BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 681
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 681 (Wieckowski)
As Amended September 2, 2011
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |71-0 |(March 25, |SENATE: |35-0 |(September 7, 2011) |
| | |2011) | | | |
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|COMMITTEE VOTE: |9-0 |(September 8, 2011) |RECOMMENDATION: |Concur |
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Original Committee Reference: JUD.
SUMMARY: Extends the authority of the California Environmental
Protection Agency (Cal-EPA) to make payments from the Environmental
Protection Trust Fund (EPTF) to local agencies for training and
assistance for the regulation of aboveground storage tanks (AST).
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill, and
instead extend the EPTF expenditures from July 2011 until June 1,
2013, and require that unexpended EPTF funds be deposited in the
Unified Program Account for further support for Certified Unified
Program Agencies (CUPAs) AST activities.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMLBY , this bill enabled local government cost
recovery for emergency response to hazardous substances spills
under a wider range of circumstances. Specifically, the bill
provided that those expenses of an emergency response necessary to
protect the public from a real and imminent threat to health and
safety by a public agency to mitigate the release or burning of
hazardous substances, as defined, are a charge against any person
whose negligence causes the incident.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
this bill extends the authority of Cal-EPA to provide funds from
the EPTF for grants to CUPAs for training related to ASTs.
According to the Cal-EPA, as of April 2011, approximately $1.85
million is remaining in EPTF for allocation pursuant to this bill.
AB 681
Page 2
COMMENTS : This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and
the Assembly approved provisions of this bill were deleted. The
provisions of this bill, as approved by the Assembly, were
incorporated in to AB 408 (Wieckowski).
According to the author, "AB 681 extends the date that CUPAs can
receive grant allocations from the Environmental Protection Trust
Fund which was established to fund initial implementation of the
aboveground storage tank safety requirements by CUPAs. This is
necessary for the California Environmental Protection Agency to be
authorized to disperse the balance of the funds to the CUPAs.
Without the extension of the funding authorization the remaining
monies may not be appropriated or allocated to the local agencies"
The Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA), AB 1130 (Laird),
Chapter 626, Statutes of 2007, authorizes the expenditure of a
portion of the moneys in the EPTF, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, in an amount determined by the Secretary for
Environmental Protection in consultation with the CUPAs, to a
training account established and maintained by the Secretary to be
used for purposes of training CUPA personnel in the requirements of
the Act. The APSA allocates all remaining funds to the CUPAs for
implementation of the Act.
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965
FN: 0002840