BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 119|
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VETO
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
SENATE FLOOR: 37-3, 9/10/15
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block,
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Cannella, De León, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez,
Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu,
McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell,
Nielsen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Runner, Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski,
Wolk
NOES: Fuller, Gaines, Nguyen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-3, 9/8/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Protection of subsurface installations
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill, the Dig Safe Act of 2015, modifies laws
governing excavations near subsurface installations.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Licenses and regulates more than 300,000 contractors under
the Contractors State License Law (Contractors Law) by the
Contractors State License Board (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)
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
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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)
3) Requires CSLB to initiate a disciplinary action against a
licensee within 30 days of receipt of a certified copy of the
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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
installation subject to agricultural activities is
insufficient to safely perform those activities, the operator
must send notification of the potential hazard to the
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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."
12)Adds an exemption to the definition of excavation for
removal of sediment in a flood control facility operated by a
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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
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.
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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
agency responsible for pipeline safety.
California relies on the AG and district attorneys to enforce
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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: (Verified10/20/15)
Associated General Contractors of California
AT&T
California Business Properties Association
California Landscape Contractors Association
California Legislative Conference of the Plumbing, Heating, and
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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: (Verified10/20/15)
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.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
I am returning Senate Bill 119 without my signature.
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This bill would create the California Underground
Facilities Safe Excavation Advisory Committee, within the
Contractors' State Licensing Board, in order to enforce
existing and new provisions related to safe excavation.
I understand that the telecommunications and cable
companies have resisted providing explicit enforcement
authority to the Public Utilities Commission over
excavation safety. However, it is the Public Utilities
Commission, and not the Contractors' State Licensing Board,
that has the technical expertise and funds and should be
given full authority to enforce and regulate excavation
activities near subsurface installations.
This is a matter of public safety, and I look forward to
working closely with the author to achieve our mutual goal.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-3, 9/8/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta,
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
11/4/15 13:34:10
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