BILL ANALYSIS �
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1261|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1261
Author: Jackson (D)
Amended: 5/27/14
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 4/30/14
AYES: Hill, Hancock, Jackson, Leno, Pavley
NOES: Gaines, Fuller
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/23/14
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
SUBJECT : Hazardous materials: business plans
SOURCE : California Association of Environmental Health
Administrators
California Council for Environmental and Economic
Balance
California Fire Chiefs Association
DIGEST : This bill requires the Secretary of the California
Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA), in coordination with
the Office of Emergency Services (OES), to specify the hazardous
materials inventory required to be submitted by handlers,
including the data to be collected and submitted for hazardous
materials. This bill revises the information required to be
included in the business plan and makes other updates to the
unified hazardous waste and hazardous materials management
regulatory program.
CONTINUED
SB 1261
Page
2
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Requires the Secretary for Cal/EPA to implement a unified
hazardous waste and hazardous materials management regulatory
program, including a statewide information management system
for purposes of receiving data collected by certified unified
program agencies (CUPAs). A city or local agency that meets
specified requirements is authorized to apply to the Secretary
to implement the unified program and be certified as a CUPA,
and every county is required to apply to the Secretary to be
certified to implement the unified program.
2.Requires the CUPA to implement and enforce provisions that
require a business that handles a hazardous material to
establish and implement a business plan, including an
inventory of specified information for response to a release
or threatened release of a hazardous material. The annual
inventory submittal is required to contain information on
specified hazardous materials that are handled in quantities
equal to or greater than certain amounts or as established by
the governing body of the unified program agency by a local
ordinance. A violation of the business plan requirements is a
misdemeanor.
3.Requires a CUPA to exempt a business operating an unstaffed
remote facility located in an isolated, sparsely populated
area from specified business plan requirements. Allows a
unified program agency to require an unstaffed remote facility
to submit a hazardous materials business plan and inventory in
accordance with requirements if the agency makes specified
findings.
4.Requires a handler to electronically submit its business plan
to the statewide information management system, to renew the
plan at least once every three years to determine if a
revision is needed, and to certify to the CUPA that the review
was made and that any necessary changes were made to the plan.
A handler is also required to annually review the business
plan information and resubmit or certify as correct the
inventory information in the statewide environmental reporting
system.
5.Requires the CUPA to make the data elements and documents
SB 1261
Page
3
submitted by businesses available to the public in a specified
manner.
6.Requires the immediate report of any release or threatened
release of a hazardous material to the CUPA, and to OES, in
accordance with the regulations adopted by OES.
This bill:
1.Requires the Secretary of Cal/EPA, in coordination with OES,
to specify the hazardous materials inventory required to be
submitted by handlers, including the data to be collected and
submitted for hazardous materials. This bill revises the
information required to be included in the business plan, and
makes other updates to the unified hazardous waste and
hazardous materials management regulatory program.
2.Requires the CUPA to exempt from specified requirements an
unstaffed facility located at least one-half mile from the
nearest occupied structure, unless required by a local
ordinance. Requires the facility to make a one-time business
plan submittal that will not be required to include specified
elements of the plan and would repeal the authorization for
the unified program agency to require an unstaffed remote
facility to submit a plan and inventory.
3.Requires the handler to submit the business plan annually to
that system, and requires a business to at least annually
review and verify that the business plan information in the
statewide information management system meets specified
requirements.
4.Requires the CUPA to make the information in the statewide
information management system available to the public.
5.Requires Cal/EPA to adopt regulations by January 1, 2016, to
implement these requirements.
Related Legislation
SB 483 (Jackson, Chapter 419, Statutes of 2013) made various
changes to update, rearrange and clarify provisions of the
health and safety related to CUPAs.
SB 1261
Page
4
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, costs are
minor and absorbable to Cal/EPA.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/27/14)
California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
(co-source)
California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance
(co-source)
California Fire Chiefs Association (co-source)
California State Firefighters Association
RM:nl 5/28/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****