Bill Text: CA SB879 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Natural gas pipelines: safety.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2011-10-07 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 523, Statutes of 2011. [SB879 Detail]

Download: California-2011-SB879-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 879	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Padilla

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2011

   An act to add Section 795.5 to the Public Utilities Code, relating
to natural gas.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 879, as introduced, Padilla. Natural gas pipelines: accounts.
   Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has regulatory
authority over public utilities, including gas corporations, as
defined. The Public Utilities Act authorizes the commission to
establish a system of accounts to be kept by public utilities and to
prescribe the manner in which accounts are kept, the records and
memorandum to be kept, as well as the receipts and expenditures of
moneys, and any other forms, records, and memoranda that in the
judgment of the commission may be necessary to carry out any of the
provisions of the act. The act requires the commission to require a
public utility to establish and maintain a reserve account reflecting
any positive or negative balance whenever the commission authorizes
any change in rates reflecting and passing specific changes in costs
through to customers, and requires the commission to take any
positive or negative balance remaining into account by appropriate
adjustment or other action at the time of any subsequent rate
adjustment.
   This bill would require that in any ratemaking proceeding in which
the commission authorizes a gas corporation to recover expenses for
the inspection, maintenance, or repair of transmission pipelines,
that the commission require the gas corporation to establish and
maintain a one-way balancing account for the recovery of those
expenses.
   Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any
order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the
commission is a crime.
   Because the provisions of this bill are within the act and require
action by the commission to implement its requirements, a violation
of these provisions would impose a state-mandated local program by
creating a new crime.
   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.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 795.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to
read:
   795.5.  In any ratemaking proceeding in which the commission
authorizes a gas corporation to recover expenses for the inspection,
maintenance, or repair of transmission pipelines, the commission
shall require the gas corporation to establish and maintain a one-way
balancing account for the recovery of those expenses.
  SEC. 2.  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.                     
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