BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        SB 119|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520    Fax: (916)      |                              |
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                                UNFINISHED BUSINESS 


          Bill No:  SB 119
          Author:   Hill (D)
          Amended:  9/4/15  
          Vote:     21  

           SENATE BUS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE:  8-0, 4/6/15
           AYES:  Hill, Bates, Berryhill, Block, Galgiani, Jackson,  
            Mendoza, Wieckowski
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Hernandez

           SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE:  9-2, 4/14/15
           AYES:  Hall, Berryhill, Block, Galgiani, Hernandez, Hill,  
            Hueso, Lara, McGuire
           NOES:  Gaines, Vidak

           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE:  5-1, 4/28/15
           AYES:  Jackson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski
           NOES:  Anderson
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Moorlach

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  5-2, 5/28/15
           AYES:  Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
           NOES:  Bates, Nielsen

           SENATE FLOOR:  24-11, 6/2/15
           AYES:  Allen, Beall, Block, De León, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall,  
            Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara,  
            Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pavley,  
            Wieckowski, Wolk
           NOES:  Anderson, Bates, Cannella, Fuller, Gaines, Moorlach,  
            Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Roth, Vidak
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Berryhill, Huff, Pan, Runner, Stone

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  74-3, 9/8/15 - See last page for vote









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           SUBJECT:   Protection of subsurface installations


          SOURCE:    Author

          DIGEST:   This bill, the Dig Safe Act of 2015, modifies laws  
          governing excavations near subsurface installations.

          Assembly Amendments change the California Underground Facilities  
          Safe Excavation Authority to an Advisory Committee (Advisory  
          Committee), housed under the Contractors State License Board  
          (CSLB), designate the Advisory Committee to develop standards  
          that clarify best safe excavation practices, exempt flood  
          control facilities from the definition of excavation, require  
          the Department of Food and Agriculture, to make recommendations,  
          from a study, that address the long term treatment of  
          agricultural activities in relation to subsurface excavation,  
          and add sewer lateral language for residential and  
          non-residential buildings into the Health and Safety Code. The  
          amendments also make other various technical and clarifying  
          changes. 

          ANALYSIS:
               
          Existing law:

           1) Licenses and regulates more than 300,000 contractors under  
             the Contractors State License Law (Contractors Law) by CSLB  
             within the Department of Consumer Affairs.  The CSLB is under  
             the direction of the registrar of contractors. (Business and  
             Professions Code (BPC) § 7000 et seq.)

           2) Requires all owners of subsurface infrastructure (such as  
             gas, oil, and water pipes, electrical and telecommunications  
             conduits, etc.-except the Department of Transportation) to  
             participate in and fund regional notification ("one-call")  
             centers.  (Government Code (GC) § 4216.1)

           3) Exempts owners of non-pressurized sewer lines and storm  
             drains from needing to become members of the one-call  
             centers.  (GC § 4216)









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           4) Requires persons performing excavations to call one-call  
             centers to have the locations of underground facilities  
             marked before starting an excavation (GC § 4216.2), but  
             exempts homeowners and other private property owners from  
             this requirement for excavations on their own property.  (GC  
             § 4216.8)

           5) Requires owners of subsurface installations to mark their  
             underground facilities within two working days of receiving a  
             notification.  (GC § 4216.3)

           6) Requires excavators to use hand tools within two feet on  
             each side of a marked line indicating a subsurface facility  
             to determine where that facility is before using any power  
             excavating equipment.  (GC § 4216.4)

           7) Provides that an excavator or operator who violates  
             excavation requirements to be subject to the following: 

              a)    A civil penalty up to $10,000 for negligent  
                violations.

              b)    A civil penalty up to $50,000 for knowing and willful  
                violations.

              c)    Additional civil remedies provided for in law for  
                personal injury and property damages.

