BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 438|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 438
Author: Hill (D) and Hertzberg (D), et al.
Amended: 8/1/16
Vote: 21
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/25/16 (pursuant to
Senate Rule 29.10)
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 8/22/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Earthquake safety: statewide earthquake early
warning program and system
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill establishes, within the California Office of
Emergency Services (OES), the California Early Warning Advisory
Board (board) to support the development of the statewide
earthquake early warning system (system), as specified.
Assembly Amendments (1) gut and amend the bill, (2) establish,
within OES, the board to support the development of the system,
as specified, (3) require OES, to develop a business plan for
the system, as specified, to specified legislative committees no
later than February 1, 2018, (4) require OES, on or before
February 1, 2019, and annually thereafter, to report to the
Legislature any changes to the business plan from the prior
year, as specified, (5) discontinue the requirement that the
funding sources for the system exclude General Fund monies, and
(6) make legislative findings in support of its provisions.
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ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Creates OES, within the office of the Governor, which
coordinates disaster response, emergency planning, emergency
preparedness, disaster recovery, disaster mitigation, and
homeland security activities.
2) Requires various entities, including OES, through a
public-private partnership, to develop a comprehensive
statewide earthquake early warning system in California, as
specified.
3) Requires OES to identify funding for an earthquake early
warning system through single or multiple sources of revenues
that shall be limited to federal funds, funds from revenue
bonds, local funds, and private grants.
4) Prohibits General Fund moneys to be used for the
establishment of an earthquake early warning system.
5) Specifies that if funding is not identified by July 1, 2016,
the provisions relating to the establishment of an earthquake
early warning system should be repealed unless a later
enacted statute is enacted before January 1, 2017.
6) Establishes the California Earthquake Safety Fund and
specifies that the moneys in the fund shall be used for
seismic safety and earthquake-related programs, including the
statewide earthquake early warning system.
This bill:
1) Established within OES, the board, to support the
development of the system.
2) Requires the board to include seven voting members and two
nonvoting members, as follows:
a) The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, or his
or her designee.
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b) The Secretary of California Health and Human Services,
or his or her designee.
c) The Secretary of Transportation, or his or her
designee.
d) The Secretary of Business, Consumer Services, and
Housing, or his or her designee.
e) One member who is appointed by, and serves at the
pleasure of, the Governor and represents the utilities
industry.
f) One member who is appointed by, and serves at the
pleasure of, the Senate Committee on Rules and represents
county government.
g) The Chancellor of the California State University, or
his or her designee, shall serve as a nonvoting member of
the board.
h) The President of the University of California, or his
or her designee, may serve as a nonvoting member of the
board.
3) Specifies that the members of the board shall serve without
compensation, but shall be reimbursed for actual and
reasonable travel and meal expenses to attend board meetings.
4) Requires the board to convene periodically and advise the
director on all aspects of the program including, but not
limited to, the following functional areas of the program:
a) System operations.
b) Research and development.
c) Finance and investment.
d) Training and education.
5) Requires the board to utilize committees, groups, and
organizations, including, but not limited to, the California
Institute of Technology, the California Geological Survey,
the University of California, the United States Geological
Survey, and entities participating in the critical
infrastructure sectors to fulfill the objectives of the
program by supporting the functional areas of the system.
6) Requires the board to inform the public regarding, and
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provide the public with the opportunity to engage the board
on, the development and implementation of the system.
7) Requires the board to consult with program participants,
state agencies, departments, boards and commissions, private
businesses, postsecondary educational institutions, and
subject matter experts, as necessary, to advise the board on
the development, implementation, and maintenance of the
system.
8) Requires the California Integrated Seismic Network to be
responsible for the generation of an earthquake early warning
alert and related system operations.
9) Requires the board, in conjunction with the director, to
determine the appropriate methods to provide the public with
and earthquake early warning alert.
10)Requires the board to comply with the Bagley-Keene Open
Meeting Act.
