BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                          AB 1149
                                                          Page  1

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1149 (Aroner)
As Amended April 26, 1999
Majority vote 

  UTILITIES AND COMMERCE          12-0                 
APPROPRIATIONS      15-2        
  
 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
|Ayes:|Wright, Pescetti,         |Ayes:|Migden, Corbett, Davis,   |
|     |Calderon, Campbell,       |     |Hertzberg, Kuehl, Papan,  |
|     |Cardenas, Frusetta,       |     |Aroner, Shelley,          |
|     |Maddox, Mazzoni, Papan,   |     |Steinberg, Thomson,       |
|     |Reyes, Vincent, Wesson    |     |Wesson, Wiggins, Wright,  |
|     |                          |     |Zettel, Longville         |
|     |                          |     |                          |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|     |                          |Nays:|Brewer, Ackerman          |
|     |                          |     |                          |
 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 

  SUMMARY  :  Requires the California Public Utilities Commission  
(CPUC) to conduct a study and submit a report to the  
Legislature, by January 1, 2001, on existing regulations  
relating to underground electric and communications facilities.   
Specifically,  this bill  requires CPUC to investigate and assess  
the following aspects of its undergrounding program:

1)The continuity of the existing underground system and ways to  
  eliminate uneven patches of overhead facilities;

2)Ways to enhance public safety;

3)Ways to improve reliability; and,

4)Ways to provide more flexibility to local governments.

  EXISTING LAW  specifies that CPUC has regulatory authority over  
public utilities.

  FISCAL EFFECT  :  Minor costs to CPUC for the study and report.

  COMMENTS  :  The author has introduced this bill to address a  
district issue.  Recent undergrounding projects within the City  
of Oakland have resulted in an uneven patchwork of overhead and  








                                                          AB 1149
                                                          Page  2

underground utility lines.  Scattered streets within each  
undergrounding district failed to meet CPUC criteria for  
undergrounding projects.  When a project fails to meet CPUC  
criteria, the local investor-owned utility cannot utilize  
existing funds set aside for construction costs.  In these  
instances, the costs to install the undergrounding facilities  
must be paid by the property owners, "which becomes extremely  
cost-prohibitive."  This results in an uneven patchwork of  
overhead and underground facilities.

This bill would require CPUC to conduct a study as to ways to  
amend and improve CPUC's undergrounding rules and procedures.   
The issues to be addressed would include discovering and  
eliminating barriers to establishing continuity of the existing  
underground system, and ways to eliminate uneven patches of  
overhead facilities.  The study would also explore ways to  
provide more flexibility to local governments.  CPUC would  
additionally be required to submit a report on the study to the  
Legislature on or before January 1, 2001. 

In a 1967 decision, CPUC D.73078, CPUC established overhead to  
underground conversion programs for aesthetic and safety  
reasons.  According to CPUC staff, this bill is a worthy  
approach to address the need to revise and update CPUC's  
undergrounding rules, which have not been substantially amended  
in the three decades since they were put into effect.


  Analysis Prepared by  :  Joseph Lyons / U. & C. / (916) 319-2083 


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