BILL NUMBER: SB 427 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 6, 1999
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. 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 require the Public Utilities Commission to allow
full cost recovery by an electrical corporation , as specified,
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
require the commission and the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection to issue notices of noncompliance to owners of electric
lines and would require an owner to take corrective action, as
prescribed . 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 working group
to select and list trees appropriate for each region of the state, as
prescribed. The bill would require an electrical corporation
to consult with 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 specified activities by an
electrical corporation. The bill would make a related statement of
legislative intent.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: 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. (a) (1) 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.
(2) 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) An electrical corporation may implement this section in
all or part of its service territory. If an electrical corporation
implements this section, the corporation, the commission, and the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shall comply fully with
all the requirements of the section in this area affected.
(c) 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. this section.
(c) The commission shall create a state advisory committee
(d) (1) The commission shall create a working group
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 On or before July 1, 2000, the
working group shall select and list trees appropriate for
planting in each region of the state. The committee
Species on the list shall be species that will not
interfere with power lines or the maintenance of those lines. The
working group 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 adopt 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)
(2) The list shall take into account the various climatic and
habitat conditions throughout the state and may specify different
tree species for different areas of the state.
(3) The working group shall review the list three years and six
years after the date that the list is adopted, and shall change or
modify the list as the working group determines to be appropriate.
(e) An electrical corporation shall consult with the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection to minimize the risk of plant disease
transmission in the conduct of tree and greenwaste disposal, and the
pruning or removal of trees in accordance with this section.
(f) The commission shall allow full cost recovery by an
electrical corporation pursuant to subdivision (g) 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) (A) 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 Number 5
container trees or the equivalent, as defined by American National
Standards Institute standard Z600, as determined to be appropriate to
the setting where the trees are being planted, for each tree
removed, according to the following schedule:
Size of tree removed in inches in Number of trees planted
diameter at breast height
0-5.0 0
5.1-12.0 1
12.1-18.0 2
18.1 or larger 3
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, one
palm tree shall be planted for each palm tree removed that exceeds
five inches in diameter at breast height.
(C) An electrical corporation is not required to plant
a tree 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.
electrical corporation.
(2) Trees planted by an electrical corporation shall be selected
from the list created pursuant to subdivision (d) if, in the
determination of the electrical corporation, the trees have the
potential to affect power 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 may
use volunteer labor or not-for-profit corporations ,
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)
(5) A property owner, at his or her expense, may retain an
arborist to work with the electrical corporation in developing a tree
pruning plan for the property that is acceptable to both the
property owner and the electrical corporation.
(6) 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
right-of-way. 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)
(7) 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.
. The notice required by this section does not substitute for any
other requirement imposed on the commission or another entity to
notify a property owner about tree trimming to be done on the
property.
(g) (1) The costs incurred by an electrical corporation as a
result of the implementation of this section shall be tracked by the
electrical corporation in a memorandum account and the electrical
corporation shall select one of the following methods of cost
recovery:
(A) Capitalize costs for recovery in rates as an exclusion to
performance based ratemaking, to be amortized by the electrical
corporation over a 10-year period. The commission shall include
these costs within the electrical corporation's deferred asset
account and shall include the regulatory asset and related deferred
tax account in working capital for ratemaking purposes.
(B) Include costs in rates as an exclusion to performance based
ratemaking for recovery within one year after the costs were
incurred.
(2) The electrical corporation shall provide the commission with
the actual costs incurred as a result of this section, and the
commission shall review those costs to ensure their accuracy.
(h) Nothing in this section affects the authority of a local
government to regulate the planting, removal, or pruning of trees
within its jurisdiction.
(i) Tree pruning done by electrical corporations shall comply with
the pruning standards described in Section 53067 of the Government
Code with regard to tree pruning, the American National Standards
Institute A300 pruning standards, and the International Society of
Arboriculture pruning guidelines.
(j) Nothing in this section affects the rights of electrical
corporations or any other entity to prune, trim, remove, or otherwise
alter trees on their own, public, or other private property.
(k) Nothing in this section prohibits an electrical corporation
from offering to plant trees in mitigation of the removal of a tree
or trees.
(l) (1) If, as a result of a field inspection by the commission,
the commission identifies instances of noncompliance with General
Order 95, Rule 35, the commission shall issue a specific notice of
noncompliance to the owner of the electric line. The owner of the
electric line shall correct noncompliant conditions within 20 working
days of the date of receipt of notice from the commission, and shall
provide the commission with written verification of the corrective
action taken to correct the noncompliant conditions within 30
calendar days of the date of corrective action.
(2) Once corrective action has been taken, and if the
noncompliance has not resulted in any damage to any person or
property, the commission shall not use the records documenting any
noncompliant conditions corrected in accordance with this section as
the basis for any penalty or fine imposed by the commission or
introduce in evidence or use the records in any other way in any
administrative, civil, or criminal proceeding, except to enforce
reasonable compliance with General Order 95, or any subsequent
general order that affects tree trimming or removal.
(3) Nothing in this subdivision shall affect any commission
decision pending before the commission on January 1, 2000.
(m) (1) If, as a result of a field inspection by the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection, the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection identifies instances of noncompliance with Sections 4292
and 4293 of the Public Resources Code, the Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection shall issue a specific notice of noncompliance to
the owner of the electric line. The owner of the electric line shall
correct noncompliant conditions within 20 working days of the date of
receipt of notice from the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection, and shall provide the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection with written verification of the corrective action taken
to correct the noncompliant conditions within 30 calendar days of the
date of corrective action.
(2) Once corrective action has been taken, and if the
noncompliance has not resulted in any damage to any person or
property, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shall not
use the records documenting any noncompliant conditions corrected in
accordance with this section as the basis for any penalty or fine
imposed by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection or
introduce in evidence or use the records in any other way in any
administrative, civil, or criminal proceeding, except to enforce
reasonable compliance with Sections 4292 and 4293 of the Public
Resources Code.