11)Requires OES, on or before February 1, 2018, to develop and
submit a business plan for the program, as specified, to the
Senate Committee on Governmental Organization, the Assembly
Committee on Governmental Organization, the Senate Budget and
Fiscal Review Committee, the Assembly Committee on Budget,
and the Legislative Analyst's Office.
12)Requires OES, on or before February 1, 2019, and annually
thereafter, to report to the Legislature any changes to the
business plan from the prior year and shall provide a general
report on progress of the program, as specified, and the
implementation of the system.
13)Deletes the requirement that the funding sources for the
system exclude the General Fund and be limited to federal
funds, funds from revenue bonds, local funds, and funds from
private sources.
14)Deletes the provisions providing for the repeal of the
provisions relating to the establishment of the system if
funding has not been identified by July 1, 2016, unless a
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later enacted statute is enacted before January 1, 2017.
15)Makes legislative findings in support of its provisions.
Background
Purpose of the bill. According to the author, "current law
prohibits the use of General Funds with the intent to finance
California's earthquake early warning system through
public-private partnerships. But, those partnerships and
funding have yet to materialize, hindering the ability of OES to
get the warning system up and running. In addition, the law
didn't establish a governance structure, and effective and
sustainable implementation of the system requires a governance
structure that can coordinate the multiple agencies involved."
California's earthquake overview: California is a hotbed for
earthquake activity. Ninety percent of the world's earthquakes
and approximately 80 percent of the world's largest earthquakes
occur along the Pacific Ring of Fire - a 25,000-mile horseshoe
shaped area in the Pacific Ocean, which extends from the Western
coast of South and North America to Eastern Asia, Australia and
New Zealand. The Pacific Ring of Fire includes the very active
San Andreas Fault zone in California.
In January 2013, the Californian Institute of Technology and the
Japan Agency for Marine Earth Science and Technology published a
study concluding for the first time that a statewide California
earthquake involving both the Los Angeles and San Francisco
metropolitan areas may be possible.
On August 24, 2014, at roughly 3:20 a.m. local time, an
earthquake occurred in and around the City of Napa, California.
The epicenter was located south of Napa, approximately 3.7 miles
northwest of the American Canyon near the West Napa Fault. The
earthquake, measuring a 6.0 on the magnitude scale, was the
largest earthquake in the Bay Area since the 1989 Loma Prieta
earthquake. The Napa earthquake resulted in one death and
approximately 200 people injured. Shortly after, Governor Jerry
Brown declared a state of emergency due to the damage and the
possibility of damage resulting from aftershocks. It is
estimated that the earthquake caused over $400 million in
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damage.
A silver lining of the earthquake was the success of earthquake
warning systems in providing warning times to nearby
communities. An experimental earthquake warning system being
developed by the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory issued a
warning 5 seconds before the earthquake arrived in Berkeley.
Similarly, Seismic Warning Systems, Inc. had installed on-site
warning systems at five fire stations in Vallejo in 2002. These
systems commanded the bay doors to open at these fire stations
before the Earthquake arrived.
Earthquake Early Warning Systems: While earthquakes cannot be
predicted or prevented, using advanced science and technology
has in the past-detected seismic activity and provided advanced
warning. The objective of earthquake early warning systems is
to rapidly detect the occurrence of an earthquake, estimate the
level of ground shaking to be expected, issue a warning before
significant ground shaking begins, and estimate the location and
the magnitude of the earthquake. This is not the same as
earthquake prediction, which currently is not possible.
When an earthquake occurs, the earthquake produces different
types of shock waves, which travel at different speeds. The
fastest and weakest of these waves are called P-waves.
Technology exists that can detect the energy from P-waves to
estimate the location and the magnitude of the earthquake. This
method can provide warning before the more destructive S-wave
arrives. The S-wave is responsible for most of the strong
shaking that usually creates the most damage during earthquakes.
The amount of warning time at a particular location depends on
the distance from the earthquake epicenter. Locations very
close to the earthquake epicenter will receive relatively little
or no warning whereas locations far removed from the earthquake
epicenter would receive more warning time but may not experience
damaging shaking.
