires, if the operator of a high-priority subsurface
installation finds that the depth of the subsurface
installation subject to agricultural activities is
insufficient to safely perform those activities, the operator
must send notification of the potential hazard to the
landowner by registered mail. Within specified days of that
notification, the operator must go to the site at a time
mutually agreed upon by both parties, and identify the
location and depth of the high-priority subsurface
installation with permanent markers.
7)Requires each gas company to collect data to inform its
outreach activities, including: a) Damages to underground
PUC-regulated pipeline facilities that occur during the
performance of landscaping activities from the day of
enactment of this bill until January 1, 2020; b) All claims
filed by a gas company against an excavator for damage to a
PUC-regulated pipeline facility; and c) Any other information
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that the PUC may require.
8)Requires real property owners to call a regional call center
when excavating on their property and using any tools other
than hand tools, regardless of whether the work being
performed requires a permit. Provides that a person complying
with the notification provisions is not relieved of his or her
duty to perform any excavation with reasonable care to prevent
damage to subsurface installations. Makes numerous findings
and declarations regarding the efficiency of regional
notification centers, including among others, more effective
methods of coordination and communication to increase safety,
timely responses to request for field markings, and better
coordination with the Department of Transportation.
9)Revises definitions of terms used regarding excavation and
subsurface installation.
10)Titles the measure the "Dig Safe Act of 2015."
11)Add an exemption to the definition of excavation for removal
of sediment in a flood control facility operated by a city,
county, or flood control district.
12)Sunset all exemptions to the definition of excavation on
January 1, 2020.
13)Clarify that an excavator and operator may mutually agree to
a different notice and start date for an excavation.
14)State that liquidated damages, liability, losses, costs, and
expenses may be awarded to an excavator for an operator's
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non-compliance only if the operator did not have a reasonable
basis for the non-compliance.
15)Eliminates the attorneys' fees provision.
16)Clarifies that a homeowner, when using the 8-1-1 service, may
use the 8-1-1 service at any time in advance of an excavation,
but should do so at least two working days before beginning
the excavation.
17)Clarifies that the CPUC may not use training funds to fulfill
existing requirements or fund ongoing operations.
18)Strikes sewer lateral language adds sewer later language for
residential and non-residential buildings into the Health and
Safety Code.
19)Rewrites Caltrans-related findings and declarations to find
communication imperative, but not specify what should be
included in the communication.
20)Strikes redundant sentences regarding remarking and
redelineation.
21)States that hand tools need to be used around facilities in
conflict with the excavation within the tolerance zone
(similar to current law), and require the advisory committee
to clarify best practices for extra hand digging beyond the
depth of excavation and beyond the identification of the
facility, as specified.
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22)States that, in developing standards for using tracer wire in
sewer laterals and other drain lines, a lateral is something
that flows either into the public right-of-way or into a
utility easement.
23)Includes the two one-call centers - one from the north and
one from the south - instead of just one as nonvoting ex
officio members of the advisory committee.
24)Exempts gas utility notification of schools and hospitals
three days before excavation when that excavation is being
performed to locate and mark a line within two working days.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Increased initial costs for CSLB of $2.5 million (Contractors
License Fund) for staff support, information technology, board
meeting and member expenses, and complaint inspections
associated with the establishment of the Advisory Committee.
Ongoing annual costs of $2.1 million (Contractors License
Fund).
2)Estimated costs increases of $1.2 to $1.3 million for CSLB
cases referred to the Attorney General for investigation and
prosecution (Contractors License Fund)
3)Minor, absorbable costs for the PUC and State Fire Marshal.
COMMENTS:
1)Rationale. According to the author, roughly 7,000 of
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California's natural gas pipelines are hit accidentally every
year during subsurface excavation. It is estimated that
roughly half of the accidents occur because the excavator
failed to use the free 8-1-1 service to locate and mark pipes
digging.
Although existing law requires excavators to call regional
"one call" centers to have the locations of underground
facilities located and marked before starting an excavation,
many fail to do so.
This past April, a frontloader in Fresno came into contact
with a 12-inch high pressure natural gas pipe, causing an
explosion that killed one person and injured 14.
This bill seeks to improve enforcement, clarify the law, and
develop strategies for improving excavation safety.
2)Background. Both the National Transportation Safety Board and
the federal pipeline safety regulator, Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), have identified
call-before-you-dig laws as a means of improving excavation
safety. PHMSA, in adopting regulations requiring distribution
pipeline companies to develop comprehensive risk-based
pipeline safety programs, explored best practices in
excavation enforcement, and its working group found in 2005
that the states that have had the most success house
enforcement in a centralized enforcement agency recommending
the agency responsible for pipeline safety.
California relies on the Attorney General and district
attorneys to enforce the one-call law, though regulatory
authorities such as the PUC, the Office of the State Fire
Marshal, and CSLB have broad jurisdiction over gas pipeline
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and electric operators, hazardous liquid operators, and
contractors, respectively, and thus have the ability to
enforce safe operations on those entities within their
jurisdictions.
However, according to the author, existing authorities have
rarely been used except for a recent PUC investigation into
PG&E recordkeeping practices on its distribution system, which
explores excavation issues.
Analysis Prepared by:
Sue Kateley / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083 FN:
0002208