BILL NUMBER: SB 1049 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 11, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Hill
FEBRUARY 12, 2016
An act to amend Section 316 of the Public Utilities Code, relating
to electricity. energy public utilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1049, as amended, Hill. Electricity:
Electrical corporations and gas corporations: accident
investigations.
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including electrical
corporations and gas corporations. The Natural Gas
Pipeline Safety Act of 2011 requires each gas corporation to develop
a plan, as specified, for the safe and reliable operation of its
commission-regulated gas pipeline facility, as defined.
Existing law requires the commission to adopt inspection,
maintenance, repair, and replacement standards for the distribution
systems of electrical corporations in order to provide high quality,
safe, and reliable service. Existing law requires every electrical
corporation to cooperate fully with the commission in an
investigation into any major accident or any reportable incident, as
defined by the commission, concerning overhead electric supply
facilities, regardless of pending litigation or other investigations,
including those that may be related to a commission investigation.
Existing law requires every electrical corporation to provide the
commission, upon its request, immediate access to specified
documents, including any and all documents under the electrical
corporation's control that are related to the incident and are not
subject to attorney-client privilege or attorney work product
doctrine.
This bill would require every electrical corporation to cooperate
fully with the commission in an investigation into any major accident
or any reportable incident concerning any electric supply
facilities, rather than only overhead electric supply facilities.
The bill would require an electrical corporation seeking to
protect commission requested documents related to an accident or
reportable incident from disclosure under the attorney-client
privilege or attorney work product doctrine to bring a motion for
protective order. The bill would establish procedures for making the
motion, deciding the motion, and commission and judicial review of
that decision. The bill would require every gas
corporation to cooperate fully with the commission in an
investigation into any major accident or any reportable incident
concerning commission-regulated gas pipeline facilities, regardless
of pending litigation or other investigations. The bill would require
each electrical corporation and gas corporation, after the scene of
the incident has been made safe and, in the case of a major outage,
service has been restored, to provide the commission, upon request,
with access to all measurements of every utility instrumentality or
facility in the vicinity of the incident, all calculations regarding
every instrumentality or facility in the vicinity of the incident,
any analysis regarding the cause, or causes, of the incident, and any
recording or paraphrasing of any statement by a witness.
Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any
order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission is a crime.
Because the provisions 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.
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.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 316 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
316. (a) Each electrical corporation and gas corporation
shall cooperate fully with the commission in an investigation
into any major accident or any reportable incident, as these terms
are defined by the commission, concerning electric supply
facilities, facilities and commission-regulated gas
pipeline facilities, regardless of pending litigation or other
investigations, including, but not limited to, those that may be
related to a commission investigation.
(b) After the scene of the incident has been made safe
and and, in the case of a major outage, service
has been restored, each electrical corporation and gas
corporation shall provide the commission, upon its request,
immediate access to all of the following:
(1) Any factual or physical evidence under the electrical or
gas corporation's, or its agent's, physical control, custody,
or possession related to the incident.
(2) The name and contact information of any known percipient
witness.
(3) Any employee percipient witness under the electrical or
gas corporation's control.
(4) The name and contact information of any person or entity that
has taken possession of any physical evidence removed from the site
of the incident.
(5) Each and every measurement of every utility instrumentality or
facility in the vicinity of the incident. Historical, as well as
post-incident measurements, shall be produced. Measurements of
instrumentalities or facilities not owned by the utility shall also
be produced, if those measurements are available.
(6) Each and every calculation regarding every instrumentality or
facility in the vicinity of the incident. Historical, as well as
postincident, calculations shall be produced.
(7) Each and every analysis regarding the cause, or causes, of the
incident. Each analysis shall be produced regardless of whether
identified as a root cause analysis, a causal evaluation, a failure
analysis, a storm register, or identified in some other manner.
(8) Each and every recording or paraphrasing of any statement by a
witness.
(5)
(9) Any and all documents under the electrical or
gas corporation's control that are related to the incident and
are not subject to attorney-client privilege or the
attorney work product doctrine.
(c) In order to prevent disclosure of documents requested by the
commission pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) under the
attorney-client privilege or attorney work product doctrine, an
electrical corporation shall bring a motion for protective order for
a declaration that the documents not be produced. A motion for
protective order shall be made promptly, within 10 working days of a
request for production of documents, or shall be denied as untimely.
If a proceeding investigating the accident or reportable incident has
been opened and an administrative law judge has been assigned for
the proceeding, the motion for protective order shall be filed with
the assigned administrative law judge. If no proceeding has been
opened or no administrative law judge has been assigned to the
proceeding, the motion for protective order shall be filed with the
chief administrative law judge of the commission. The chief
administrative law judge or assigned administrative law judge shall
hear and decide the motion for protective order promptly, within 10
working days of the filing of the motion. Notwithstanding Section
1731, if the motion for protective order is denied, or denied in
part, the electrical corporation may seek a writ of review without
having brought a motion for reconsideration. Notwithstanding the
30-day time period of subdivision (a) of Section 1756, any writ of
review shall be brought promptly, within 10 working days of service
of the order denying, or denying in part, the motion for protective
order, or it shall be denied as untimely. If the chief administrative
law judge or assigned administrative law judge grants the motion for
protective order, in whole or in part, the division of the
commission responsible for investigating the accident or reportable
incident shall either amend its request for documents to exclude
those documents that are protected from disclosure or shall seek a
rehearing before the full commission pursuant to Article 2
(commencing with Section 1731) of Chapter 9. The commission may
shorten the time for hearing of the motion for rehearing pursuant to
this paragraph. An electrical corporation may, pursuant to Section
1756, seek a writ of review from the order of the commission on the
motion for rehearing, except that the writ shall be brought within 10
working days of the date of the order, or shall be denied as
untimely.
(d)
(c) Each electrical corporation and gas
corporation shall preserve any and all documents or evidence it
collects as part of its own investigation related to the incident
for at least five years or a shorter period of time as authorized by
the commission.
(e)
(d) Any and all documents collected by an electrical
corporation or gas corporation pursuant to this section
shall be catalogued and preserved in an accessible manner for
assessment by commission investigators as determined by the
commission.
SEC. 2. 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.