BILL NUMBER: SB 427 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 7, 1999
INTRODUCED BY Senator Peace
FEBRUARY 16, 1999
An act to add Section 8037.5 to the Public Utilities Code,
relating to public utilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 427, as amended, Peace. Public utilities: electric
lines: trees Electrical corporations: tree trimming
programs .
Existing law, except as specified, requires any person that owns,
controls, operates, or maintains any electrical transmission or
distribution line upon any mountainous, forest-covered,
brush-covered, or grass-covered land, to maintain a clearance in all
directions between all vegetation and all conductors that are
carrying electric current, as prescribed.
This bill would state that it is the intent of the Legislature to
consider the enactment of laws to deal with the public safety issue
of trees and other vegetation growing into electric lines.
This bill would require the Public Utilities Commission to allow
full cost recovery by an electrical corporation for a tree trimming
program in compliance with prescribed requirements. The bill would
authorize an electrical corporation to trim or remove any tree that
grows naturally in the rights-of-way or easements of the electrical
corporation after documenting all trees and other major vegetation
growing in its rights-of-way, and in its easements, as specified.
The bill would require the Department of Fish and Game to assist
electrical corporations in developing a plan to minimize the impact
on nesting birds of those electrical corporation tree trimming
programs and to review the plan every 5 years. The bill would
require the commission to create a state advisory committee to select
and list trees appropriate for each region of the state, as
prescribed. The bill would require the Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection to develop and implement a program to minimize the
risk of plant disease transmission in the conduct of tree trimming or
removal by an electrical corporation. The bill would make a related
statement of legislative intent.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:
no yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 8037.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code,
to read:
8037.5. It is the intent of the Legislature to consider the
enactment of laws to deal with the public safety issue of trees and
other vegetation growing into electric lines.
8037.5. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide energy
safely and reliably and reduce the long-term tree trimming and
removal costs for electrical corporations, thereby reducing energy
costs to consumers, improving energy efficiency by promoting shade
tree planting, and improving the quality of life in cities through
tree planting and maintenance.
(b) The Department of Fish and Game shall assist electrical
corporations in developing a plan to minimize the impact on nesting
birds of electrical corporation tree trimming programs in accordance
with subdivision (e). The Department of Fish and Game shall review
the plan every five years. The commission or the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection shall deem an electrical corporation
that delays any tree trimming as a result of the plan to be in
compliance with any regulation of the commission or the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection that would otherwise be violated by the
delay. An electrical corporation may conduct tree trimming that
affects nesting birds if the corporation determines that emergency
conditions exist.
(c) The commission shall create a state advisory committee
comprised of a representative of the Department of Fish and Game, who
shall chair the committee, urban forestry experts, native plant
experts, a representative of the Department of Food and Agriculture,
representatives of local government, and interested citizens. The
committee shall select and list trees appropriate for planting in
each region of the state. The committee shall not list non-native
tree species that the committee determines to be noxious due to
proliferation or the production of pollen, nectar, seeds, leaves, or
fruit. The commission shall maintain the list and shall make the list
available to the public via the Internet.
(d) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shall develop
and implement a program to minimize the risk of plant disease
transmission in the conduct of tree trimming or removal by an
electrical corporation in accordance with subdivision (e).
(e) The commission shall allow full cost recovery by an electrical
corporation for a tree trimming program in accordance with this
subdivision, after the competition transition charge and the rate
freeze imposed pursuant to Chapter 2.3 (commencing with Section 330)
of Part 1 of Division 1 have ended. The commission shall determine
the costs attributable to a program in accordance with this section.
To be eligible for full cost recovery, an electrical corporation
tree trimming shall comply with all of the following:
(1) For each tree removed by an electrical corporation, the
electrical corporation shall plant not less than three five-gallon
trees for each inch of diameter at breast height of the tree removed.
An electrical corporation is not required to mitigate the removal
of a tree by a person who was not authorized to do so by the
electrical corporation. An electrical corporation shall maintain a
tree planted in accordance with this section for not less than three
years from the date of planting at the expense of the electrical
corporation.
