Bill Text: CA SCR120 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: California Safe Digging Month.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-04-25 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 44, Statutes of 2018. [SCR120 Detail]
Download: California-2017-SCR120-Chaptered.html
| Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 120 |
| CHAPTER 44 |
Relative to California Safe Digging Month.
[
Filed with
Secretary of State
April 25, 2018.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 120, Hill.
California Safe Digging Month.
This measure would proclaim April as California Safe Digging Month.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee: NOBill Text
WHEREAS, Excavators, homeowners, and professional contractors can save time and money while making California’s communities a safer place to live and work by dialing 811 in advance of all digging projects; and
WHEREAS, The 811 “Call Before You Dig” program is a vital public education and awareness program dealing with the safety of subsurface excavation, and education is the key to promoting safe digging practices; and
WHEREAS, The five steps to a safe excavation are: survey and mark, contact the 811 program before you dig, wait the required time, respect the marks, and dig with care; and
WHEREAS, Utility lines are often buried only a few inches underground, making them easy to strike, which can cause damage and harm even for shallow excavation projects; and
WHEREAS, More than 300,000 underground utility lines are struck each year in the United States and approximately 16 percent of all digging damage in the United States results from not contacting the 811 program before digging; and
WHEREAS, Undesired consequences, such as service interruptions, outages, damage to the environment, personal injury, and death, are risked by failing to contact the 811 program before digging or attempting to mark utility lines; and
WHEREAS, Contacting the 811 program to be connected to a regional notification center before digging, respecting the color-coded lines that demarcate underground utilities, and digging with care around the marked lines will help keep Californians safe and prevent damage and destruction; and
WHEREAS, California’s economy continues to grow, stimulating new construction that requires supporting infrastructure, and California’s underground utility infrastructure is jeopardized by unintentional damage caused by those who fail to contact the 811 program before digging; and
WHEREAS, California has two regional notification centers that provide a free and effective damage prevention service for Californians: Underground Service Alert of Northern California and Nevada and Underground Service Alert of Southern California; and
WHEREAS, Underground Service Alert of Northern California and Nevada and Underground Service Alert of Southern California, in cooperation with California’s public and private utilities, provide effective damage prevention services that protect California’s citizens, communities, public services, environment, and underground facilities at no cost to the caller; and
WHEREAS, The free notification services provided by Underground Service Alert of Northern California and Nevada and Underground Service Alert of Southern California have dramatically reduced the number of accidents causing property damage, personal injury, and interruption of vital services; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature proclaims April as California Safe Digging Month; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
