SB 1064, as introduced, Hill. Public Utilities Commission: railroads: safety.
Existing law provides that the Public Utilities Commission has certain responsibilities for the inspection, surveillance, and investigation of the rights-of-way, facilities, equipment, and operations of railroads, including public mass transit guideways, and for enforcement of state and federal laws, regulations, orders, and directives relative to railroad safety.
Existing law, with respect to safety recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concerning gas pipelines, requires the commission to respond to a safety recommendation letter sent to the commission by the NTSB within 90 days. Existing law requires the commission, in its response to the NTSB, to indicate whether the commission intends to implement the recommendations in whole or in part, or whether the commission refuses to implement the recommendations, as specified. Existing law requires the commission’s decision to be detailed in writing and to be approved by a majority vote of commissioners. Existing law requires the commission to issue orders or adopt rules to implement the NTSB recommendations if the commission determines that they are appropriate. Existing law requires the commission to report on any action taken on NTSB recommendations in an annual report submitted to the Legislature.
This bill would enact similar provisions applicable to NTSB safety recommendations concerning railroads.
Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime.
Because this bill would require the commission to issue orders or adopt rules to implement any safety recommendation of the NTSB relative to railroads that the commission determines to be appropriate, and a violation of those orders or rules would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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 765 is added to the Public Utilities Code,
2to read:
(a) When the federal National Transportation Safety
4Board (NTSB) submits a safety recommendation letter concerning
5railroad safety to the commission, the commission shall provide
6the NTSB with a formal written response to each recommendation
7no later than 90 days after receiving the letter. The response shall
8state one of the following:
9(1) The commission’s intent to implement the recommendations
10in full, with a proposed timetable for implementation of the
11recommendations.
12(2) The commission’s intent to implement part of the
13recommendations, with a proposed timetable for implementation
14of those recommendations, and detailed reasons for the
15commission’s refusal to implement those
recommendations that
16the commission does not intend to implement.
17(3) The commission’s refusal to implement the
18recommendations, with detailed reasons for the commission’s
19refusal to implement the recommendations.
20(b) If the NTSB issues a safety recommendation letter
21concerning any commission-regulated railroad facility to a
P3 1commission-regulated rail operator or to the commission, the
2commission shall determine if implementation of the
3recommendation is appropriate. The basis for the commission’s
4determination shall be detailed in writing and shall be approved
5by a majority vote of the commission.
6(c) If the commission determines that a safety recommendation
7made by the NTSB is appropriate, the commission shall issue
8orders or adopt rules to implement the safety recommendations as
9soon as practicable. In implementing
the safety recommendation,
10the commission shall consider whether a more effective, or equally
11effective and less costly, alternative exists to address the safety
12issue that the recommendation addresses.
13(d) Any action taken by the commission on a safety
14recommendation letter shall be reported annually, in detail, to the
15Legislature with the report required by Section 321.6. Any
16correspondence from the NTSB indicating that a recommendation
17has been closed following an action that the NTSB finds
18unacceptable shall be noted in the report required by Section 321.6.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
20Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
21the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
22district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
23infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
24for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
25the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
26the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
27Constitution.
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