(2) Replacement trees shall be selected from the list created
pursuant to subdivision (c). In selecting trees from the list, the
electrical corporation shall give first preference to native species
found in the local area that are appropriate for the tree planting
site. Trees planted in an electrical corporation right-of-way that,
in the determination of the electrical corporation, have the
potential to impact power lines shall be a species that will not
interfere with the power lines or the maintenance of those lines.
(3) The electrical corporation shall give first priority to
planting replacement trees on or near the site of tree removal, but
may maintain a right-of-way free of trees, and may plant replacement
trees elsewhere.
(4) The electrical corporation shall use volunteer labor, to the
extent available, to plant trees. Otherwise, the electrical
corporation shall use local conservation corps or the California
Conservation Corps. If local or state corps members are not present
in the area, the electrical corporation shall employ disadvantaged
youth or neighborhood organizations to plant trees.
(5) An electrical corporation shall conduct all tree trimming and
planting under the supervision of a certified arborist. A work crew
that performs tree trimming or planting shall be trained by an
arborist in proper tree trimming. Any tree in excess of 24 inches
diameter at breast height shall be trimmed under the direct
supervision of an arborist. An electrical corporation shall provide
the services of an arborist for the trimming of a tree on private
property, at the request of the property owner.
(6) An electrical corporation, with regard to a tree considered by
a city or county to be a heritage tree or a tree of special interest
or concern, or a tree greater than 11 inches in diameter at breast
height, shall, to the maximum extent possible, trim the tree in such
a manner to preserve the life and beauty of the tree while preventing
damage to the property of the electrical corporation.
(7) All equipment used to trim or remove a tree, whether owned by
the electrical corporation or an entity under contract to the
electrical corporation, shall comply with the plant disease
transmission program developed pursuant to subdivision (d).
(8) An electrical corporation shall offer wood and shredded tree
material made available as a result of tree trimming to the easement
property owner, or property owners adjacent to the electrical
corporation right-of-way. If the property owner does not want the
wood or material, the electrical corporation shall remove and offer
it to charities for provision to low-income persons able to use the
wood or material for heating or compost. Wood and tree trimmings
that cannot be used for fuel shall be composted and made available to
the public at no cost. Material otherwise unusable may be disposed
of at a landfill. The electrical corporation shall remove any
flammable materials resulting from tree trimming or tree removal to a
safe place, if local officials with fire management and suppression
responsibilities or the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
determine the removal is necessary for fire protection.
(9) Before implementing a program in accordance with this
subdivision, an electrical corporation shall provide three months
notice to the public and to the cities and counties in which any
easements or rights-of-way of the electric corporation are located.
That notice shall describe the intent of the electrical corporation
to implement a tree trimming program in accordance with this
subdivision. The electrical corporation may use bill inserts to
inform the public pursuant to this paragraph.
(f) (1) An electrical corporation may document all trees and other
major vegetation growing in its rights-of-way, and in its easements,
and shall make that documentation available to any person who wishes
to inspect it. The electrical corporation shall provide the
documentation to any person who requests it, at no cost. On and
after January 1, 2001, or after the date of completion of
documentation pursuant to this subdivision, whichever is later, the
electrical corporation may trim or remove any tree that grows
naturally in the rights-of-way or easements of the electrical
corporation after that date. Subdivision (e) applies to tree trimming
or removal pursuant to this subdivision, except that the electrical
corporation shall also plant three five-gallon or greater trees for a
tree of less than one inch in diameter at breast height, unless the
tree is less than one foot in height. An electrical corporation
shall report to the commission all tree trimming, removal, and
planting, and the commission shall make that information available to
the public in written form and via the Internet.
(2) An electrical corporation may implement this subdivision in
all or part of its service territory. If an electrical corporation
implements this subdivision it shall comply fully with all the
requirements of the subdivision in the area affected.