Bill Text: CA SB584 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 584 (Prior Session Legislation)

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

Bill Title: Electricity: undergrounding of electrical wires.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2020-02-03 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB584 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB584-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate March 27, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 584

Introduced by Senator Moorlach

February 22, 2019

An act to add Section 718 to the Public Resources Code, and to add Sections ~~764.5 and 764.7~~ 764.5, 764.7, and 764.9 to, and to add Division 2.2 (commencing with Section 5600) to, the Public Utilities Code, relating to electricity, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 584, as amended, Moorlach. Electricity: undergrounding of electrical wires.

(1) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has jurisdiction over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Under its existing authority, the commission requires electrical corporations to implement the California Overhead Conversion ~~Program~~ Program, Rule 20A, to provide financial assistance to local governments to facilitate projects that are in the public interest and that remove overhead infrastructure, replacing it with infrastructure in underground trenches.

Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any rule, order, decision, or direction of the commission is a crime.

This bill would require the commission to require electrical ~~corporations~~ corporations, by July 1, 2020, to develop and administer programs to provide matching funds to local jurisdictions for conversion projects to replace overhead electrical infrastructure with underground electrical infrastructure in ~~tier 3 fire-threat districts.~~ a Tier 3 High Fire-Threat District or wildland urban interface area. The bill would require the commission to direct electrical corporations to reallocate credits provided to a jurisdiction under the Rule 20A program for purposes of conversion projects in Tier 3 High Fire-Threat Districts and wildland urban interface areas, as specified. The bill would authorize the commission to require electrical corporations to replace overhead electrical infrastructure in a ~~tier 3 fire-threat district~~ Tier 3 High Fire-Threat District or wildland urban interface area that is destroyed as a result of a fire caused by overhead electrical infrastructure with underground electrical infrastructure.

This bill would, on January 1, 2020, establish the Wildfire Mitigation Oversight Board and require the board to adopt rules and regulations applicable to electrical corporations regarding measures to achieve the most effective mitigation of wildfire risks. The bill would require the commission to ensure electrical corporations are in compliance with those rules and regulations.

Because certain of the above provisions would be in the act, a violation of an order by the commission implementing the above provisions would be a crime, and therefore this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2) Existing law, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms in regulating those emissions. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available for appropriation.

This bill would, beginning with the 2019–20 fiscal year and ending with the 2023–24 fiscal year, appropriate $400,000,000 annually from the fund to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to provide grants to local jurisdictions undertaking conversion projects to move electrical infrastructure underground, as described above, thereby making an appropriation.

(3) 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.

(4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: 2/3 Appropriation: YES Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES

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

SECTION 1.

Section 718 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

718.

(a) For the 2019–20 fiscal year to the 2023–24 fiscal year, inclusive, four hundred million dollars ($400,000,000) is hereby appropriated annually to the department from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to provide grants to local jurisdictions undertaking conversion projects pursuant to Section 764.5 of the Public Utilities Code.

(b) Moneys provided to a local jurisdiction pursuant to this section shall not exceed 15 percent of ~~the local jurisdiction’s share of project~~ a project’s total costs.

(c) In awarding grants pursuant to this section, the department shall give preferences to projects based on fire risk determined by assessing the following factors within the project area:
(1) History of fire.
(2) Population size.
(3) Vegetation.
(4) Limited ingress and egress routes.

SEC. 2.

Section 764.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

764.5.

(a) (1) The commission, in a new or existing proceeding, shall require each electrical ~~corporations~~ corporation, by July 1, 2020, to develop and administer programs to provide matching funds to local jurisdictions for conversion projects to replace overhead electrical infrastructure with underground electrical infrastructure in ~~tier 3 fire-threat districts,~~ a Tier 3 High Fire-Threat District or wildland urban interface area, as determined by the commission.

(2) Programs developed and administered pursuant to this subdivision shall require a local jurisdiction to adopt a conversion program and establish an underground utility district to qualify for funding.

(b) (1) (A) The program shall require an electrical corporation to provide matching ~~funds~~ funds, equaling 50 percent of the total project costs, to a local jurisdiction upon approval of an application by the local jurisdiction for an eligible project.

(B) A local jurisdiction may use credits provided pursuant to the California Overhead Conservation Program, Rule 20A, and may borrow up to five years of future credit allocations pursuant to that program to fund its share of the total project costs.
~~(2)Moneys awarded to a local jurisdiction shall not exceed 50 percent of the total costs of the project.~~
~~(3)~~

(2) Upon completion of the project, the local jurisdiction shall authorize the electrical corporation to access and use the infrastructure for the provision of electrical services to the electrical corporation’s customers.

(3) The program of each electrical corporation shall authorize the use of design-build authority consistent with the general intent and requirements applicable to design-build authority under that electrical corporation’s Rule 15 program.

(c) The commission shall authorize electrical corporations to recover the costs incurred pursuant to this section from their ratepayers on a nonbypassable basis.

SEC. 3.

Section 764.7 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

764.7.

(a) The commission ~~shall~~ may require an electrical corporation to replace overhead electrical infrastructure in a ~~tier 3 fire-threat district,~~ Tier 3 High Fire-Threat District or wildland urban interface area, as determined by the commission, that is destroyed as a result of a fire caused by overhead electrical infrastructure with underground electrical infrastructure.

(b) The commission may authorize the use of temporary overhead electrical infrastructure during the construction of the underground electrical infrastructure required pursuant to subdivision (a).

(c) The commission shall authorize an electrical corporation to recover the costs incurred pursuant to this section from its ratepayers on a nonbypassable basis.

SEC. 4.

Section 764.9 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:

764.9.
(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Active jurisdiction” means a jurisdiction that is actively participating in the program developed pursuant to Section 764.5.
(2) “Inactive jurisdiction” means a jurisdiction that has not undertaken or completed a project under the California Overhead Conversion Program, Rule 20A, since 2010 and is not actively participating in the program developed pursuant to Section 764.5.
(b) Within two years of the development of programs pursuant to Section 764.5, the commission shall direct an electrical corporation to reallocate unused credits provided under the California Overhead Conversion Program, Rule 20A, from an inactive jurisdiction to an active jurisdiction.

SEC. 4.Division 2.2 (commencing with Section 5600) is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:
2.2.Wildfire Mitigation Oversight Board
5600.
~~(a)The Wildfire Mitigation Oversight Board is hereby established in state government.~~
(b)Notwithstanding any other law, the board shall develop and adopt rules and regulations applicable to electrical corporations regarding measures to achieve the most effective mitigation of wildfire risks.
~~(c)The commission shall ensure that electrical corporations are in compliance with the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this section.~~
5601.
~~This division becomes operative on January 1, 2020.~~

SEC. 5.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

SEC. 6.

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

To expedite the process of replacing overhead electrical infrastructure with underground electrical infrastructure in ~~tier 3 fire-threat districts,~~ a Tier 3 High Fire-Threat District or wildland urban interface area, thereby reducing the risks of wildfire caused by that infrastructure, it is necessary for this measure to take effect immediately.