BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 838
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 9, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Steven Bradford, Chair
AB 838 (Hill) - As Amended: January 4, 2011
SUBJECT : Public Utilities Commission: public safety
SUMMARY : Creates an Assistant Director of Public Safety at the
California Public Utilities Commission (PUC). This individual
would be in charge of coordinating safety information across the
PUC's many divisions to make sure that safety is a consideration
in all PUC decisions, including ratemaking.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States the PUC has regulatory authority over public utilities.
The Public Utilities Act requires the PUC to investigate the
cause of all accidents occurring upon the property of any
public utility or directly or indirectly arising from or
connected with it maintenance or operation, resulting in loss
of life or injury to person or property and requiring, in the
judgment of the PUC, investigation by it, and authorizes the
PUC to make any order or recommendation with respect to the
investigation that it determines to be just and reasonable.
2)Authorizes the PUC to ascertain and fix just and reasonable
standards, classifications, regulations, practices,
measurements, or services to be furnished, imposed, observed,
and followed by specific public utilities, including
electrical and gas corporations.
3)Designates the Consumer Protection and Safety Division of the
PUC as being responsible for inspection, surveillance, and
investigation of the rights-of-way, facilities, equipment, and
operations of railroads and public mass transit guideways, and
for enforcing state and federal laws, regulations, orders, and
directives relating to transportation of persons or
commodities, or both, and directives of any nature or
description, by rail.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "as safety is the first
priority of the PUC, the agency needs an executive-level
AB 838
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administrator for whom safety is the focus. This bill creates
an Assistant Executive Director for Public Safety who will
bridge the silos between divisions so that staff throughout the
organization can integrate safety considerations into the
everyday business of the PUC. This individual would also span
the current chasm between the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration (PHMSA) and the PUC to ensure that state
and federal efforts build on each other and are not
duplicative".
1)Background : The mission statement of the PUC states that it
serves the public interest by
"protecting consumers and ensuring the provision of safe,
reliable utility service and infrastructure at reasonable
rates."
Recent natural gas pipeline accidents in California have
received attention throughout the county. In particular, the San
Bruno explosion in September 2010 was most visible as it claimed
8 lives, left many injured, and destroyed dozens of homes. In
2011, there was an explosion of a Cupertino condominium and a
7-hour fire in a Roseville intersection both caused by types of
plastic pipes previously identified to be at risk of failure.
These incidents have uncovered major flaws in the manner
California regulates natural gas utilities.
The report from the National Transportation Safety Board's
(NTSB) investigation of the San Bruno explosion cited there was
poor communication between the PUC and the federal pipeline
safety regulator, PHMSA. Additionally, the Independent Review
Panel (IRP) formed by the PUC in response to the San Bruno
explosion pointed to deficiencies in the PUC's oversight as
contributing to the ineffective safety programs at Pacific Gas
and Electric Company. The IRP called for better coordination
between the various divisions within the PUC, stating that "the
silos between the various disciplines must be dismantled." For
instance, the IRP report called for the safety staff to take a
more proactive role in rate cases.
2)Safety first : This bill creates an executive level
administrator at the PUC whose primary
focus is safety. Currently the PUC is lacking a top level
administrator who would be responsible for integrating safety
considerations into all of the proceedings held by the PUC. It
is equally important for this administrator to advise each
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commissioner and division director on all matters that may
impact public safety.
This position should not remove the responsibility from the five
voting PUC Commissioners appointed by the Governor to ultimately
serve the public interest by protecting consumers and ensuring
provision of safe, reliable utility service and infrastructure
at reasonable rates.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : DaVina Flemings / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083