Bill Text: CA AB2874 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Fire prevention: electrical utility facilities and maintenance: liability of contractors.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-04-06 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB2874 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AB2874-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Assembly
March 28, 2022 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
March 17, 2022 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2874
| Introduced by Assembly Member Cooley |
February 18, 2022 |
An act to add Section 8387.5 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to wildfire fire prevention.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2874, as amended, Cooley.
Wildfire Fire prevention: electrical utility facilities and maintenance: liability of contractors.
Existing law requires each electrical corporation, local publicly owned electric utility, and electrical cooperative to construct, maintain, and operate its electrical lines and equipment in a manner that will minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire posed by those electrical lines and equipment. Existing law requires any person that owns, controls, operates, or maintains any electrical transmission or distribution line upon any mountainous, forest-covered, brush-covered, or grass-covered land to maintain a clearance between all vegetation and all conductors that are carrying electrical current, as prescribed.
This bill would provide that a person or entity that performs tree trimming or vegetation maintenance services or specialty electrical contracting services under contract to an electrical utility is not liable for any damage or injury
that results from a wildfire fire ignited by electrical utility facilities, except for damage or injury proximately caused by the contractor’s negligence, gross negligence, or willful misconduct. The bill would would, for contractors who retain at least $10,000,000 of fire liability insurance, limit the liability to the dollar amount of applicable wildfire fire liability insurance possessed by the contractor, as provided. The bill would define
various terms for purposes of those provisions and would state related findings and declarations of the Legislature.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares both of the following:(a) In order to meet fuel management goals for the public benefit, the state must rely on private entities to engage in vegetation management, including identification and mitigation of vegetation that creates a fire hazard.
(b) In order to meet electrical transmission and distribution infrastructure goals for the public benefit, including ensuring electrical transmission and distribution systems are constructed, maintained, upgraded, hardened, and expanded in a safe and resilient manner in order to reduce wildfire
fire risk and in order to meet increased demand for electric power and increased capacity to provide greater amounts of electrification and renewable power generation and storage, the state must rely upon private entities to provide specialty electrical contracting services.
SEC. 2.
Section 8387.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:8387.5.
(a) (1) No person or entity that performs tree trimming or vegetation maintenance services under contract to an electrical utility, and no person or entity that performs specialty electrical contracting services under contract to an electrical utility, is liable for any damage or injury that results from a(2) Notwithstanding
any other law, the liability described in paragraph (1) shall not exceed the dollar amount of
fire liability insurance that provides coverage for wildfires possessed by the contractor. This paragraph shall only apply to contractors who retain at least ten million dollars ($10,000,000) of fire liability insurance.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Electrical utility” means any entity that provides electrical service to the public or any portion thereof, including any public utility, electrical corporation, investor-owned utility, publicly owned electrical utility, electrical cooperative, electric service provider, private company, and county, city, district, public authority,
public agency, and any other political subdivision, or public corporation.
(2) “Electrical utility facilities” include:
(A) Electrical distribution or transmission lines, poles, towers towers, and other structures, and any parts, attachments, assemblies, or other facilities connected to or part of the operation of those lines, poles, towers, or other structures.
(B) Any electric power generation, switch yards, substations, battery storage, or other facilities connected to or part of the electrical utility’s electric power infrastructure system.
(3) “Specialty electrical contracting services” includes any work performed relating to the design, engineering, construction, upgrade, repair, maintenance, inspection, shutoff, restoration, or system consulting services for electric utility facilities.
(4) “Tree trimming or vegetation management services” means any work performed to obtain or maintain clearances between trees, brush, or other vegetation and electrical utility facilities, or to remove trees, brush, or other vegetation that may pose a hazard to electrical utility facilities, including:
(A) Trimming, pruning, cutting, or removal of trees, brush, or other vegetation.
(B) Inspections, testing, or
treatment of poles or other structures.
(C) Inspection of trees, brush, or other vegetation, audits, supervision, coordination, surveys, or consulting services.
(5) “Wildfire” means any wildfire, wildland fire, woodland fire, forest fire, brush fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, hill fire, any other uncontrolled fire, or any fire that breaks out from where it was intended to be, and can damage or destroy houses, buildings, or other structures or property, timber, and agricultural or animal resources, and can cause personal injury or death.
