BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair


          AB 1650 (Portantino) - Public utilities: emergency and disaster 
          preparedness.
          
          Amended: May 25, 2012           Policy Vote: E,U&C 10-0
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: Yes
          Hearing Date: August 6, 2012                      Consultant: 
          Bob Franzoia  
          
          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.


          Bill Summary: AB 1650 would require the Public Utilities 
          Commission to establish standards for disaster and emergency 
          preparedness plans within an existing procedure.

          Fiscal Impact: $250,000 from the Public Utilities Reimbursement 
          Account in 2012-13 and 2013-14 for a utility engineer and a 
          limited term administrative law judge to develop standards and 
          conduct a rule making in order to revise the commission's 
          General Order 166 relating to emergency plans. 
              $110,000 from the Public Utilities Reimbursement Account 
              annually to review emergency plans, update standards, 
              consult with utility staff and local officials and attend 
              public meetings.

          Background: Commission General Order 166 requires electrical 
          utilities to annually file updated emergency response plan.  The 
          order contains general requirements that the utility communicate 
          with local governments and provide notice of its annual 
          emergency response exercise, but does not require regular public 
          meetings.

          Current law requires all public water systems, including water 
          corporations, with 10,000 or more service connections to review 
          and revise disaster preparedness plans in conjunction with 
          related agencies, including, but not limited to, local fire 
          departments and the California Emergency Management Agency.

          Proposed Law: This bill would require electrical corporations 
          and water companies regulated by the commission to develop, 
          adopt and update an emergency and disaster preparedness plan.









          AB 1650 (Portantino)
          Page 1


          This bill would impose a state mandated local program by 
          requiring every county and city within the electrical 
          corporation's service area to designate a point of contact for 
          the electrical corporation to consult with on emergency and 
          disaster preparedness plans.