              d)    Any actions brought forth by the Attorney General  
                (AG), district attorney, or local or state agency that  
                issued the excavation permit, to enforce the civil  
                penalties listed above.  (GC § 4216.6)

           1) States that operators and excavators are liable for damages  
             caused from violations of the one-call law, and that  
             operators who fail to participate in the one-call centers  
             cannot claim damages from an excavator who has complied with  
             the law.  (GC § 4216.7)

           2) Authorizes CSLB to issue a citation for a violation of  
             Contractors Law in lieu of license denial, suspension, or  
             revocation.  (BPC § 7099, 16 CCR § 884)








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           3) Requires CSLB to initiate a disciplinary action against a  
             licensee within 30 days of receipt of a certified copy of the  
             Labor Commissioner's finding of a willful or deliberate  
             violation of the Labor Code by a licensee.  (BPC § 7110.5).

          This bill:

           1) Establishes the California Underground Facilities Safe  
             Excavation Advisory Committee, within 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  
             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, as  
             specified.  

           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  








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             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 that the PUC may require.

           8) Requires real property owners, as specified, 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.  

           9) 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.

           10)Revises definitions of terms used regarding excavation and  
             subsurface installation. 

           11)Titles the bill the "Dig Safe Act of 2015."








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           12)Adds 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.

           13)Sunsets all exemptions to the definition of excavation on  
             January 1, 2020.

           14)Clarifies that an excavator and operator may mutually agree  
             to a different notice and start date for an excavation.

           15)Provides that liquidated damages, liability, losses, costs,  
             and expenses may be awarded to an excavator for an operator's  
             non-compliance only if the operator did not have a reasonable  
             basis for the non-compliance.

           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 PUC may not use training funds to fulfill  
             existing requirements or fund ongoing operations.

           18)Adds sewer lateral 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 existing 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.

           22)States that, in developing standards for using tracer wire  








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             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.

          Background
          
          Rationale.  According to the author, roughly 7,000 of  
          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.

          Regulation of underground infrastructure.  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  








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          agency responsible for pipeline safety. 

          California relies on the AG 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 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.  

          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   Yes


          According the Assembly Appropriations Committee:


          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 AG for investigation and prosecution  
            (Contractors License Fund).


          3)Minor, absorbable costs for the PUC and State Fire Marshal.


          SUPPORT:   (Verified9/8/15)


          Associated General Contractors of California
          AT&T








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          California Business Properties Association
          California Landscape Contractors Association
          California Legislative Conference of the Plumbing, Heating, and  
            Piping Industry
          California Professional Firefighters
          California State Council of Laborers
          California-Nevada Conference of Operating Engineers
          Construction Employers Association
          International Union of Operating Engineers
          National Electric Contractors Association
          San Diego Gas and Electric Company
          San Francisco Public Utilities Commission 
          Southern California Contractors Association
          Southern California Edison
          Southern California Gas Company
          United Contractors
          Western Line Constructors


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified9/8/15)


          Civil Justice Association of California
          Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors 


          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:     Supporters of this bill argue that  
          changes to the states' "call-before-you-dig" laws ensure safe  
          excavation near subsurface installations. Specifically, this  
          bill will enhance the existing enforcement authority of several  
          state entities, revise liability provisions that apply to the  
          pre-excavation notification and marking requirements, and  
          establish the California Underground Facilities Safe Excavation  
          Advisory Committee.


          ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION:     Opponents argue that the bill would  
          impose one sided liability with attorney's fees and cost awards  
          in "dig in" incidents during excavations.  

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  74-3, 9/8/15
           AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta,  








                                                                     SB 119  
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            Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu,  
            Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier,  
            Beth Gaines, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,  
            Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Harper, Roger  
            Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,  
            Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mayes, McCarty,  
            Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,  
            Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,  
            Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond,  
            Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
           NOES: Travis Allen, Dahle, Gallagher
           NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Grove, Mathis


          Prepared by: Mark Mendoza / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
          9/8/15 21:59:40


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