BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 578
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 17, 2005  

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                   Judy Chu, Chair

                    SB 578 (Escutia) - As Amended:  June 29, 2005 

          Policy Committee:                             Environmental  
          Safety & Toxic Materials                      Vote: 7-0
                       Transportation                                10-3

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:   
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill increases the number of incidents involving runaway  
          trains or other uncontrolled train movements that must be  
          reported to the Office of Emergency Services (OES) and other  
          entities, and that must be investigated by the Public Utilities  
          Commission (PUC).  Specifically, this bill:

          1)Requires a railroad corporation to promptly notify the OES,  
            the CHP, and designated county public safety agencies of any  
            runaway train or uncontrolled train movement incident  
            involving hazardous materials that threatens public health and  
            safety, whether or not the incident results in an accident or  
            a spill.

          2)Requires the PUC's Consumer Protections and Safety Division to  
            investigate these additional incidents, and to report its  
            findings to the commission for inclusion in the PUC's annual  
            railroad safety report submitted to the Legislature.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Minor costs, if any, to the OES and the CHP to process a  
            larger number of incident notifications from railroad  
            corporations.  (GF and Motor Vehicle Account.)

          2)Minor costs, in the range of $120,000 annually starting in FY  
            2005-06, to the PUC's Consumer Protections and Safety Division  
            to investigate a larger number of incidents and to report its  
            findings to the full commission.  (PUC Transportation  
            Reimbursement Account.)








                                                                  SB 578
                                                                  Page  2


           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  .  The author contends that runaway train or  
            uncontrolled train incidents involving hazardous materials  
            that are reported to the OES, CHP, and local authorities are  
            primarily those that result in accidents or spills.  This bill  
            requires all incidents to be reported, whether or not an  
            accident or spill occurs, and requires the PUC to investigate  
            these additional incidents.

           2)PUC Rail Regulation  .  The PUC's Consumer Protections and  
            Safety Division oversees safety regulation for railroads and  
            rail transit systems.  The Division's Railroad Safety Branch  
            oversees heavy freight and passenger railroads.  The PUC's  
            state inspection plan is designed to ensure that railroad  
            safety inspection complies with California requirements and  
            the Division enforces compliance with PUC General Orders  
            relating to rail safety, including General Order 161 governing  
            the transport of hazardous materials by rail.

           3)The 2005 Budget Act  augmented, on a one-time basis, the  
            Division's budget by $959,000 to enable more investigators to  
            be hired by the commission and to increase the number of  
            investigations the Division conducts.  

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Steve Archibald / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081