Studies on earthquake early warning methods in California
concluded that the warning time would range from a few seconds
to a few tens of seconds, depending on the distance from the
earthquake epicenter. However, very large earthquakes emanating
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from the San Andreas Fault could produce significantly more
warning time because the affected area would be much larger.
Regardless of the warning time, earthquake early warning systems
can provide adequate time to slow down and stop trains, stop
cars from entering tunnels, automatically shut down dangerous
machinery, and countless other benefits. Taking such actions
before an earthquake arrives can reduce damage and casualties
during and after an earthquake.
Earthquake early warning systems are currently in place in Japan
and Mexico and many other countries throughout the world are
currently in the process of developing such systems.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 494 (Hill, Chapter 799, Statutes of 2015) created the
California Earthquake Safety Fund to be used for seismic safety
and earthquake-related programs, including the earthquake, early
warning system.
SB 31 (Padilla, Chapter 342, Statutes of 2013) required OES, in
collaboration with various entities, to develop a comprehensive
statewide earthquake early warning system in California.
AB 928 (Blakeslee, 2009) would have required the High-Speed Rail
Authority to develop an earthquake early warning system and
coordinate development of that system with various state
agencies. (Held in Assembly Governmental Organization
Committee)
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Initial estimated capital costs of approximately $28 million
(General Fund) to establish the earthquake early warning
system, according to a recent earthquake early warning system
Project Implementation Framework report. The General Fund
impacts could be partially mitigated to the extent funds are
identified for earthquake early warning system purposes from
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other state, local, federal, or private sources. Senate
Appropriations staff (staff) notes that the 2016-17 Budget
includes a one-time General Fund appropriation of $6.875
million for capital funding for earthquake early warning
system purposes.
Ongoing annual administrative costs of approximately $17
million (General Fund) beginning in 2017-18 to operate and
maintain an earthquake early warning system, according to the
Project Implementation Framework report. The General Fund
impacts could be partially mitigated to the extent funds are
identified for earthquake early warning system purposes from
other state, local, federal, or private sources. Staff notes
that the 2016-17 Budget includes a one-time General Fund
appropriation of $3.125 million for state operations related
to the development of the earthquake early warning system:
$734,000 for 4 PY of staff at OES, $150,000 for a financial
strategy contract, and $2.241 million for public education and
training.
OES indicates costs related to the establishment of the board
and development of a business plan would be minor and
absorbable. Staff estimates there could be significant costs
related to ongoing activities of OES and the board beyond the
current fiscal year for which funding has been appropriated,
but these costs could be included in the above estimate of
ongoing administrative costs.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/22/16)
American Red Cross
BART
California Department of Insurance
California Fire Chiefs Association
California State Firefighters' Association
Caltech
City of Los Angeles
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CompTIA
Fire Districts Association of California
Silicon Valley Leadership Group
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/22/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the City of Los Angeles,
"in California earthquakes are inevitable; and yet despite state
federal action, our state lags behind Japan and Mexico in
developing an earthquake early warning system. Such systems
save lives by alerting residents to seek shelter and protecting
sensitive infrastructure like power plants and mass transit
systems during earthquakes."
In addition, the California Department of Insurance argues that,
"the mandate to create statewide warning system was passed in
2013, with a plan to fund it through public-private
partnerships, but those partnerships have yet to materialize.
The goal was to expand the prototype Shake Alert system, but
adequate funding is needed to the expansion. The funding
provided by SB 438 would be used to get the warning system up
and running, which would include installing 440 new and upgraded
seismic sensors throughout the state, connecting 840 existing
seismic sensors with communications equipment so they can be
hooked up into the system, and developing a system to send
alerts to the public."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 8/22/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Gallagher,
Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez,
Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes,
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McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,
Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Beth Gaines, Melendez
Prepared by:Felipe Lopez / G.O. / (916) 651-1530
8/25/16 17:54:20
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