BILL NUMBER: SB 888 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 25, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Allen
(Coauthors: Senators De León and Pavley)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Wilk)
JANUARY 20, 2016
An act to add Section 8585.01 to the Government Code, and to add
Section 972 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to gas
corporations.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 888, as amended, Allen. Gas corporations: emergency management.
(1) Existing law creates, within the office of the Governor, the
Office of Emergency Services which, under the Director of Emergency
Services, coordinates disaster response, emergency planning,
emergency preparedness, disaster recovery, disaster mitigation, and
homeland security activities.
This bill would establish the Office of Emergency Services as the
lead agency for emergency response to a leak of natural gas from a
natural gas storage facility. The bill would require the Office of
Emergency Services to coordinate among other state agencies the
emergency response, public health and environmental assessment,
monitoring, and long-term management and control of the leak.
(2) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has
regulatory authority over public utilities,
utilities, including gas corporations, as defined. The Public
Utilities Act requires the commission to investigate the cause of all
accidents occurring upon the property of any public utility, or
directly or indirectly arising from or connected with its maintenance
or operation, resulting in loss of life or injury to person or
property and requiring, in the judgment of the commission,
investigation by it, and authorizes the commission to make any order
or recommendation with respect to the investigation that it
determines to be just and reasonable. The act provides that any
public utility that violates any provision of the California
Constitution or the act, or that fails or neglects to comply with any
order, decision, decree, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of
the commission, where a penalty has not otherwise been provided, is
subject to a penalty of not less than $500 and not more than $50,000
for each offense. Existing law requires that any fine or penalty
imposed by the commission and collected from a public utility be paid
to the State Treasury to the credit of the General Fund.
This bill would require the commission to deposit moneys from
penalties assessed against a gas corporation in regards to a gas
storage facility leak into the Gas Storage Facility Leak Mitigation
Account, which the bill would establish in the State Treasury. The
bill would provide that moneys in this account shall be expended,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, solely for direct emissions
reductions in furtherance of the achievement of the greenhouse gas
emissions limit, as specified. The bill would prohibit a gas
corporation from recovering any moneys paid for fines, penalties, or
damages to residents, businesses, and other parties adversely
affected by a gas storage facility leak in any rate approved by the
commission, and would require that those costs and expenses be paid
for by the gas corporation and its shareholders. Because this
provision of this bill would be a part of the act and because a
violation of an order or decision of the commission implementing its
requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated
local program by creating a new crime.
(3) 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 no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 8585.01 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
8585.01. The Office of Emergency Services shall be the lead
agency for emergency response to a leak of natural gas from a natural
gas storage facility. The Office of Emergency Services shall
coordinate among other state agencies the emergency response, public
health and environmental assessment, monitoring, and long-term
management and control of the leak.
SEC. 2. Section 972 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
972. (a) The commission shall deposit any penalties assessed
against a gas corporation pursuant to this chapter in regards to a
gas storage facility leak into the Gas Storage Facility Leak
Mitigation Account, which is hereby established in the State
Treasury.
(b) Moneys in the account shall be expended, upon appropriation by
the Legislature, subject to both of the following conditions:
(1) Moneys shall be expended solely for direct emissions
reductions in furtherance of the achievement of the greenhouse gas
emissions limit established pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with
Section 38550) of Division 25.5 the Health and Safety Code. Moneys
shall not be used for the purchase of allowances or offsets otherwise
authorized pursuant to Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500)
of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) Moneys from penalties assessed for a gas storage facility leak
shall be expended in a manner that, at a minimum, achieves a
reduction in greenhouse gases that exceeds the amount of those gases
emitted by that leak.
(c) A gas corporation shall not recover any moneys paid for fines,
penalties, or damages to residents, businesses, and other parties
adversely affected by a gas storage facility leak in any rate
approved by the commission. Those costs and expenses shall be paid
for by the gas corporation and its shareholders.
SEC. 3. 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.