BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair


          AB 1650 (Portantino) - Public utilities: emergency and disaster 
          preparedness.
          
          Amended: August 6, 2012         Policy Vote: E,U&C 10-0
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: Yes
          Hearing Date: August 16, 2012                     Consultant: 
          Bob Franzoia  
          
          SUSPENSE FILE.  AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.


          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


          The proposed amendments would amend Public Utilities Code 769, 
          as added by the bill, to read:

          769?(B) Every city, county, or city and county within the 
          electrical corporation's service area in California  shall  may 
          designate a point of contact for the electrical corporation to 
          consult with on emergency and disaster preparedness plans?.
          (1) A county participating in a meeting pursuant to subdivision 
          (b)  shall  may inform each city within the county of the time and 
          place of the meeting.