Bill Text: CA SB52 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Senate Bill 52 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: State of emergency: local emergency: planned power outage.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2021-10-06 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 597, Statutes of 2021. [SB52 Detail]

Download: California-2021-SB52-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 52

Introduced by Senator Dodd

December 07, 2020

An act to amend Section 8557 of the Government Code, relating to emergency services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 52, as introduced, Dodd. State of emergency: local emergency: sudden and severe energy shortage: planned power outage.

Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, authorizes the Governor to proclaim a state of emergency, and local officials and local governments to proclaim a local emergency, when specified conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist, and authorizes the Governor or the appropriate local government to exercise certain powers in response to that emergency. Existing law defines the terms “state of emergency” and “local emergency” to mean a duly proclaimed existence of conditions of disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the state or the territorial limits of a local government caused by, among other things, a sudden and severe energy shortage. Existing law defines a “sudden and severe energy shortage” as a rapid, unforeseen shortage of energy, resulting from, but not limited to, events such as an embargo, sabotage, or natural disasters, and that has statewide, regional, or local impact.

This bill would expand the definition of “sudden and severe energy shortage” to include a “deenergization event,” defined as a planned power outage, as specified, and would make a deenergization event one of those conditions constituting a state of emergency and a local emergency.

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

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

SECTION 1.

Section 8557 of the Government Code is amended to read:

8557.

(a) “State agency” means any department, division, independent establishment, or agency of the executive branch of the state government.

(b) “Political subdivision” includes any city, city and county, county, district, or other local governmental agency or public agency authorized by law.

(d) “Chief executive” means that individual authorized by law to act for the governing body of a political subdivision.

(e) “Disaster council” and “disaster service worker” have the meaning prescribed in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 3201) of Part 1 of Division 4 of the Labor Code.

(f) “Public facility” means any facility of the state or a political subdivision, which facility is owned, operated, or maintained, or any combination thereof, through moneys derived by taxation or assessment.

(g)“Sudden and severe energy shortage” means a rapid, unforeseen shortage of energy, resulting from, but not limited to, events such as an embargo, sabotage, or natural disasters, and which has statewide, regional, or local impact.
(g) “Sudden and severe energy shortage” means either of the following:
(1) A rapid, unforeseen shortage of energy, resulting from, but not limited to, events such as an embargo, sabotage, or natural disasters, and that has statewide, regional, or local impact.
(2) A deenergization event.
(h) For purposes of this section, a “deenergization event” means a planned power outage, undertaken by an electrical corporation, as defined in Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code, to reduce the risk of wildfires caused by utility equipment, pursuant to Public Utilities Commission Resolution ESRB-8 and any decisions issued by the commission, the Wildfire Safety Division, as set forth in Section 326 of the Public Utilities Code, the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, or any other agency with authority over electrical corporations. A deenergization event commences when an electrical corporation provides notice to any state agency or political subdivision of the potential need to initiate a planned deenergization of the electrical grid, and ceases when the electrical corporation restores electrical services to all deenergized customers, or at such time as the electrical corporation cancels the deenergization event for some or all of its affected customers, and rescinds the notice of the potential need to initiate the deenergization event.