Bill Text: CA AB2490 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 2490 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Fire prevention: electrical transmission or distribution lines: vegetation clearances.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Independent 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-18 - From printer. May be heard in committee March 20. [AB2490 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB2490-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2490

Introduced by Assembly Member Mayes

February 17, 2022

An act to amend Section 4295.5 of the Public Resources Code, relating to fire prevention.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2490, as introduced, Mayes. Fire prevention: electrical transmission or distribution lines: vegetation clearances.

Existing law authorizes a person who owns, controls, operates, or maintains an electrical transmission or distribution line to traverse land as necessary, regardless of land ownership or express permission to traverse land from the landowner, after providing notice and an opportunity to be heard to the landowner, to prune trees to maintain clearances, as provided.

This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to this law.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 4295.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

4295.5.

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, including Section 4295, a person who owns, controls, operates, or maintains an electrical transmission or distribution line may traverse land as necessary, regardless of land ownership or express permission to traverse land from the landowner, after providing notice and an opportunity to be heard to the landowner, to prune trees to maintain clearances pursuant to Section 4293, and to abate, by pruning or removal, any hazardous, dead, ~~rotten, diseased,~~ diseased, rotten, or structurally defective live trees. The clearances obtained when the pruning is performed shall be at the full discretion of the person that owns, controls, operates, or maintains any electrical transmission or distribution line, but shall be no less than what is required in Section 4293. This section shall apply to both high fire threat districts, as determined by the California Public Utilities Commission pursuant to its rulemaking authority, and to state responsibility areas.

(b) Subdivision (a) does not exempt a person who owns, controls, operates, or maintains an electrical transmission or distribution line from liability for damages for the removal of vegetation that is not covered by an easement granted to the person for the electrical transmission or distribution line.